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DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

theJEWISHNEWS.com

Arthur M. Horwitz
Publisher / Executive Editor
ahorwitz@renmedia.us

letters

Jewish Newspaper
Clip Saves The Day

We constantly hear horror stories about
couples from abroad who attempt to marry
in Israel and encounter the draconian
control exerted by the country's ultra-
Orthodox rabbinate. These stories bring to
mind my own experience of marrying in
Israel 40 years ago.
I was born in Detroit of American-born
Jewish parents. My maternal grandparents,
with whom my widowed mother and I
lived, were Orthodox Jews from Russia
who came to Detroit in 1914. Since they
spoke Yiddish at home, Yiddish was my
first language. Growing up, I first attended
day school at Yeshiva Chachmei Lublin and
then Yeshiva Beth Yehudah. After my bar
mitzvah, I attended Detroit Public schools
and afternoon Hebrew school.
I immigrated to Israel in 1971 and
taught American Jewish history at Tel
Aviv University In 1976, I decided to get
married. At the time, I was on a sabbatical
and a visiting professor at both Brandeis
University and Boston University. I knew
that in order to marry in Israel, I had to
show proof that I was Jewish and single.
I went to the Boston beit din (Orthodox
rabbinical court) with documents showing
that my parents were Jewish and that I was
Jewish. I also brought witnesses who testi-
fied I was Jewish and unmarried. The rab-
bis accepted my proofs and certified that I
was Jewish and single.
Since my bride lived in Petach Tikvah,
the material was taken by her Orthodox
parents to that city's rabbinical council.
The rabbis looked it over and decided not
to accept my proofs and that of Boston's
Orthodox beit din. They claimed they did
not recognize the authority of Boston's beit
din.
I knew that they did not recognize the
Conservative and Reform rabbinate. But I
was shocked that they would not accept the
ruling of Boston's Orthodox rabbinate. One
of my relatives got so upset that he threat-
ened to throw the rabbinical spokesman
out the window.
What saved the situation and allowed
me to receive the needed authorization
from the Petach Tikvah beit din occurred
when my bride's parents showed the rab-
bis a copy of the Boston Jewish Chronicle
newspaper that had published a picture of
me with an announcement that I was deliv-
ering a lecture at a local synagogue. That
item convinced them that I was indeed
Jewish and unmarried.
I returned to Israel, got married and
then went back with my wife to Boston,
where I completed my sabbatical year.

After 40 years, Israel's ultra-Orthodox rab-
binate still has the power to decide who
can get married in Israel.

Robert Rockaway

Arsuf, Israel

What About The
Christian Genocide?

F. Kevin Browett
Chief Operating Officer
kbrowett@renmedia.us

'JCC Without Borders'
Doesn't Replace JCC

Editorial

Managing Editor: Jackie Headapohl

jheadapohl@renmedia.us

Story Development Editor: Keri Guten Cohen

While swimming this morning in my new
health club facility, I thought about the
article I had just read titled "JCC Without
Borders" (Nov. 26, page 16). The article
told of the different programs and classes
that have been dispersed and how satisfied
the participants are in the change of venue.
But missing was the most important part
of the equation — the diaspora of its mem-
bers and the disappearance of what was a
community center all under one roof.
While the pool where I now swim is
clean, available and convenient, I miss see-
ing the little children of all races coming
in the morning to daycare, the Orthodox
mothers bringing their children so that
they can exercise, the seniors swimming
and exercising, the African Americans
playing basketball and having ballet classes
on Sunday. I miss seeing people of all ages
and religions chatting, sitting and waiting
for their mates or family members.
A comment was made at that first well-
attended meeting regarding the closing
of the 10 Mile branch, "It's just a build-
ing:' No, my dear JCC board and Jewish
Federation, "It was so much more than
that, and I'm afraid it will not be replaced:'

The world was silent 75-80 years ago when
all hell was breaking out in Europe, and
today the world is silent as a genocide of
Christians is going on in the Middle East.
Even our community is silent while
every spring we remember the Holocaust
and say "Never again:' The pope is silent
even though most of those being mur-
dered, raped, tortured, forced to convert to
Islam or sold into slavery are Catholics.
There is a lot of concern about bring-
ing selected Syrian refugees here from the
Middle East, and less than 5 percent of
those are Christians or other minorities
subject to genocide. The U.N. picks the
refugees to come to the United States from
the U.N. camps; however, there are few
Christian/minority refugees in the camps
as the camps are not viewed as safe.
Radical Islam, as represented by Hamas
and ISIS, has no tolerance for those of
other faiths. FBI Director James Comey
Joanne Kristal
and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh
Huntington Woods
Johnson told Congress that we cannot vet
any of the refugees because we have no
(For a related editorial, please see page 8.)
data. Who would know better? The Muslim
refugees should be resettled in the vast
Arab lands, where they speak the language
and share a common culture, or protected
in safe zones till it is safe for them
to return home. Why have their
Arab brothers closed their doors?
The Christians and other minori-
•
ties have nowhere to go. Our gov-
WHILE THE
THE OPTIMISTS
ernment should be encouraged to
PESSIMISTS
FIGURE THAT ABBAS
take significant measures to protect
FIGURE THAT
WON'T STOP THE
the Christians and minorities, and
ABBAS CAN'T
ONGOING ORGY OF
we can protect the Muslim refugees
STOP IT!
PALESTINIAN
in the U.N. camps/safe zones. We
VIOLENCE.
„4
will not accept the risk of having
V--
one poisoned pill in a bottle of
10,000 pills.
We should not risk bringing
Alive/
unvetted refugees to this country
now as it only takes a few to cause
THE REALISTS
BUT
the chaos we witnessed in France
FIGURE THAT
WHAT DO THE
and that was prevented in Germany
ISRAEL
WILL
REALISTS
— after all, the United States is the
GET
BLAMED
FIGURE?
"Great Satan:' Unlike 75-80 years
FOR IT!
ago, we are protecting people at
risk. We must do more for minority
groups who are at the most risk.

Dry Bones

—

Eugene Greenstein

■

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6 December 17 2015

