10 June 6 • 2019 jn letters continued from page 5 commentary continued from page 6 editorial continued from page 8 so small that they fell within the study’ s overall 3 percent margin of error. Detroit lacked an abundance of well-paying jobs and a vibrant urban core. That’ s what Gilbert spawned. Today, Gilbert’ s Detroit com- panies have 17,000 employees. Thousands of other jobs have been created in and around the city’ s core. And while there are still an overabundance of surface parking lots, Gilbert and others have been creating the work/live/play density that resonates with young, col- lege-educated professionals. The byproducts of Gilbert’ s efforts include the success of Federation’ s NEXTGen engage- ment initiative, a revitalized Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and an annual Detroit Homecoming that has been particularly success- ful in connecting former Jewish Detroiters to each other and oppor- tunities for investments in the city. While Gilbert’ s companies have deep leadership benches, his auda- cious vision — articulated in 2010 — remains the guiding light that ties all the pieces together. We pray for his full recovery. ■ views a rise in anti-Semitic, racist and nation- alistic attacks on minorities. Those groups who are the targets of these attacks need to work together once again to defend their common interest. Rep. Lawrence is to be applauded for forging the Black Jewish caucus in Congress. Just as we moved past the period of neo-Nazi attacks in past decades, it is actions like those of Rep. Lawrence that will enable us to move past the current wave of anti-minority hate. Toby Citrin Ann Arbor Time for Civility in Politics I appreciated Mike Jacobs’ guest col- umn (“Batten Down the Hatches, ” page 8) in the May 16 issue of the JN. He made a persuasive case for toning down the political rhetoric among us Jews, especially with respect to the 2020 election. He argues none of us is always right and that even when we strongly disagree, we should take time to consider that the other side’ s argu- ments might contain a tiny bit of truth. I say Amen to that and I would like to see all people ponder and adopt Mr. Jacob’ s ideas — not just Jews. His thoughts are too important to have them limited only to us! Peter Wolf Lake Orion Thoughts from a Survivor I, Wolf Gruca, a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor, would like to say a few words about the events that happened at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and Chabad of Poway in California. The killing of Jews is not surprising news. We Jews living in the world have seen a lot of killing through the gener- ations. I went through the Holocaust. My eyes are still wet from crying day and night from losing my whole family because they were Jews. Now 73 years after the Holocaust, we have the killing of Jews in American synagogues because somebody didn’ t like them. I would like to tell the killers and their friends that the Jews have been here longer than they have, and we will continue to be here after they are gone. My heart is bleeding and my eyes crying for the people who were killed in the houses of worship because they were Jews. Wolf Gruca Southfield efit. Israelis are not sympathetic to the Haredi positions, and Netanyahu making it crystal clear he was siding with them. Going to elections again is also going to give Israelis a new sense of Netanyahu fatigue, and it may also create a measure of resentment over a perception that Israel is broken in an unprecedented way. I also expect some of the cracks in Likud to become fis- sures as Netanyahu’ s aura of invincibil- ity has been pierced. But between now and September, enjoy another four surprise months of Israeli campaign season. ■ Dr. Michael J. Koplow is Israel Policy Forum’ s Policy Director, based in Washington, D. C.