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Federation Should Rethink
Closing Of Oak Park JCC
Historian Howard Lupovitch's June 29
talk at the Jewish Community Center
in Oak Park causes us to seriously re-
examine the facility's pending closure.
In your story ("The Role Of Jewish
Centers:' June 25, page 16), Professor
Lupovitch points out, "Jewish commu-
nity centers have helped preserve the
integrity of communities and neighbor-
hoods:'
In our recent memory, Robert
Aronson, the former executive
director of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, had the vision
not only to understand this but to
initiate the Neighborhood Project
campaign. That project solicited major
funds — for the renewal of the JCC in
Oak Park and also to offer interest-free
loans to prospective home buyers and
renovators.
As a result, the many hundreds in
our greater community who contrib-
uted to Federation's special campaign
thus stabilized the north Oak Park and
Southfield Jewish neighborhood.
At the time, we were told that a
neighborhood with a Jewish butcher
shop, restaurant, bookstore, yeshivah,
schools and synagogues would be
exceedingly costly to replace elsewhere
and needed a vital Jewish Community
Center as a stabilizing and magnetizing
force. This has proven true.
We hope that Federation re-examines
this issue and that they indeed back up
their earlier commitment to a success-
ful community center that our mutual
funds built. The Oak Park JCC building
is the essential, vital center for the very
people who followed up on our initial
investment and who built homes and a
life for their families in this neighbor-
hood.
Let us urge a re-evaluation by our
current leadership of their responsibil-
ity to this Jewish community in our
midst — to which we have already
made a moral commitment.
The Oak Park JCC building should
not be closed to solve our overall finan-
cial problems. We have an obligation to
this community that we helped build.
The Oak Park JCC makes a real differ-
ence. It matters to all of us to keep it
open.

Judith Levin Cantor
Bloomfield Hills

Rabbi Falick's Classes
On Bible History Praised
Kudos to Rabbi Jeffrey Falick.
Attending his classes on "Who Wrote
the Bible?" has been an enlightening
and exciting learning experience. He
brings extensive scholarship, personal
experience and a unique perspective
to the beauty and the value of biblical
literature and the vast history of Jewish
civilization.
Rabbi Falick is a passionate scholar.
He is able to present the history of the
biblical landscape, the stories of the
written texts, the migration, the immi-
gration and the struggle for survival of
ancient peoples with the perspective of
archeological and scientific evidence.
The human story behind the written
words connect an ancient civilization to
the current modern Jewish question of
"Who is a Jew?"
Thank you, Rabbi Falick of
Birmingham Temple.

Marilyn Rowens

former executive director, International
Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism

Rabbis' Diverse Views
On Marriage Welcomed
I just finished reading the article about
how our local rabbis are responding to
the Supreme Court's recent decision on
same-sex marriages ("Historic Ruling;
July 2, page 1).
Irrespective of my personal belief on
this issue, just reading about the diver-
sity of rabbinical responses filled me
with pleasure. Isn't that what this coun-
try is all about? The freedom to still do
as your conscience dictates as long as it
conforms to the law.
Regardless of one's position on the
issue, the mere fact that clergy are able
to have diverse beliefs and act on them
accordingly without fear of repercus-
sions is what differentiates our country
from most others.
It's too bad that the "right to lifers"
will not let us reach the same conclu-
sion vis-a-vis abortion.

Ronald M. Horwitz
Farmington Hills

Keep Iran Sanctions
Instead Of Bad Deal
Shortly, the U.S. is expected to reach
an "executive agreement" with Iran,
the most despicable Islamic regime on
Earth. An actual treaty with them would
require a two-thirds vote in Congress.

Jarc

INCLUSION

Speaking in Southfield on June 22,
Mort Klein, national head of the Zionist
Organization of America, made a strong
case for us being concerned about the
upcoming deal. He said, "A bad deal
with Iran is a bad deal for America and a
catastrophic deal for Israel ... We're not
talking politics, just facts:'
Here are some facts:
• Behind barbed wire, Iran enriches
uranium, purportedly for nuclear
energy, which requires no enriched
uranium. Iran cheats and outrageously
has a representative on the committee
investigating whether they cheat.
• Iran won't reveal their activi-
ties; instead they passed a law against
America visiting their military or inter-
viewing their scientists. They demand 48
hours' notice before inspections.
• As negotiations proceeded,
Tehran billboards screamed, "Death
to America!" and former President
Ahmadinejad declared Iran will wipe
Israel off the map. All this during nego-
tiations with sanctions on.
• God told Joshua, "Fear not!" The
IDF surprised and stunned us in 1967
by destroying Egypt's air force, and
IDF generals say they can take on Iran.
When Mort inquired as to how, they
politely declined to say.
This vote should not be a partisan
one. You can make a difference by call-
ing your senators and others. We need
13 more Democrats to vote against a
bad deal. Go to ZOA.org for names of
senators. Call and say, "Keep the sanc-
tions on. Vote against a bad deal with

Iran threatens us all. Israel is just the
"canary in the mine

Sylvia Halpert
Rochester

Corrections
• The story "Historic Ruling" (July
2, 2015), incorrectly stated that the
three children of Franklin couple Brian
Kutinsky and Michael Neumann were
adopted. The story should have said
the couple's three children were born
through surrogacy.
• The photo caption for "Calm Before
The War" (July 2, page 18) should have
given the Oriole Theater location as
Linwood and Philadelphia.
• "Pop-Up Furniture Shop" (June 11,
page 31) should have stated that the
Danto Furniture Company in Detroit
was founded by Julius Danto.

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