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6 | FEBRUARY 6 • 2020 

editor’
s letter

An Editor’s Welcome
W

ow. I still can’
t 
believe I’
m here 
speaking to you 
as the new editor of the 
Jewish News.
This is the first issue I’
m 
overseeing in my new posi-
tion, but I remember read-
ing these pages as a child 
in Huntington 
Woods. The JN 
was one of the 
first print mag-
azines I can 
recall seeing in 
the homes of 
my family and 
friends, and it 
played a big role in my own 
decision to enter journal-
ism as a profession. Since 
I’
ve been fortunate enough 
to work for organizations 
like NPR and The Atlantic 
over the years, I owe JN a 
tremendous amount of grat-
itude.
If you’
re reading this, I 
imagine that, like me, you 
care about Detroit’
s Jewish 
community. I remember 
the warm feelings of sup-
port I felt growing up. I 
remember my pride when 
I became a bar mitzvah at 
Temple Emanu-El in Oak 
Park. When I graduated 
from the University of 
Michigan and moved from 
Ann Arbor to Washington, 
D.C., to Chicago to Paris, I 
would try to seek out a new 
Jewish community wherever 
I went. I must have attend-
ed services at more than a 
dozen different congrega-
tions, across many denom-
inations. But I was never 
able to replicate the close-
ness and companionship of 
Detroit’
s Jewish population. 

So when JN Publisher 
Arthur Horwitz and 
Renaissance Media 
CEO Kevin Browett first 
approached me about this 
position, I recognized what 
an incredible opportunity it 
represented. That’
s why I’
m 
so excited to now play a role 
in fostering that invaluable 
sense of community for the 
next generation of JN readers.
Yes, I said “next gen-
eration,” and yes, I’
m a 
Millennial. (Coming soon: 
Passover recipes for avoca-
do-matzah toast!) I know the 
idea of change can be scary, 
but it’
s no secret that the 
JN is in a difficult financial 
position. That’
s kind of why 
I’
m here in the first place. 
The modern media industry 
is struggling. But the truth 
is, the JN is too valuable an 
asset to the Detroit Jewish 
community — and to Jews 
the world over who care 
about what happens here — 
to be allowed to fade away. 
So I’
m committed to 
broadening JN’
s reach 
and appeal. In the coming 
months we aim to expand 
our footprint with increased 
digital-first content at 
TheJewishNews.com; live 
events to encourage dialogue 
across the Metro Detroit 
area; new multimedia proj-
ects; new local voices reflect-
ing diverse Jewish opinions 
and experiences; and more. 
And I want to hear from 
you, too. In the grand tra-
dition of Jews everywhere, 
the JN must argue with 
itself. What does it mean 
to be Jewish in Detroit in 
2020, and are we reflecting 
that in our stories? We need 

the support of our readers 
to survive, but are we truly 
earning it? Are we present 
in the spaces where we can 
have the most impact on the 
conversation? Are we being 
inclusive in our framing of 
the key issues affecting our 
community? 
These are tough questions. 
But they’
re also the kinds 
of challenges I live for. I’
m 
a critic by trade, and I love 
to think critically about 
problems that need a mix of 
insight and chutzpah. I’
ve 
also spent years researching 
the challenges facing local, 
mission-driven media in 
the digital age. My Judaism 
is important to me, as are 
my Detroit roots. Put them 
all together, and the task of 
figuring out the future of JN 
starts to look … well, kind 
of fun.
I’
m overwhelmed by 
the support I’
ve already 
received from the commu-
nity. Seeing so many friends 
and colleagues kvelling over 
your new job is a great ego 
boost. From the bottom of 
my heart, thank you all for 
believing in me, and in the 
importance of this publica-
tion. I hope I won’
t let you 
down. 
If you would like to show 
your support to JN, please 
consider purchasing a sub-
scription for yourself or a 
relative. Be sure to sign up 
for our email newsletter and 
follow us on social media. 
Watch this space for future 
announcements that will 
allow you to lend your sup-
port in different ways. I can’
t 
wait to see where this jour-
ney takes us. 

Andrew Lapin
Editor

Appeasement 
Doesn’
t Work

Regarding Jonathan Tobin’
s “It Was 
Time for an Administration to 
Break Foreign-Policy ‘
Rules’
” (Jan. 
16, page 8) — it concludes, “… it’
s 
also time for the chattering classes 
to stop pretending that Trump is 
the problem. It was high time that 
someone had the nerve to break the 
wheel that perpetuated Iran’
s power 
and violence.
”
Appeasement has never worked 
to the Free World’
s benefit. We 
are grateful the president of the 
United States is challenging tyran-
ny, supporting Israel and opposing 
anti-Semitism.

— Ronna Ross, Secretary

Michigan Jewish Action Council

Immigrants or Settlers?

Louis Finkelman ends his article 
“Local Reactions” (Jan. 16) about 
immigration with “Differing Views,
” 
but perhaps there’
s more to it. 
Generally speaking, an immigrant 
is someone seeking to become one 
of us. A settler is someone seeking 
better pastures but bringing along 
their culture. 
The two contrasting attitudes 
depend on which group you 
focus on. I’
m pro-immigrant and 
anti-settler. If you don’
t respect the 
American culture, you are not wel-
come. It’
s not what you are running 
from but what you are running to. 
Much of the chaos migrants are 
running from is due to genocidal 
hatred and over-population driven 
by religion-dominated cultures, and 
I don’
t want those self-destructive 
cultures to settle in this country. 
The problem I have with both 
sides is that neither is putting ade-
quate emphasis on sorting out the 
arrivals. Where they arrive from and 
how much money is in their pocket 
are not valid measures of their abil-
ity to assimilate. I do hope that the 
next election gives us a choice other 
than between open borders or our 
version of the Berlin Wall.

— Dennis L. Green

Farmington Hills

LETTERS continued from page 5

continued on page 10

