views letters Resources For Gap Year Why Do They Hate You? Thank you for shining a light on the increasing trend of taking a gap year in your article “The Great Gap” (Aug. 24, page 28). The gap year is crucial for many students to learn more about themselves before heading to college and is also a watershed moment for many teens on their Jewish journey. The cost of these gap year programs can often be financially prohibitive for students and their families. With some programs costing more than $25,000, it is important to recognize our commu- nity resources. Here at the Federation we offer two types of grants for students seeking to take a gap year or study in Israel during — or even after — college. Through the Get There! Program, teens and young adults can apply for the Ben Teitel Israel & Overseas Teen Travel Fund incentive grant of up to $1,500 for accredited pro- grams regardless of financial need. The Samuel & Jean Frankel Jewish Heritage Fund need-based grant is for families in our community who need assistance financially. Applications require a full financial history and relevant tax docu- ments, with scholarships awarded up to $5,000. No one in this community should be discouraged from thinking about the incredible experience of a year in Israel, finding themselves and uncovering their Jewish identity. For more information on the Get There! Program, contact me at allen@jfmd.org or (248) 203-1467 or apply online at www.jewishdetroit.org/ getthere. I was struck by the frail, elderly Roman Catholic woman who asked Alan Zimmerman, “Why do they hate you?” in his outstanding essay, “In Charlottesville, The Local Jewish Community Presses On” (Aug. 24, page 6). This is a question that has great rel- evance today. Transgenders and Hispanics must be wondering this after the president just banned transgender recruits and pardoned former sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had been convicted of criminal contempt in a racial profiling case. They may look at their TV and ask, “Why does he hate us so much?” The president may not be a racist or anti-Semite, but his appeal to white supremacists, anti-Semites and anti- immigration proponents is powerful. They like him, so, therefore, he gives them respect. Whether intended or not, he enables a frightening cloak of hatred in America. We hope for examples of moral lead- ership from our presidents, but Donald Trump has turned his thumbs down to the great American belief in all people created equal and “liberty and justice for all.” Jacob Allen Associate, Israel & Overseas Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit Who Marches Under Communist Flag? While it is frightening to see Nazis marching in the streets of the United States, we should not make the mis- take of thinking that everyone who opposes them are peaceful demonstra- tors. Antifa is not. It is an admitted anarchist, Marxist, anti-capitalist group that marches under the Communist flag. Jews have never fared well under any Communist regime. They seek to deprive us of our most precious rights, including free speech and assembly. They march with their faces covered like Hamas and Isis. They have destroyed property in every place they have marched, including Washington, D.C., New York, Berkeley, Portland, Phoenix and Seattle. Antifa should be called out as the violent, repressive group that it is. They are not our friends. Dana Letvin West Bloomfield 8 September 7 • 2017 jn Arnie Goldman Farmington Hills Failure To Condemn Trump I am offended by the failure of Trump- supporting members of the Jewish com- munity to condemn him after events of the last couple weeks. Along with the multitude of other reasons why Donald Trump is unfit to hold public office, any Jew should be ashamed to have voted for him because before his election he didn’t repudiate neo-Nazis and other anti-Semites. Since his election, he continued that practice, such as inviting Ted Nugent to join him for a visit to the White House and bringing Steve Bannon on board (now gone) as a senior adviser. Now Mr. Trump has praised those who marched with neo-Nazis and white supremacists as “very fine people” and analogized those opposed to hatred, bigotry and violence to those who promote it. He jeers at journalists who oppose him and calls them the “lying press,” or as they were called in Nazi Germany and currently by some Trump support- ers, the Lügenpresse. While wringing their hands about conduct by our presi- dent befitting pre-Nazi Germany, how do Jewish apologists for Donald Trump justify continuing to support him? Jeffrey M. Lesser Farmington Hills Who’s Holding Hands With Who? I was very disturbed by the story “Twitter Hack: Jewish Republican Senate candidate portrayed as David Duke supporter” (Aug. 31, page 20). The column gave most of its space to the unsubstantiated allegations and innu- endos by Michigan Democratic Chair Brandon Dillon that Epstein, in spite of her denials and claims of hacking, “liked” the statements by Klu Klux Klan leader David Duke. By making those statements to the DJN, it appears that Dillon was attempting to paint Lena Epstein and Trump supporters as racist and anti-Semitic. What the story failed to point out is that Brandon Dillon has, himself, unabashedly embraced a supporter of racism and anti-Semitism — Keith Ellison. According to the Detroit News, Dillon endorsed Keith Ellison for Democrat Party Chair. Ellison was a supporter of anti-Semite and racist Louis Farrakhan, who called Judaism a gutter religion and called whites “devils.” Ellison infa- mously stated that American foreign policy is “governed” by Israeli interests. Ellison also voted against a biparti- san House Resolution condemning President Obama’s approval of the UN’s 2017 anti-Israel resolution. Apparently, Michigan Democrat Party Chair Dillon held no concerns about Ellison’s associ- ation with Farrakhan nor his statements about Israel. Attempting to cast doubt on Epstein’s claims that her Twitter account was hacked, Dillon was quoted as saying, “Her claims of hacking would be more believable if she weren’t holding hands with people like Ted Nugent and Donald Trump.” Dillon’s accusatory insinuations might be more worthy of consideration if he “weren’t holding hands with people” like Keith Ellison. Irving Ginsberg Farmington Hills Yiddish Limerick END OF SUMMER Di zummer ge’endict, di kinder in school no camping, no picnics, no swim in the pool. Oy, ich can nisht glaybn but dos is undzer laybn, we can gornisht ton, this is the rule. Di zummer ge’endict- the summer ended di kinder- the kids Ich can nisht glaybn- I cannot believe Dos is- this is Undzer laybn- our life Gornisht- nothing ton- do.