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Reaction To “New
Book Highlights
Anti-Semitism”

It was with great interest that I read Mr.
Falbaum’s article “New Book Highlights
Anti-Semitism” (April 12, page 8). I was
raised during the 1940s on Roselawn
just north of Fenkell. We were the only
Jewish family on the block and all but
a few of the kids attended St. Gregory
Parochial School, where the priests
preached that Jews killed Jesus. Anti-
Semitic taunts got me into frequent
fights for which I wound up in the prin-
cipal’s office at Fitzgerald Elementary,
so I have strong feelings about anti-
Semitism. The article was dead on in all
its assertions and conclusions.
I recently attended an ORT meeting
featuring speaker Heidi Budaj, then
executive director of ADL Michigan
Region, and I brought up the very fact
that the author, Jonathan Weisman,
pointed out: There is no spokesperson
loudly countering the Farrakhan and
alt-right groups that are growing in the
United States. After pressing the issue,
Budaj finally admitted that fact. When
asked about ADL’s position regarding
Trump’s anti-Semitic examples brought
out at the meeting, she declared it “a
delicate issue.”
Where is the anger today about the
chairperson of the Women’s March,
Tamika Mallory, who is a strong vocal
supporter of Farrakhan, or Sen. Danny
Davis, D-Ill., who says that Farrakhan is a
great man?
We need outspoken leaders who will
counter the hate that is growing in our
country. The ADL is not doing its job. We
hear about their “programs” (per Budaj)
and I see nothing but growing hate.
What is being done is NOT working.

Eldon Feldman
Farmington Hills

Mr. Falbaum goes out of his way in
mentioning all the faults of the Jewish
right. What he fails to describe is the
anti-Semitism of the left. Let me enlight-
en him: First, there is Barack Obama
and his treatment of Netanyahu when
visiting the White House on March 10,
2009. According to Jackson Diehl of the
Washington Post: “Netanyahu is being
treated as if he were an unsavory Third
World dictator, needed for strategic
reasons but conspicuously held at arms’
length.” He goes on to say, “He then left
Prime Minister Netanyahu to have din-
ner at the White House with his family,
conveying he would only be available
to meet again if Netanyahu had further
information — read concessions — to
impart.” Nobody had ever been treated
that way in the White House.
Then there was the anti-Semitic Rev.
Wright, Obama’s pastor for more than
20 years, or the secret Obama-Farrakhan

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April 26 • 2018

jn

photo taken prior to his presidential
bid. This picture “disappeared” during
his run for the presidential office.
There is also Keith Ellison, D-Minn.,
another anti-Semite. Haim Saban,
a wealthy Democratic donor who gave
millions to Hillary Clinton’s presidential
campaign, described Mr. Ellison: “If you
go back to his positions, his speeches,
the way he has voted, he is clearly an
anti-Semite and anti-Israel individual.”
I could go on and on, but you get the
picture. Anti-Semitism, unfortunately, is
shared by both the right and left.

Dr. Edward Goldberg
West Bloomfield

If you think that President Donald
Trump is “anti-Semitic,” perhaps you
should examine the wild charges of
Berl Falbaum, who supported the
Democratic presidential nominee,
Hillary Clinton. Seems that everyone
who voted for Hillary was either enrap-
tured by her personal magnetism, her
unbridled optimism in dealing with
military dictators and her contempt for
anyone who ignored her self-righteous
stance. But with her constant harping,
Hillary left many people wondering how
she was going to survive when her self-
righteous stance met the real dictators
and world conquerors.
“Trump’s Impact On Anti-Semitism”
reads like a Democratic Party screed.
For example, Trump’s “America First”
slogan, while it may be dated, today
means something quite different. Do
you really expect that history will stop
people from using the slogan some 90
years later? Certainly, it means “Today,
America can be first again,” not yester-
day.
And besides, Father Coughlin is dead;
his followers are gone and who’s going
to remind today’s Jews of their history?
Better remind them in the history books
or in the prayer books that you should
read each week.
And there are others. For example:
• The appointment of Stephen
Bannon, former chairman of Breitbart
News, whose audiences seem to be
anti-Semites — but anyone can come
to hear what he has to say. And there is
no secret in advertising a candidate but
yes, there is a “poison” if anti-Semitism
is positively raised in the race for presi-
dent in the two major parties.
• The appointment of Sebastian Gorka
with his supposed ties to anti-Semitic
organizations in Hungary. But what
amount of political space and political
noise do these supposed-parties have
when there is an election?
• The anti-Semitic caricatures of Mrs.
Hillary Clinton on $100 bills should
bring laughter to anyone who sees
them. In fact, I wish I had samples.
• The usage of “global special inter-
ests,” code words used by anti-Semites,
and referring to “Jews taking control of

the financial world.” Shades of the last
century! Maybe Israel [or what’s left of
it] silently controls the “printing press-
es” of the world!
Indeed, if you want to find “real Jews,”
look up George Soros, a billionaire and
person who was Jewish but no more and
is on the far-left side of the Democratic
Party. In fact, Mrs. Clinton certainly
knows of him as he works to organize
the black-power movements and the
“workers’ parties.” Now that’s left wing.

Michael Drissman
Farmington Hills

Bringing Jews
Into The Fold

This is in response to Lee Bender’s
piece published April 12, page 6, titled:
“Let’s Bring Progressive Jews Back
Into The Fold.” Bender outlines many
of the points of contention within the
American Jewish community that swirl
around in our communal discussions
regarding American Jewish support for
Israel, but he does not really address
how he sees the path for bringing those
identified by him as Progressive Jews
“back into the fold.” I don’t even think
I agree with him regarding his premise
that we must convince “these young
progressives” that “Israel’s values are
theirs” is a good action plan.
Instead, I would urge that leaders
within the Jewish community be more
inclusive and welcoming to these so-
called young progressives and have
them help script communal responses
within settings that serve both Israel
and our communities. We need to listen
and even walk with them when they are
marching. We need to include them in
our organizational conversations, and
we need to teach them how they can
respond when confronting uncomfort-
able moments and not compromise the
values that they hold dear.
We have to remind them and our-
selves that just like the United States is
an imperfect democracy, so is Israel. We
love our country, and we love Israel. And
it doesn’t mean that individuals must
remain silent when there is corruption,
racism, injustice and inequality. It’s just
finding the right time, place and voice
to advocate for change. We need to offer
context and dialogue and firsthand
experiences.
There are many facets to Judaism
today. Israel is very important but what
brings us together in my opinion should
be a sense of Klal Yisrael, peoplehood
— with all our history, quirks, disagree-
ments, faith, traditions and communal
strengths and weaknesses. As far as I
am concerned, the progressive and the
not so progressive, the young and the
seasoned are already in the “fold.” We
just need to embrace them all.

Sharona Shapiro
West Bloomfield

Grateful For Program

Yesterday afternoon my wife and I
attended the graduation ceremony
for the completion of the eight-week
Dale Carnegie Program for Teens. We
were there to see our grandson, Pierce
Fox, receive his diploma. This program
was made possible by the William
Davidson Foundation in cooperation
with the Frankel Jewish Academy.
My wife and I would like to express
our sincere appreciation to the entire
Dale Carnegie Team and the William
Davidson Foundation for making this
exceptional life-changing course pos-
sible. Our grandson and many other
teens have received the benefit of this
world-class leadership development
curriculum.
While reading the Jewish News a
few months ago, I noticed an article
regarding the Dale Carnegie Program
for teens. I am so thankful that I
informed my son and daughter-in-
law of the opportunity for their son
to apply for the program. Fortunately,
our grandson applied and was accept-
ed into the program. We hope this
program will be offered to even more
teens in the future.

Ellie and Don Reimer
West Bloomfield

Yiddish Limerick

ISRAEL@70

Yisroel, ir zeit zibitzik yor
Ober looks like fifty-four.
Ir zeit shayn un shtark un lend your
hand tzu yeder mensch in
yeder land.
Tzu hunderd tzvantzik and so much
more.

Ir zeit: you are
Zibitzik yor: 70 years
Ober: but
Shayn un shtark: beautiful and
strong
Tzu yede mensch: to every person
Tzu hunderd tzvantzik: to 120

By Rachel Kapen

