6 January 10 • 2019 jn N ow remember, Dad, ” my son warned me, “you’ re going to be walking into quite a Christmas scene. You need to be prepared. ” “I know. It’ s totally cool with me, ” I said unconvincingly. My son was picking my wife and me up at the airport where we’ d be going to his house in Washington, D.C., and spending Christmas with his wife and newborn baby along with other members of her family. My son knows me well, so he was working overtime to get me in a good frame of mind. “But don’ t forget, Dad; it’ s not a religious thing for me and I promise we’ re raising our daughter Jewish. ” “I’ m fine. I’ m fine, ” I try to assure him and myself. The house was indeed decked out in full holiday decor. My daughter-in-law, half-Jewish, loves Christmas and had insisted on having a Christmas tree as part of a pre-marital deal with my son (she gets a tree and they raise the kids Jewish — a superb deal in my book). The decorations — the tree, lights, poinsettias, stockings — were very festive, the food was delicious and the Christmas music was … well, there was a lot of it. It was a truly beautiful Christmas celebration, and everyone was very kind, warm and welcoming to us. I tried my best to seamlessly fit right in. But I had to admit that the sight of this misfit Jew at a Christmas party is a source of humor, awkwardness and confusion. There are the lovely moments of pure fun and enjoyment when you feel like everyone else, but then there are those times when you feel obsessively aware of your Jewishness, a bit like when Woody Allen visited Grammy Hall’ s home for Christmas dinner in Annie Hall (“Great ham, Grammy!”). Unfortunately, things did not initially go well for me. In no time, I clumsily knocked into a porcelain Christmas house that was neatly placed upon the mantel, shattering it and leaving me embarrassed and apologetic. Shortly after, I somehow kicked over the shrimp platter with the cocktail sauce, which resulted in people scrambling to quickly clean the sauce off the couch and rug. At that moment I realized I needed a stiff drink, so I went to the kitchen, poured myself a vodka and started to cut up a lime, whereupon I almost sliced off my thumb and started bleeding all over the cutting board. It was not my finest moment, and while my antics had nothing to do with my religion, I was keenly aware that I — the Jewish guest — was probably not making the greatest impression. Things were not going well for me. Maybe I was just a bit out of sorts. A little later in the evening, things had markedly improved. I was sitting around, happily taking in the festive essay The Jewish News aspires to communicate news and opinion that’ s useful, engaging, enjoyable and unique. It strives to refl ect the full range of diverse viewpoints while also advocating positions that strengthen Jewish unity and continuity. 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OUR JN MISSION 1942 - 2019 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week jn regardless of your feelings toward our current president, we all must realize that Netanyahu has to work with President Trump, given the amount of aid Israel needs to continue receiving from the United States. To take out one’ s hatred felt toward any president on Israel is simply shortsighted, in my opinion. Of course, I am fully aware of the division caused by Trump, but please let’ s not allow feelings toward any president to dictate where we ask Federation to give dollars. In the last survey I filled out, I selected Israel as a top priority. If Federation is now changing its tune, then maybe I need to give only to organizations that truly support Israel. Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed with the drop in support Federation is giving Israel. Alter said it best: “Do we take Israel for granted?” If so, heaven help us. Let’ s make this a bipartisan issue and let’ s all continue to support Israel. Linda Cohen Franklin views Mark Jacobs continued from page 5 continued on page 8 Correction Michael Schulman, who wrote the letter “You Can’ t Have it Both Ways” (Dec. 20, 2018, page 8), lives in Trenton, Mich., not Bloomfield Hills. Shalom, Christmas! Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher / Executive Editor ahorwitz@renmedia.us F. Kevin Browett Chief Operating Officer kbrowett@renmedia.us | Editorial Managing Editor: Jackie Headapohl jheadapohl@renmedia.us Story Development Editor: Keri Guten Cohen kcohen@renmedia.us Social Media Coordinator: Chelsie Dzbanski cdzbanski@renmedia.us Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@renmedia.us Senior Columnist: Danny Raskin dannyraskin2132@gmail.com Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar rsklar@renmedia.us Senior Arts Consultant: Gail Zimmerman gzimmerman@renmedia.us Contributing Writers: Ruthan Brodsky, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Don Cohen, Shari S. 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