10 | NOVEMBER 14 • 2019 

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Pittsburgh attack. But for every 
domestic extremist we identify, 
keeping up with all the threats 
can be a challenge. That’
s why 
it is critical for federal, state and 
local governments to provide 
additional resources to help law 
enforcement investigate poten-
tially violent extremists.
I wish I could say things are 
getting better. But as relentless 
as this last year has been, the 
next 12 months could prove to 
be even more trying. Bigotry 

and outright calls for violence 
continue to proliferate across a 
range of online platforms.
We all hope things get better. 
We all wish the violence would 
stop. But that does not relieve 
us of our responsibility to do 
the work, to remain vigilant and 
to go where the hate is.
ADL
’
s goal is to make the 
invisible visible — we shine a 
light on extremism and hate 
in order to mitigate its impact. 
We educate the public and alert 

law enforcement to potential 
threats. We supply our expertise 
and quantify the problem and 
maintain a H.E.A.T. Map that 
identifies hate-motivated inci-
dents by geographic location. 
And we advocate for legislation 
that aims to reduce hate crimes 
and hate violence.
I’
m often asked how I and 
members of my team do this 
work day after day. Honestly, 
there’
s a psychological toll, but 
that’
s eased somewhat by the 

commitment of my colleagues, 
who are dedicated to mitigating 
the threat of extremist violence, 
and whose work has powerful 
real-world impact.
Everything we do is informed 
and inspired by the memory 
of all those who have lost their 
lives to hatred and bigotry, 
including the memory of the 11 
who died in Pittsburgh. 

Oren Segal is director of the Anti-
Defamation League’
s Center on 
Extremism.

view. Unfortunately, their 
opinion was ignored by the 
prime minister of Israel and 
by President Obama’
s very 
unworthy successor, who 
proceeded to wreck the deal, 
with predictable destabilizing 
consequences.
Let’
s at least try to get the 
facts right in reviewing the 
sequence of events and stop 
engaging in cynical and 
inaccurate false equivalence 
(“everyone is partisan, no one 
acts on principle”) that riddles 
far too much of our civic con-
versation these days.

— Nancy F. Kaplan

West Bloomfield 

Torah Portion?
As I read the Oct. 31 Spirit 
column, I was surprised 
that the author felt that the 
meaning of this week’
s Torah 
portion was that we all should 
support his Hazon organi-
zation. I am sure it is a fine 
organization; but I feel that 
this column should be devoted 
to Torah and should not be 
used for self-promotion. 

— Harvey Hurwitz 

Huntington Woods

Great Kosher Food in 
West Bloomfi
 eld
Years ago, during one of the 

second intifadas, I was on a 
business trip to Israel waiting 
for my oldest daughter to meet 
me for lunch in the newly built 
Mamilla Mall. Mamilla Mall 
was the new and arguably only 
upscale shopping mall in Israel. 
 While waiting, I noticed the 
diversity of people around me. 
There were Jews in black hats 
and Jews in T-shirts and shorts. 
There were Arabs in secular 
clothing and Arab women in 
burkas. I posted on Facebook 
that if only the world was an 
upscale mall, there would be 
peace. In the middle of almost 
all-out war, in areas less than 
20 miles away, people were 
shopping together, and dealing 
peaceably and productively with 
each other.
I had a similar although, 
arguably, not as dramatic expe-
rience at Babylon Ethnic Food 
a week ago. Besides making 
excellent kosher pita, Babylon, 
owned and operated by 
Chaldeans, now makes delicious 
kosher baklava. The owner, 
Marcos Aoraha, has recognized 
the benefits of providing kosher 
foods for the Jewish communi-
ty; more recently, working with 
local Orthodox rabbis to certify 
as kosher the pita and baklava.
Meanwhile, I was at Babylon, 
as usual, talking to Marcos and 

bakers from Almeena Pasteries 
and Cakes. I noted that I was 
an Orthodox man shopping 
in a Chaldean store for kosher 
food, surrounded by Arabs, 
Chaldeans and a few Israelis. It 
motivated me to mention my 
Jerusalem experience. 
Out of the clear blue, the 
gentleman next to me agreed 
with the crux of my Facebook 
posting. It turns out that he is 
the Armenian priest from St. 
John’
s Armenian Church in 
Southfield, home of the Alex 
and Marie Manoogian School. 
We started talking about 
how the boys and girls Akiva 
basketball teams that I coached 
used to play Manoogian teams 
several times a season. It was an 
education for the kids and par-
ents as to who Armenians are 
as well as an education to the 
Armenians regarding Jews. 
Bottom line is Marcos, the 
priest and I all realized that 
meeting at a Chaldean market 
that sells kosher food is not 
far from me being in Mamilla 
Mall and noting the presence of 
peace.

— Dr. Kenneth I. Kohn 

West Bloomfield

Thank God for Israel 
On Sunday, Nov. 3, I had 
the privilege of attending the 

“Thank God for Israel Day” at 
Adat Shalom Synagogue.
The event, sponsored by 
the Friends of Israel Gospel 
Ministry, is held to educate and 
bring the Christian and Jewish 
communities together in sup-
port for Israel.
Seventy-five enthusiastic 
pro-Israel supporters attended 
the event.
Representatives of the Zionist 
Organization of America 
-MI, Michigan Jewish Action 
Council, Walk for Israel and 
Volunteers For Israel shared 
their organizations’
 purpose 
and goals.
We listened with great 
interest to our speaker, Alex 
VanNess, research analyst at the 
Clarion Intelligence Network, 
discuss groups and individuals 
with histories of hatred and 
extremism driving a wedge in 
the U.S./Israel relationship.
VanNess’
 command of the 
subject and Q&A responses 
were smart, educational and 
important.
We came away from this 
experience encouraged by our 
Christian friends who expressed 
their wholehearted commit-
ment to the survival of the State 
of Israel and its people.

— Ed Kohl

West Bloomfield

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VIOLENT WHITE SUPREMACY 
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