views
guest column
continued from page 6
particularly young Americans, are
interested in government and civic
life. This correlates to a decline in
religious affiliation and a decline in
marriage and birth rates.
A Jewish day school prepares our
children for a future that matters
beyond themselves. A school such
as Hillel provides students with the
tools they need to succeed in the
larger world and also the desire to
participate in community in a way
that brings meaning to their own
lives, as well as to help and serve
others. This is how a society not
only survives, but flourishes.
We should not underestimate
the power of a school like Hillel to
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transform the lives of our children
in priceless ways. Decades of data
provide assurances that the leap of
faith parents take today to enroll
their children here will have a posi-
tive impact on our children and the
community when they are adults.
We need voices to reach out to
the families of the other 52 percent.
Share the bigger reasons why day
school matters. We can make a big
difference and do our part to safe-
guard a strong future for our chil-
dren and the Jewish people. ■
Steve Freedman is head of school of Hillel
Day School of Metropolitan Detroit.
letters
U-M Professor’s
Discriminatory A ctions
The international notoriety of the
Cheney-Lippold BDS affair (“Israel
Bias,” Sept. 27, page 18) at the
University of Michigan has not gone
unnoticed by those of us in Israel
with Michigan roots, connections
and family.
The university’s College of
Literature, Science, and the Arts, in
which Prof. John Cheney-Lippold
teaches, is explicitly “committed to a
campus environment where all stu-
dents, faculty and staff feel welcomed
and valued, and where all are able to
take full advantage of the resources
and opportunities that make LSA the
premier public liberal arts institution
in the nation.”
In reneging upon his agreement to
write a letter of recommendation for
a student because (and only because)
the student was pursuing acceptance
at an Israeli academic institution,
Prof. Cheney-Lippold falsely claimed
that writing a recommendation letter
for the student would be contrary to
his department’s academic boycott of
Israel policy, when, in fact, the stated
policy of the university at large was
specifically to not engage in academ-
ic boycotts.
One metric by which university
faculty are evaluated is service to the
university. Falsely misrepresenting
the university’s explicit policy and
bringing international opprobrium
to the university is the antithesis of
service to the university (never mind
that such actions may run contrary
to state and federal anti-discrimina-
tion laws).
The University of Michigan’s
apparent tolerance of such discrimi-
natory actions by its faculty members
can advance neither the university’s
mission nor the prospects for success
of its current, former and future stu-
dents.
— Kenneth Ryesky
Petach Tikva, Israel
The Jewish News welcomes letters to the editor, preferably
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300 words or less can be sent to letters@renmedia.us and
must include the sender’s name and city of resi dence.