viewpoints

>> Send letters to: letters@thejewishnews.com

guest column

Paris, Brussels And Jerusalem

A

s president of the American Jewish
This includes the daily stabbing and mur-
Committee's Detroit Regional
der-by-car terrorism by Palestinians against
Office, I recently received a first-
Israeli Jews. Attempts to distinguish or
hand briefing from our AJC executive direc-
explain away such terrorism against Israel is
tors in Paris, Brussels and Jerusalem. It was
no different than trying to justify the terror
disturbing, to say the least.
attacks against Paris. Accepting one form of
France has had to pass unprecedented
terror is no different from accepting other
emergency laws allowing its security forces
forms of terror.
to act with a free hand in order to secure
For example, the notion that somehow
Paris and its citizens from further
the Palestinian terrorism being
terror attacks. Brussels virtually
perpetrated against Israeli Jews is
shut down for days into a military
the least bit justifiable because of
zone and had no normal activity
disagreement over Israeli settle-
in the city in response to fears of
ments is completely misguided and
imminent, multiple terror attacks.
wrong: (1) The Arab-Israeli con-
Jerusalem has expanded security
flict existed long before there was
to deal with the ongoing, murder-
even one Israeli settlement; (2) The
ous stabbings and car attacks on
conflict raged between 1948 and
Todd R. Mendel
Israeli Jews, which the Palestinians
1967 when Egypt controlled the
have glorified and been incited to
Gaza Strip and Jordan controlled
carry out by Palestinian leaders.
the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem (and
As all three cities struggle to fight the
there were no Israeli settlements at all);
terrorism that confronts them, the entire
(3) When Egypt and later Jordan became
Western world must learn some lessons —
true, reliable partners for peace with Israel,
and fast.
settlements in the Sinai and elsewhere were
First, Western governments and news
removed by Israel as part of those peace
media cannot apologize for, justify or excuse
deals; (4) When Israel removed all settle-
terrorism perpetrated by anyone. Not being
ments from and completely left Gaza 10
integrated into the greater French or Belgian
years ago, peace did not come from Gaza
society, or avoiding the recognition of prob-
but thousands of rockets were launched
lems due to politically correct excuses so as
by Palestinians from Gaza into Israel
not to offend no matter the situation, cannot
instead; and (5) When there was a settle-
be used as a justification for any terrorism.
ment freeze, it produced no results from

the Palestinians, who still refused to come
to the table to try to negotiate a Palestinian
State next to the Jewish State of Israel.
Western governments and media cannot
justify, accept excuses or apologize for ter-
rorism in any place for any reason.
Second, cities, schools, museums and
subways should not be shut down, if at all
possible, in response to a terror attack. The
West must show resilience. The Israelis have
led the way in how to effectively carry on
with daily life in the face of massive chal-
lenges and very little international support.
We must heed the expression from Edmund
Burke that, "the only thing necessary for the
triumph of evil is for good men to do noth-
ing" Cities must continue functioning in
the face of terrorism.
Third, governments and the media must
never equate the killing of terrorists with
the killing of the victims of terrorism. It is
perfectly acceptable for France or Belgium
to hunt down terrorists, and when those
terrorists start shooting at French and
Belgian security forces for those forces to
fire back and kill the terrorists. The same
is true in Israel. When knife-wielding and
car-ramming Palestinian terrorists attack
Israelis, it is perfectly acceptable that the
victims, bystanders and/or security forces
of Israel defend themselves and fire at and
kill the attacking terrorists. That is what
is supposed to happen whether in Paris or

Jerusalem. From some of the comments by
Palestinian leaders, and some of the media
coverage, one would think that the mur-
derous attackers are actually the victims
because they are killed while attempting to
perpetrate a terror attack.
Fourth, there is a media and propa-
ganda war going on. The truth and facts
have become irrelevant in many instances.
Propaganda and repetition of that propa-
ganda by media are dangerous and incite
people to violence. That is true whether
they are ISIL terrorists attacking Paris or
Palestinian terrorists attacking Israel. For
example, the false mantra of Palestinian
leadership that Israel is changing the status
quo at the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem is
pure propaganda meant to incite violence.
Accepting and reporting false and phony
propaganda in the interest of political cor-
rectness because everyone is entitled to
their "narrative," regardless of the truth, is
dangerous for everyone.
Fifth, if Jews are leaving a country
because they no longer feel safe or com-
fortable, that is a major sign of a major
problem in that country. Jews have been
emigrating from France in recent years at a
higher rate than before. The Jews continue
to be the canary in the coal mine. *

Todd R. Mendel is president of the American Jewish

Committee Detroit Regional Office.

editorial

Community Is Central To JCC Visioning

0

ur Jewish Community Center
can't let up in servicing south-
east Oakland County residents
in the wake of the August closing of the
Oak Park JCC to help ease a budget crisis.
Needs are too great to let service slide
after the post-closing spotlight fades.
So the pressure is on top manage-
ment of the Jewish Community Center
of Metropolitan Detroit and the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
At this juncture in transitioning the Oak
Park JCC site from a building owned and
operated by the Jewish community to an
outside-managed new building, both the
JCC and Federation seem determined to
deliver on upfront promises by relocating
some shuttered programs ("JCC Without
Borders:' Nov. 26, page 16).
To let up on the relocation accelera-
tor would be to diminish the importance
of serving Jews in Oak Park, Southfield,
Huntington Woods, Royal Oak, Ferndale,
Berkley and other nearby areas.

8 December 17.2015

So far, popular activities in arts, cul-
ture and learning have popped up at new
locations in the Oak Park-Southfield area
— near the Oak Park JCC's Jimmy Prentis
Morris Building, affectionately dubbed
JPM. Communicating the activities sched-
ule for multiple sites long term is key.
Shuttering the Oak Park JCC gym left
an exercise and fitness center void. While
about 20 percent of Oak Park JCC mem-
bers converted their membership to the
West Bloomfield JCC, many likely have
sought out a low-cost gym in the North
Woodward corridor. That's a viable option,
but it does limit the feeling of com-
munity the Oak Park JCC inspired. The
Committee to Save the Oak Park Jewish
Community Center, a grassroots coalition
of more than 200 Oak Park JCC support-
ers, has reinforced the urgency of recreat-
ing a semblance of that feeling.

PRESSING ON
Anticipation continues relative to repurpos-

ing JPM and deciding what will rise there
beyond classrooms and meeting rooms.
In August, our Jewish Federation, in
collaboration with its real estate/bank-
ing arm, the United Jewish Foundation,
announced an anonymous donor would
drive JPM repurposing through the
parameters of a major financial gift.
Request for Proposals were designed to
help JCC and Federation leaders find the
right property manager to "maintain an
inclusive community facility that contin-
ues to serve the Jewish population in the
areas with programming by the JCC and
other Jewish communal organizations:'
The Detroit Jewish community will con-
tinue to own the Oak Park site under the
rubric of the JPM name.

MOVING PIECES
Expanding Jewish programs and services
both at the new JPM site and in the sur-
rounding neighborhoods is a plus. Ditto
for any satellite site reflecting a synergistic

Needs are too great
to let service slide
after the post-closing
spotlight fades.

partnership with another Jewish commu-
nal organization. Still, the repurposed JPM
will be the community square, just as the
old building was for almost 60 years.
Detroit Jewry owes itself big-thinking,
community-based strategizing for a 21st-
century Jewish community center model
that draws on experiences not only at the
old JPM, but also at the newer, larger D.
Dan & Betty Kahn JCC Building in West
Bloomfield. JCC membership, usage and
expectations on both campuses have fluc-
tuated. Imagining the next-generation
JPM, however, must remain central to the
overall discussion. *

