8 January 17 • 2019
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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

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