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Amendments
Will Strengthen
Community
Security

for openers

Bits And Pieces

H

of the lack of permanence
ave you ever seen
in life: Chipped glassware,
CHIPS? No, not the
dishes, windshields all
actual California
demand that we dispose of
Highway Patrol but the TV
and replace. Argh!
series. Yes, it was a long time
Don’t get a chip on your
ago and I do not know how
shoulder if someone chal-
successful the remake was.
lenges your choice of snack.
Well, that recollection got
There is plenty of room in
me to thinking, as almost any- Sy Manello
discussions (though not nec-
thing will do as you faithful
Editorial Assistant
essarily in waistlines) for the
readers are aware. Here are
potato chip, the corn chip
some uses of chips in our con-
and the chocolate chip. Put
versations.
some ice chips in your drink and you
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,
are ready to party. Do not forget the
and some diamond chips may con-
chip-dip idea either.
tribute to attractive jewelry. However,
You may choose to emulate TV
that may not be the stone of choice if
you are asked to chip in on such a gift. chefs and use fragrant wood chips
So many things in our lives are sub- when you cook outdoors; these also
ject to chips and that makes us aware
work well when smoking meats.

When you get some money to
invest, consider blue chip stocks; to
do this, however, you may need to be
in the chips. Also, you may consider
betting at a casino and hoping that
you will be able to cash in your chips,
literally, not figuratively, unless you
have made a sound will.
If you find that you must chip away
at something — be it an awkward
proposal or an adamant opponent
— always be prepared with a bargain-
ing chip. Being stubborn, you may be
a chip off the old block; but it won’t
advance your position.
Do not ever take a cheap shot or
make a chip shot unless you are play-
ing golf; it will not endear you to any-
one. Just let the chips fall where they
may. •

commentary

Israel’s Founding Values: Yesterday And Today

O

has been achieved against the odds
n May 14, 1948, David Ben-
and what more can be done, it is the
Gurion stood on a podium
document read on that historic May
at the Tel Aviv Museum
afternoon that continues to
and announced the estab-
resonate.
lishment of the State of
There will be a lot of talk
Israel with a booming
this week about the signifi-
recitation of a Declaration of
cance of this document, and
Independence.
rightfully so. A statement of
When Ben-Gurion made
historical and moral legiti-
this dramatic declaration,
macy, a mission statement
few would have guaranteed
and a call to action, 70 years
that this fledgling state,
later, Israel’s Declaration
surrounded by hostile
Jonathan A.
of Independence remains,
armies, would survive seven Greenblatt
above all, an inspiring for-
decades, much less develop
mulation of the foundational
and thrive into a mod-
values that both ground and
ern, diverse, dynamic and
guide this Jewish and demo-
innovative society built on
cratic state, living at peace with its
ancient soil.
neighbors.
At the same time, today, we can-
The Declaration lays out the right
not escape news headlines filled
and legitimacy of Jewish nationhood:
with events and issues — the Gaza
“This right is the natural right of the
clashes, tensions on the Syrian
Jewish people to be masters of their
border, the crisis regarding African
own fate, like all other nations, in
asylum seekers — that highlight the
their own sovereign State.”
challenges Israel continues to con-
It commits the new state to equal-
front: how to make a secure and last-
ity, freedom and justice, appealing in
ing peace with its neighbors; how to
particular to Arabs living in the new
balance the Jewish and democratic
state: “It will foster the development
characters of the state; how to live
of the country for the benefit of all
up to expectations that it be a “light
its inhabitants; it will be based on
onto the nations” while surviving
freedom, justice and peace as envis-
day-to-day amid raucous identity
aged by the prophets of Israel; it will
politics.
ensure complete equality of social
As Israel celebrates this milestone
and political rights to all its inhabit-
anniversary and we reflect on what

ants irrespective of religion, race or
sex;
“It will guarantee freedom of reli-
gion, conscience, language, educa-
tion and culture; it will safeguard the
Holy Places of all religions.
“We appeal — in the very midst
of the onslaught launched against
us now for months — to the Arab
inhabitants of the State of Israel to
preserve peace and participate in
the upbuilding of the State on the
basis of full and equal citizenship
and due representation in all its pro-
visional and permanent institutions.”
And in a call that is as urgent
today, with pressures on Israel’s
southern and northern borders,
there is the yearning for peace: “We
extend our hand to all neighboring
states and their peoples in an offer
of peace and good neighborliness,
and appeal to them to establish
bonds of cooperation and mutual
help with the sovereign Jewish
people settled in their own land.
The State of Israel is prepared to do
its share in a common effort for the
advancement of the entire Middle
East.”
Hurriedly finalized just before
the start of the 4 o’clock ceremony
in Tel Aviv, the drafters of Israel’s
Declaration are said to have
based it on the U.S. Declaration of
Independence and Constitution.

U.S. Sen. Gary
Peters, D-Mich.,
cosponsored two
amendments
with Sen. Rob
Portman, R-Ohio,
to legislation that
passed the Senate
Peters
Homeland Security
Committee recent-
ly reauthorizing the
Department of Homeland Security.
Both amendments were strongly
supported by the Jewish Federation
of North America.
One amendment extends the
Nonprofit Security Grant Program
geographically so that nonprofits
outside specifically designated
urban areas still at risk of a vio-
lent attack can apply for funding
to enhance security. The program
supports physical security enhance-
ments and other prevention,
response and recovery efforts. This
builds on Peters’ efforts calling for
increased funding for the program
last year in the midst of threats
against Jewish centers and schools.
The second amendment encour-
ages collaboration on stronger secu-
rity by including nonprofit represen-
tation in the Joint Counterterrorism
Awareness Workshop Series
(JCTAWS). The workshop series —
which is primarily in larger urban
areas — addresses emerging ter-
rorist threats and best practices
for local jurisdictions to protect
against terrorist attacks. It currently
brings together law enforcement,
first responders and public health
officials to test readiness plans on
how to improve response plans to
attacks.
“Since Sept. 11, nonprofits, gener-
ally, and Jewish communal institu-
tions, specifically, have been the
victim of an alarming number of
threats and attacks,” said William
Daroff, senior vice president for
public policy and director of the
Washington Office of the Jewish
Federations of North America. “The
Portman-Peters amendments will
reinforce critical engagement of law
enforcement, homeland security and
community organizations working
together on the safety and security
of at-risk communal institutions
and provide for greater access to
resources to the nonprofit sector
that help supplement the work of
local and federal law enforcement to
keep our communities safe.” •

continued on page 8

jn

April 26 • 2018

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