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Ask Attorney
Ken Gross
about…
for openers
Where Did You Come From?
C
lothing made of deer
here before anyone else and who
hide. Eagle feathers in
were then gathered up and con-
his hair.
fined.
Watching boats hop through
No wonder we might fear
rolling surf. Watching the boats’
immigrants. Could they be just
bows strike sand. Watching
like us?
arriving humans stepping from
But think about what we
boats, weapons in hand, planting
might have missed without
flags in the turf, shouting claims Norman Prady immigrants.
of ownership to this or that king
If Isaac Stern’s parents had
or queen.
not moved with their young son
He watched immigrants step
from Ukraine to San Francisco,
onto his land. He was one of “the People.”
Americans might never have heard his
Anthropologists tell us that’s what they
violin. Legendary Carnegie Hall might
called themselves. “The People.” Before
have been demolished for construction of
the immigrants started calling them other an office building if he hadn’t been here to
names.
lead the fight to save it.
First, Columbus, driven by determina-
We might never have heard Tel Aviv-
tion, misled by wayward navigation and
born Itzhak Perlman’s violin nor seen him
believing he’d sailed around the world
conduct the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
to the Far Eastern lands, called them
if he hadn’t moved to the U.S. from British
Indians.
Palestine to study his instrument.
Now, with arrogance and the mindless-
If Max Frankel hadn’t come to America
ness of political correctness, we call them
from Germany in 1940 to attend
Native Americans even though America
Columbia University and work part-
didn’t exist when they were native to this
time at the New York Times, we might
soil.
never have read his coverage of the 1956
One of the People was quoted by Dee
Hungarian Revolution nor watched his
Brown in his book Bury My Heart at
rise to the executive editorship of his
Wounded Knee as saying, “The white man newspaper.
made many promises to us. He only kept
We might never have heard Russian-
one. He promised to take our land and he born Al Jolson sing “Mein Yiddishe
took it.”
Momme.”
An area in South Dakota is known as
We might never have heard what
the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre,
many consider the most popular holiday
supposedly the last confrontation between songs ever, all written by Russian Jews.
the U.S. Army and “the People” who were “White Christmas” and “Easter Parade” by
Irving Berlin and “The Christmas Song”
(“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire …”)
by Mel Torme.
We might never have heard second-
generation Jews such as Artie Shaw
and Benny Goodman blend traditional
European music with the excitement of
American jazz.
If Italian-born Frank Capra hadn’t been
brought to live in Los Angeles at age 5, we
might never have seen movies he grew
up to direct, including 1930’s It Happened
One Night, 1934’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,
1936’s You Can’t Take It with You and
1947’s It’s a Wonderful Life.
If the Jewish family Gershowitz had
not moved here from Ukraine, we might
never had heard George Gershwin’s music.
If not for immigrants, we never could
have claimed Einstein’s revolutionary
theories of physics as the work of an
American.
We might never have stood in the entry
hall of the Detroit Institute of Arts and
marveled at Detroit Industry, the fresco
conceived and executed by Mexican
muralist Diego Rivera, depicting the city’s
manufacturing base and labor force of the
1930s.
And how many of us might now be liv-
ing in some other country if our parents
or grandparents or great-grandparents
had not been immigrants?
*
Norman Prady, 82, is a journalist and author living
in Berkley.
letters
How UM-Dearborn
Defeated BDS Vote
Thank you for your coverage of the
University of Michigan-Dearborn
(UM-D) defeat of two Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions resolutions
by the Faculty Congress (“BDS Vote,”
April 14, page 24).
On behalf of Hillel of Metro Detroit
(HMD), it’s important to note that
such overwhelming success comes
from developing great partnerships;
and we are very grateful to have such
partnerships. We are proud of the
work conducted by HMD Executive
Director Miriam Starkman, who
understands the importance of devel-
oping and nurturing critical relation-
ships fostered on trust, open dialogue
and facts.
Credit goes to Chancellor Dan Little
and his senior leadership, Professor
Jamie Wright and several UM-D stu-
dents who unhesitatingly spoke out
against these proposals.
Locally, David Kurzmann from
the Jewish Community Relations
Council and Heidi Budaj from the
Anti-Defamation Leaague were
tremendous, providing behind-the-
scenes support while recognizing it’s
important for campus situations to be
addressed by members of the campus
community. Furthermore, Professor
Kenneth Waltzer of Academic
Engagement Network gave us talking
points that were instrumental in the
discussion.
While BDS issues are not how Hillel
of Metro Detroit likes to spend its
time and energy, this outcome was a
best-case scenario for when it arises.
The relationships we have established
allowed us to develop and implement
a successful strategy, even with the
limited time frame we were given. We
should all be proud our community is
positioned for such achievements.
— Sidney Katz, president
Board of Governors
Hillel of Metro Detroit
Palestinian Watchdog
Dispels Anti-Israel Lies
StandWithUs-Michigan is proud to
have brought Bassem Eid to our com-
munity and equally proud that Greater
Detroit Hadassah partnered to host
his recent presentation (“Palestinian
Watchdog,” April 14, page 10).
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continued on page 6
April 28 • 2016
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