viewpoints » S end letters to: letters@thejewishnews.com DETROIT JEWISH NEWS commentary theJEWISHNEWS.com J Street Goes Too Far Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher / Executive Editor ahorwitz@renmedia.us S o where did J Street get leaders and the kind of policies they the money to help finance want to support. its support of the U.S.- It is not up to J Streeters, living Iran nuclear deal? safely in the U.S. some 6,000 miles Part of the answer has been away, to take it upon themselves, to provided not by J Street, but by decide what is “good for Israel.” media reports that discovered That kind of posture is morally the so-called “pro-Israel” political reprehensible and displays unmiti- Berl Falbaum organization received more than gated arrogance not to mention a bit $500,000 from the Ploughshares of hypocrisy. Fund, described in news stories as an “echo Let us suggest that J Streeters try the fol- chamber” for the Obama administration. lowing: Let them attempt to interfere in The Associated Press reported that J policies being considered by a city adjacent Street, one of several organizations to receive to where they live. Let them try to interfere money from Ploughshares, was given with any action whether it is installing a stop $576,500, money that surely helped J Street sign or a street light. finance its aggressive campaign in support of They can be assured they will be told that the Iran deal, a deal strongly opposed by the if they want a voice in that city, they should Israeli government. become a resident. They have no right to After the media reported the payment, J dictate policies to a city in which they do not Street said on its website that it was “proud” have a stake. to partner with Ploughshares on this issue Or consider the following: A political and that it planned to “continue changing organization in Israel mobilizes to influence the U.S. political landscape in support of pro- U.S. decision-makers in support of Donald Israel, pro-peace policies.” Trump’s efforts to build his famous wall to OK, so what is wrong with that? The keep “rapists” and criminals out? How would answer: plenty. No, it is not illegal or cor- J Streeters react? How would Americans rupt. While politically tainted by politics, react to any group in a foreign country work- there is nothing nefarious about the money ing to undermine U.S. policies? Ploughshares shelled out to J Street. If J Street wants a voice in the foreign What is wrong goes to the heart of J relations and policies of Israel, the organiza- Street’s very existence. While J Street has a tion should move to Israel. Then, J Street right to express its opposition to Israeli poli- officers and members, onc e residents, can cy, it has no right whatsoever to actively work get involved in the country’s political process. to undermine Israel’s foreign policy. Given that kind of commitment, it would, at Israel is a democracy, indeed the only one least, engender respect for its opinions and in the Middle East. It is not ruled by a dicta- political actions. tor. Israelis regularly vote to decide on their It is the blood of Israelis — their children and grandchildren — which is at stake. It is Israel that faces an existential threat. J Street faces no such threat and has nothing to lose. Moreover, what if J Street wins? What if it manages to help dramatically change U.S. policy toward Israel — that is its stated goal — and that change proves to be wrong? What if J Street’s proposals become policy and threaten Israel’s very existence? While the arrogance of J Street probably would not let it admit that it can be mistaken, the risks nevertheless exist. What then? It would be interesting to hear J Street’s answer. One final point and question: Why does J Street never miss an opportunity to demon- ize and degrade Israel in pursuit of its politi- cal objectives? In that sense, it is no different than Israel’s enemies who use the same arguments against Israel as those articulated by J Street. To emphasize: J Street can criticize Israel all it wants. It can shout from the rooftops, if it wants, but it has no right whatsoever — to be clear, none — to interfere with policies Israelis believe will keep them and their country safe from enemies at literally every border crossing. It is sad and repugnant to watch this self- appointed and self-righteous organization devoted to “protecting” Israel from its safe haven in the U.S. The good news is that J Street portrays itself as “pro-Israel.” Think what it might do if it were “anti-Israel.” * A veteran West Bloomfield journalist and author of eight books, Berl Falbaum, was an adjunct journalism faculty member at Wayne State University for 45 years. letters Congregant Disputes Chabad’s Viewpoint In response to the article “Torah Center Wins — After 4 years” (June 2, page 14), I believe the lawyer for Chabad of Michigan mischar- acterized the events that occurred. 1. Chabad of Michigan sued Rabbi Silberberg only, for the deed of the build- ing, in bet din. The bet din ruled that Rabbi Silberberg had to try and convince the board (the actual owners of the building) to turn over the deed. The problem was that Rabbi Silberberg never owned the building. It’s similar to someone suing you for the deed to your neighbor’s house. The board scheduled and had a meet- ing with Rabbi Silberberg and even invited Rabbi Shemtov, whom declined to show up. Rabbi Silberberg made the arguments to turn over the deed to Chabad of Michigan and the board said emphatically no. Rabbi Silberberg thus complied with the bet din ruling. It should have ended there. The deed to the building was never Rabbi Silberberg’s to give. Why would the 6 June 16 • 2016 board, who bought the building with its own money, turn over the deed to Rabbi Shemtov? That Chabad of Michigan didn’t sue the board in bet din as was noted in the lower court ruling. 2. The suit was past the statute of limita- tions. This is important, too. If you bought a building with your own money and spent 20 years or so making improvements, it would be unfair for someone to later come and take the building from you, after you already have used your own money to make improve- ments. 3. That the Chabad of Michigan lawyer attempted to get the moral high ground in the article is simply wrong. The rabbi officiated at our father’s memo- rial service in 1992 and again at our mother’s service in 1999. Although we were not mem- bers of his congregation, he treated us with great kindness and respect and said exactly the right things at their services. He indeed made us feel like we were the “only people in the room” when we met with him to plan the services. We wish Rabbi Sleutelberg the best in Traverse City, and we’re sure the folks at Congregation Beth Shalom will be very pleased to have him there! Ilan Aldouby member of Bais Chabad Torah Center West Bloomfield Letters to the Editor: We prefer letters that relate to articles in the Jewish News. We reserve the right to edit or reject letters. Brevity is encouraged. Letters published will include the name and city of residence of the writer. Letters submitted must contain the name, address, title of the writer (if applicable) and a daytime phone number. We prefer emailed letters. Please email to letters@thejewishnews.com. (Letters sent by U.S. Postal Service must be hand-signed and mailed to the Jewish News, 29200 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034.) Good Wishes Given To Rabbi Sleutelberg We read that Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg will be leaving Congregation Shir Tikvah and relocating to Traverse City (“Legacy Of Relationships,” May 26, page 10). Peter and Tom Wolf Lake Orion F. 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