viewpoints » S end letters to: letters@thejewishnews.com DETROIT JEWISH NEWS theJEWISHNEWS.com guest column Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher / Executive Editor ahorwitz@renmedia.us The Good & Plenty Story I n our house, it’s always been called the “Good & Plenty Story.” Yes, it relates to the licorice candy — the pink-and-white candies that make up the oldest branded candy in the United States, which gained favor among the baby boomer generation in the 1960s — when Choo-Charlie appeared in its television commercials. It’s a story with a point — that my youngest, Jenny, would ask me to recite frequently at bed time. When I was some- where around 8, my grandparents would frequently visit and Ken Gross usually give my brother and me a box of Good & Plenty. I loved candy and would proceed to gobble the contents within minutes and it was gone. My brother, on the other hand, was not a candy junkie, and he would simply deposit the box in the top drawer of his dresser. Over the next three to four days, I would sneak into his room, stealing one or two pieces at a time. Eventually, the remaining quantity in the box would reach three or four pieces and I would stop taking them because, as I explained to Jenny, “I didn’t want to get caught!” Over the next year or so, this same sce- nario played out numerous times in the same way. Finally, my brother confronted me one day and accused me of stealing his Good & Plenty. I was outraged and screamed and hollered about how I was being falsely accused of a crime — and never admitted to stealing his candy. Of course, the first time I told each of my children this story was following an incident when they were screaming and confessing innocence over a situation in which they were obviously guilty. Rather than bothering to accuse them, I simply told them the story and waited until they said “but you did steal the candy” and then without further discussion the point was made. Sadly, I lost my brother last month, so it was a time to retell the Good & Plenty story — but it took on a new meaning. I’ve been telling this story for more than 20 years to my kids, but until this month I never paused and asked, “Why did he wait a year to confront me?” F. Kevin Browett Chief Operating Officer kbrowett@renmedia.us My brother demonstrated restraint. At a young age, he was not only able to resist the desire to gobble up the candy, but rather than take me to task as the thief I was, he waited — a long time — before he finally confronted me. He exercised restraint — something many of us should do much more often. The oldest brand of candy in the United States — Good & Plenty — will be a story retold in my family for generations, as my daughters teach their children, and their children teach theirs. As the story is told, it will explain both the truth behind those that scream the loudest and the need for all of us to exercise restraint before opting for confrontation. My brother’s exit from this world came far too soon, but the Good & Plenty story will ensure a special place for him in our family heritage for many generations. * Ken Gross is an attorney with Thav Gross and host of Law and Reality that airs on radio Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m. on WCHB 1200 AM/99.9 FM, Saturdays from 9 to 10 a.m. on WDFN “The Fan” 1130 AM, and on television at 11 a.m. Sundays on TV20. | Editorial Managing Editor: Jackie Headapohl jheadapohl@renmedia.us Story Development Editor: Keri Guten Cohen kcohen@thejewishnews.com Arts & Life Editor: Lynne Konstantin lkonstantin@renmedia.us Senior Copy Editor: David Sachs dsachs@renmedia.us Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@renmedia.us Senior Columnist: Danny Raskin dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar rsklar@renmedia.us Contributing Writers: Ruthan Brodsky, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Don Cohen, Shari S. Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Ryan Fishman, Stacy Gittleman, Judy Greenwald, Ronelle Grier, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Harry Kirsbaum, Barbara Lewis, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, Steve Stein | Creative Services Corporate Creative Director: Deborah Schultz dschultz@renmedia.us Graphic Designer: Rebecca Schock | Advertising Sales Sales Director: Keith Farber kfarber@renmedia.us Account Executives : Kathryn Andros, Wendy Flusty, Andrea Gusho, Annette Kizy, Paige Lustig Sales Manager Assistants : Joelle Harder, Karen Marzolf | Business Offices Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner Collections Analyst: Hazel Bender | Production By FARAGO & ASSOCIATES Manager: Scott Drzewiecki Designers: Amy Pollard, Pam Sherevan, Michelle Sheridan, Susan Walker editorial Tunnels Underscore Hamas’ True Intentions T hey’re back, those war-provoking tunnels that Hamas is digging under the Gaza Strip into Israel to wage unadulterated terror. The digging has caused the floors of homes in Moshav Pri Gan, along the Gaza border, to shake, Times of Israel reported. Digging presses on despite the heavy dam- age the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) inflicted upon Hamas fighters and its terrorist infrastructure during Operation Protective Edge. During that summer of 2014 war, Israel destroyed more than 30 tunnels in a determined bid to slow weapons smuggling as well as the staging of terrorist attacks and kidnappings inside Israel. At least a third of those tunnels infiltrated Israel. Past wars aside, Hamas is still seeking to disrupt, if not destroy, Israel. What’s at issue is the lack of protective barriers that Israel vowed to build to block cross-border tunnels. The project is projected to cost $700 million, and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon says funding is coming. NATURE’S HURDLES The tunnels came sharply back into focus Jan. 27 when at least seven tunnel builders working for Hamas, the Sunni Islamist ter- rorist group ruling Gaza, were killed when 6 February 11 • 2016 rain and flooding collapsed a tunnel near Jabaliya. A few days earlier, another cave-in killed a 30-year-old man. In December, a flooded tunnel on the Gaza-Egypt border trapped 14 Palestinians for hours. Both Egypt and Israel have blockaded the Strip to help stem the flow of arms as well as concrete, which is used to reinforce tunnels. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz speculates that the number of cross-border tunnels leading to Israel is near to that on the eve of Protective Edge, meaning Hamas has been busy constructing underground passages into Israel and restocking its rocket arsenal. All this is occurring against the backdrop of an Israeli man being sentenced to 4½ years in prison for selling equipment to Hamas operatives for the alleged purpose of launching rockets and building tunnels. DIGGING IN Hamas leaders, meanwhile, claim their mili- tary wing, Izz Ad Din Al Qassam Brigades, is refreshed and primed for another battle with Israel. “East of Gaza City, they are digging through rock and building tunnels; and to the west, they are experimenting with rockets every day. The resistance continues on its path of liberation of the land,” Ismail Past wars aside, Hamas still is seeking to disrupt, if not destroy, Israel. Haniyeh, a senior political leader of Hamas, declared at the funeral for the seven excava- tors. The rant could be bluster to help main- tain Hamas’ edge against Salafist rivals. But Israel is in no position to take a chance. Two months after the 2014 Gaza-Israel war, Times of Israel reported, the IDF exposed a Hamas plan to use the tunnels for a massive coordi- nated attack inside Israel. As Jerusalem ponders how to respond to Hamas’ reinvigorated commitment to tun- neling, world Jewry must stay vigilant. As we await any hint of another go-round of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, which governs much of the West Bank, we can’t assume Hamas, an erstwhile P.A. coali- tion partner, is anything but beholden to terror. It’s clearly an organization the P.A. must shun if it wants support for Palestinian statehood from Israel, the United Nations and the West. * | Detroit Jewish News Chairman: Michael H. Steinhardt President/Publisher: Arthur M. Horwitz ahorwitz@renmedia.us Chief Operating Officer: F. Kevin Browett kbrowett@renmedia.us Controller: Craig R. 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