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10 | JUNE 18 • 2020 

most fascinating stories. 
Israel is miraculous and 
the army is one of its prin-
cipal miracles. It’
s amazing. 
The IDF is probably the 
greatest creation of the 
Jewish people since the 
Mishnah. It was a privilege 
and honor to get to know it, 
a little, and even give a little 
help to it. 
Volunteers for Israel is 
associated with Sar-El, a 
nonprofit organization, 
which administers the pro-
gram in Israel. Volunteers 
typically spend one to three 
weeks living and working 
on a non-combat IDF army 
base alongside Israelis 
and other volunteers from 
around the world. The pro-
gram offers a way to con-
tribute to the State of Israel 
in a very direct way. 
 Our local VFI Team is 
available to speak to groups 
and individuals about 
the VFI/Sar-El programs, 
including the new VFI 
PLUS programs, which are 
scheduled to reopen in July.
 Email michgan@vfi-usa.
org, visit tvfi-usa.org or call 
Carol Kent or Ed Kohl at 
(248) 420-3729 for informa-
tion.

Michael Dallen 

Detroit

SCOTUS Kept 
Me Up At Night

Last night, I could not sleep 
after listening and watching 
the talking heads discuss the 
American anguish of our 
racial trauma. 
Why? Simply because my 
intruding thoughts of the 
participation of five conser-
vative men on the Supreme 

Court of the United States, 
who, just seven short years 
ago, on June 25, 2013, either 
wittingly, unwittingly or 
half-wittingly, changed our 
voting laws, which continue 
to keep a large segment of 
good Americans in a state 
of racial purgatory by taking 
away their right to vote.
These revered wise 
members of our admired 
Supreme Court were also 
aided and abetted by 
Southern Republican states 
in rendering their infamous 
decision. 
In 1965, the Congress 
passed the Voting Rights 
Act (VRA) because of the 
“insidious and pervasive 
evil” perpetrated against 
minorities in quest of their 
American right to cast their 
ballots for choosing those 
who will govern them.
On June 25, 2013, 
SCOTUS rendered a 5 to 4 
decision stating that because 
there was no apparent abuse 
in the ability of minori-
ties to vote in nine states 
— eight in the South and 
Alaska — there was no need 
for any protection of the 
freedom to cast their ballot. 
Section 4 (b), which origi-
nally gave the government 
control to force states to 
have “preclearance” before 
implementing any change 
in voting laws or practices 
of any particular state, was 
basically stricken down.
Chief Justice Roberts 
wrote the opinion and stat-
ed, “There is no logical rela-
tionship to the present day 
… not designed to punish 
for the past; its purpose is to 
ensure a better future.”
A better future for whom, 

the privileged whites in 
Republican-controlled states 
to facilitate extreme voter 
suppression?
Since that onerous and 
ominous decision was ren-
dered, over 1,000 polling 
places have been eliminated 
in areas home to millions 
of African Americans and 
other minorities. And 
attempts exponentially 
increased by local, county 
and state governments to 
implement stringent voter 
suppression laws.
These revered and hon-
ored men of justice have 
done a disservice to an 
integral segment of our 
society by convoluting the 
basic intention of the 15th 
Amendment with their 
changes to the Voting Rights 
Act. 
These five men, by ren-
dering that one fateful deci-
sion on voter suppression, 
have helped to contribute 
to the continuation of the 
immoral removal of any 
sense of respect due, honor, 
dignity and self-worth for 
African Americans, people 
who have had to deal with 
myriad forms of injustices 
for far too long in America. 
They have, in essence, 
dehumanized Americans 
by simply implying they do 
not exist when it comes to 
determining who they shall 
chose to govern them. 

Jerome Soble 
 

Orchard Lake 

Correction

The June 4 cover photo 
should have been credited 
to Craig Nowak.

LETTERS from page 6
OPEN from page 8

mutual friends.
That has all stopped now.
Mealtimes, TV and my 
phone calls are the only breaks 
in a long, monotonous day 
that otherwise is as blank as 
the spiral notebooks I provide 
him. No wonder he thrills 
with excitement at any hint 
of an ending date to our iso-
lation. Yesterday, he said, “On 
TV I saw people with signs 
saying it’
s time to go back to 
work! I think it is, too.” 
As a sociable woman well 
into the vulnerable age range, 
I’
m distressed also. My con-
stant reassurance to Alex that 
“things will eventually get 
back to normal” feels increas-
ingly hollow. His “when-
when-when” echoes loud in 
me, too.
Unlike Alex, though, I 
know how fortunate I am. I’
m 
not on the front line, risking 
my life to treat people stricken 
with this awful virus. I’
m not 
upping my odds of contagion 
by delivering food to the 
quarantined or working in 
a daycare. I never learned to 
sew, so I’
m not even making 
masks as some of my friends 
are. I’
m just another scared 
person sitting at home. In this 
strange sliver of time, reaching 
out to Alex is the most useful 
thing I do.
Yesterday, Alex called to say 
he heard his clubhouse would 
open up in July. Before I could 
say anything, he corrected 
himself. “It might open,” he 
said. “We can hope.”
“I’
m hoping, too, Alex,” I 
replied. “We’
re in this togeth-
er.”
“Together,” he repeated. 

Eve Silberman is a freelance writer 

living in Ann Arbor.

