10 April 18 • 2019
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accepting Putin’
s statement that Russia 
didn’
t interfere in the 2016 election, after 
having just been told by 17 American 
intelligence agencies that Russia did 
interfere …
 Dayenu — surely this should have 
been enough to show Trump’
s allegiance! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 His immigration numbers obsession 
and his despicable policy of separating 
children from their parents, many of 
whom will never be reunited again! 
Dayenu — this action has to be enough!
 Recently Trump’
s harangues voicing 
his dislike of John McCain (deceased 
seven months ago) a war hero and 
ultimate patriot (while Trump never 
served in the armed service due to “bone 
spurs”). Dayenu — surely this outra-
geous behavior should be enough!
 If all this is not enough, what could be? 

Ron Lowy

West Bloomfield

How to Spot a Jew-Hater
A leading right-wing national weekly 
newspaper in Poland recently published 
an article on its front page, “How to 
recognize a Jew.
” The Tylko Polska ran 
the story that recognizing a Jew involves 
“
names, anthropological features, 
expressions, appearances, character 
traits, methods of operation” and “
dis-
information activities” that might mark 
a Jewish person. “How to defeat them?” 
the headline added. “This cannot go on.
”
Nowadays, Jews all over the world 
have a much more urgent task: How 
to spot Jew-haters. Every day, there is 
evidence of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic 
words and actions in Europe and in the 
United States. There are so many exam-
ples, including a photo shared over the 
internet of a Ruth Bader Ginsburg post-
er in Brooklyn with a swastika covering 
her face and the words, “Die, Jew bitch!” 
On the same day, Norway’
s Attorney 
General ruled that Norwegian rapper 
Kaveh’
s exclamation, “F*** Jews,
” in front 
of families with children at a food fes-
tival, “
could be understood as criticism 
of Israel, targeting the state of Israel and 
showing dissatisfaction with its policies.
” 
Ten days earlier, a float in a Belgium 
carnival paraded two caricatures of 
Orthodox Jews with large crooked noses 
and suitcases of money, as if this were 
just some funny innocent cartoon.
The New York Times, often guilty of 
reports and essays blatantly critical of 
Israel, just published “
Anti-Semitism is 
Back, From the Left, Right and Islamist 
Extremes,
” (Patrick Kingsley, April 4, 

2019). “
Anti-Semitism has become a sec-
tion of today’
s political Venn diagram,
” 
Kingsley writes, “where the far right 
can intersect with parts of the far left, 
Europe’
s radical Islamist fringe and even 
politicians from American’
s two main 
parties.
” 
One of those politicians, Ilhan Omar 
of Minnesota, questioned American 
Jews’
 allegiance to the United States 
and said that Jewish organizations like 
AIPAC were buying Jewish support, 
tweeting, “It’
s all about the Benjamins, 
baby.
”
The Democratic Party offering mild 
criticism/enabling of Omar is similar to 
the Republican Party quietly criticizing 
President Trump’
s defense of some white 
nationalists as “very fine people,
” many 
of whom chanted “Jews will not replace 
us.
” 
As Kingsley writes, “bigots have seem-
ingly become more brazen, creating a 
climate that has made anti-Semitism far 
more permissible and dangerous.
” 
I have never seen so much blatant 
anti-Semitism in my 62 years of life. Yet, 
it often seems so ordinary and common 
that I begin to wonder, what can I do 
about it? 
We need to keep our eyes and ears 
open to Jew-haters everywhere, whether 
it’
s in the guise of poisonous BDS sup-
porters, politicians questioning the legit-
imacy of Israel or universities enabling 
blatant prejudice against Israel. It’
s easy 
to forget that extreme criticism of Israel 
is more than just politics … it can turn 
into swearing against Jews or essays 
about how to spot Jews and defeat us.
We cannot stay quiet, naïve or apa-
thetic. Accepting Jew-hatred as normal 
and the way it’
s always been is the first 
step toward accepting a terrible fate that 
should never be tolerated.
We used to proudly say, “Never 
again!”
We should never accept anything that 
could lead to the tragic words of “well, 
here we go again.
”

 Arnie Goldman

Farmington Hills
 
Correction
Shirlee Wyman-Harris took 
 
photographs for articles on Charles 
Silow and the Program for Holocaust-
Survivors and Families/Jewish Senior 
annual benefit on March 28 and April 4, 
respectively.

Yiddish Limerick

PESACH

Di shtub azay Pesachdik, di tzimern will shine 
Der tish azay shain mit di glezlakh of vine.
Mir essn un trinken, the Haggadah we read 
Mir zingen di zmiros, ich bin hayzerik un mid.
It’
s Pesach, mein Pesach, so please kum arayn.

Di shtub - the house
Azay Pesachdik - So Pesach ready
Di tzimern - the rooms
Der tish azay shain - the table so beautiful 
Mit di glezlakh of vine - with the little glasses of wine 
Mir essn un trinken - we eat and we drink 
Mir zingen di zmiros- we sing the hymns
Ich bin hayzerik un mid - I am hoarse and tired 
Kum arayn - come inside.

By Rachel Kapen

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