8 January 17 • 2019
jn

views

Trump and Anti-Semitism
Like Eugene Greenstein, I am uncon-
vinced that President Trump is an 
anti-Semite (Jan. 3, page 6). Unlike him, 
I question what good that does us given 
his mind-boggling reluctance to repu-
diate David Duke’
s endorsement, his 
silence in the face of Richard Spencer’
s 
“Hail, Trump” and his assertion that 
“very fine people” describes marchers 
chanting “Jews will not replace us.
”
 Trump may not be an anti-Semite 
himself, but ask professed anti-Semites 
and they’
ll likely tell you he’
s the best 
friend they’
ve ever had in the White 
House.

Elliott Shevin

Oak Park

Problem ‘
Lies on the Left’
 
Howard Lupovitch deserves credit for 
his willingness to hear what others have 
to say and for his breadth of knowledge 
(“Conservative Fear vs Caution,
” Jan. 
3, page 8). To cut the pundits a little 
slack, I suspect that 95 percent of the 
public, conservative and liberal, does not 
know who Edmund Burke was or when 
Bastille Day is (other than my grandson’
s 
birthday). 
 But I am concerned that by focusing 
on conservatives he inadvertently 
reinforces the too-common stereotype 
among Jews that conservatism is 
synonymous with anti-Semitism. The 
right may have a handful of neo-Nazis 
and the isolated insane, but they are 
nowhere near the levers of power. 
The left is another matter. An increas-
ing number of Democrats in Congress 
— with real power — openly associate 
with Rev. Louis Farrakhan and his nox-
ious anti-Semitism. Major universities 
are the scenes of repeated efforts to block 
any speaker supporting Israel; likewise, 
Jewish academics are discriminated 
against. Or look at the dramatic rise 
of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and 
Sanctions) movement, denying Israel’
s 
legitimacy. They are well past anti-Zi-
onist to anti-Semitism. The venerable 
Democratic party is not headed in a 
good direction for the Jews. 
This problem lies on the left, not the 
right. 

Roger H. Leemis

Southfield

Making Mitzvah Memories
This year I had the privilege of being site 

captain on Mitzvah Day at the Salvation 
Army Harbor Light Kitchen in Detroit. 
Under the watchful eye of Mike Block, 
food service administrator, I and all 
12 awesome volunteers cooked chicken, 
stuffing, green beans and hot dogs — not 
to mention made hundreds of sandwich-
es and packed trucks that would distrib-
ute them on Christmas Day. 
Having been a site captain at 
many different sites for eight years on 
Mitzvah Day, it is truly one of the most 
heartwarming experiences of the year. I 
want to thank Micki Grossman for being 
our outstanding leader. This is how to 
make memories.

Valeri Sirlin

West Bloomfield

Is Trump Good for Israel?
I agree with Eugene Greenstein that 
“Trump is No Anti-Semite” (Jan. 3, page 
6.) I also believe that Trump, David 
Friedman and especially Nikki Haley 
have said and done more positive things 
for Israel than Obama said and did in his 
eight previous years, including Trump’
s 
pushback against Iran and his decision 
to pull out of the Iran deal. 
However, I agree with Howard 
Lupovitch’
s view of the connection 
(“Conservative Fear vs Caution,
” Jan 
3, page 8) between President Trump’
s 
“anti-immigrant, xenophobic rhetoric” 
and the anti-Semitism unleashed at 
the Tree of Life synagogue. Greenstein 
is right that President Trump, in large 
part because of his part-Jewish family, 
is not anti-Semitic. But Greenstein (and 
so many other Trump supporters) only 
criticizes Trump’
s “phraseology.
” What 
Trump is besides a poor communicator 
is extremely narcissistic, constantly criti-
cal of others, an autocrat lover, immune 
to advice, a prevaricator, unbelievably 
defensive, a purveyor of chaos and a 
know-it-all who “knows more about the 
military than generals.
” 
This all finally snowballed into 
Trump’
s isolationist decision to pull 
out of Syria, pushing out Secretary of 
Defense Jim Mattis and giving free reign 
to Erdogan’
s Turkey, Russia’
s Putin and 
their terrorist allies, Syria and Iran. 
Now, trade wars and tariffs are a way 
of life, the Kurds are left to fend for 
themselves, and Israel is alone again 
in the Middle East. This led conserva-
tive columnist Bret Stephens, who was 
extremely critical of Obama’
s relation-
ships with Israel and Iran, to conclude 

in his NY Times essay (“Donald Trump 
is Bad for Israel,
” Dec. 26, 2018) that 
“Trump has stood all of this on its head,
” 
that the “long-term threat to Israel is the 
resurgence of isolationism in the U.S. 
and a return to the geopolitics of every 
nation for itself.
” 
Trump and his administrative team 
began 2017 as a breath of fresh air for 
Israel and the region. Two years later is 
a different story: a frightening time for 
both Israel and the United States.
Is Trump good or bad for Israel? I 
hope that the next two years prove what 
Greenstein says, that Trump’
s accom-
plishments continue to “benefit our 
country and the Jewish people” but, 
unfortunately, I side with Stephens that 
Donald Trump will “succeed in making 
his predecessors look good.
”

Arnie Goldman

Farmington Hills

What Spurs Anti-Semitism?
Just after reading Ed Kohl’
s letter in 
your Dec. 20 issue (“Regarding the 
‘
What Spurred Anti-Semitism?’
”), I saw 
a survey conducted by the European 
Union Agency for Fundamental Rights 
entitled “Experiences and Perceptions 
of Anti-Semitism — Second Survey on 
Discrimination and Hate Crime Against 
Jews in the EU,
” published Dec. 17, 2018.
 One survey question asked victims 
of anti-Semitic harassment to report the 
nature of the perpetrator. In the category 
of “most serious incidents,
” victims iden-
tified the perpetrator as “someone with 
a left-wing political view” in 21 percent 
of the cases. This is a rate more than 50 
percent greater than those in which the 
perpetrator was “someone with a right-
wing political view” (13 percent of the 
time)!
 As we see the atmosphere in left-lean-
ing American schools and colleges 
becoming increasingly anti-Semitic 
and anti-Israel (e.g., BDS activism, 
instructors refusing to write letters of 
recommendation for study in Israel, 
etc.) students may be learning to accept 
— or even to support — discrimination 
against Jews. What might that portend 
for our future?

Kerry Greenhut

West Bloomfield

Beth Ahm is Growing
The recent snapshot from the 2018 
population study about synagogue affil-

iation was surprising (Dec. 13, page 10). 
Not the fact that overall membership is 
down, but the fact that Congregation 
Beth Ahm is one of the only Reform or 
Conservative synagogues that shows sig-
nificant growth. 
 As a lifelong Beth Ahm member, I 
can attest to the reasons why my syna-
gogue is growing in a declining market. 
Judaism is alive and relevant at Beth 
Ahm. It is a true extended family where 
we all look out for each other and are 
more than just a familiar face once a 
year. Members and guests of all ages 
have high-quality and meaningful expe-
riences. Rabbi Rubenstein and the staff 
are wonderful, always working to con-
nect with people on an individual basis. 
The genuine interest in each congregant 
and guest is clearly evident. 
Lunch every Shabbat along with 
other social programming allows us to 
develop meaningful relationships with 
each other. As an adult, my involve-
ment at Beth Ahm and my children’
s 
involvement grows more as time goes on 
because of these relationships. Though 
my kids attend Hillel Day School, our 
new religious school model further 
emphasizes the ongoing evolution of 
Beth Ahm to meet everyone’
s needs. 
Further, a diverse portfolio of adult edu-
cation offerings allows us to develop our 
Jewish identities. 
 All these combined provide the foun-
dation for a vibrant synagogue with a 
bright future, and people want to be part 
of it.

Amy Brode

Huntington Woods 

Tlaib Stands for Justice 
If you live in Detroit, it’
s hard not to 
know Rashida Tlaib. The newly elected 
congresswoman has been an advocate 
for her neighbors, Detroiters and mar-
ginalized communities for many years. 
 Over the past months, she protested 
alongside fast food workers fighting for 
a livable wage in Detroit; she gave an 
impassioned speech to young environ-
mental activists about the air quality 
issues in her district; and she envisioned 
a bold new civil rights act, titled “Justice 
for All,
” to address higher car insurance 
rates and inequitable school funding, 
which plague the district. 
Furthermore, Rashida has been an 
ally to the Jewish community. In the 
wake of the Pittsburgh shooting, she 

letters

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