6 | AUGUST 27 • 2020
Editor’
s Note
The JN And the Post Offi
ce
Views
T
his month the Jewish
News reached a digi-
tal milestone, as the
publication passed 1 mil-
lion pageviews in a single
calendar year for the first
time (with four months to
go). This is a great accom-
plishment for
our team, as it
signals we have
found a tre-
mendous local
and worldwide
audience for
our Metro
Detroit Jewish
community.
But the heart and soul of
our work as a community
publication remains, as it has
for the last 78 years, in our
weekly print magazine. And
now the timely delivery of
that magazine is in jeopardy.
You may have heard by
now about drastic cut-
backs under way at the U.S.
Postal Service. Under a new
Postmaster General, the
USPS has recently begun
heavy restructuring and con-
solidation, cutting back or
ending many of its practices
that had previously ensured
on-time deliveries and effi-
cient mail sorting. On Aug.
12, President Trump con-
firmed in a TV interview
that he was deliberately seek-
ing to underfund the agency
in order to sabotage mail-in
voting this November.
One side effect of this
attack on the USPS is that
every other kind of mail
is impacted, too. This has
already led to severe mail
delays in some parts of the
country. Left unchecked, it
will find its way to our neck
of the woods.
To some degree, it already
has. After decades of your
JN delivery arriving, (most-
ly) like clockwork, in your
mailboxes every Thursday or
Friday, COVID-19-related
cutbacks and service inter-
ruptions at Detroit-area
postal hubs have resulted in
many delivery delays to our
loyal readers over the last
few months. Many of you,
especially those in the Oak
Park region, have already
been feeling these effects.
Readers often assume
these delays are solely the
fault of the JN; they are not.
Our fate is solely in the post
office’
s hands. A poorly
funded and ill-prepared mail
system will not be able to
ensure prompt delivery of
our print product.
In order to safeguard the
JN’
s identity as a print publi-
cation, we need a well-fund-
ed and properly functioning
Post Office. It is essential to
our mission.
Although the new post-
master general announced
last week that he would
“delay operational changes
until after the election,” that
promise is not enough.
The USPS is currently
being attacked for partisan
reasons, and that, in turn,
jeopardizes our democratic
process. Its misfortune is
ours, too — and that of the
many other businesses, large
and small, which rely on
prompt, timely mail delivery
to reach their customer base.
No matter your politics, if
you wish to continue receiv-
ing the JN in your mailbox
every week without having
to pay an exorbitant delivery
fee, you should demand the
survival of the USPS, too. It
is a key link in our produc-
tion and distribution system
that helps assure the JN’
s
print subscribers will con-
tinue to receive us for many
years to come.
Andrew Lapin
Editor
Maybe initially the activ-
ities could be offsite. As
Rabbi Dan Horwitz told me
a number of times, trying
to attract young members
to a synagogue in West
Bloomfield when most of
them live in the city or the
first ring of suburbs will not
work. They do not want to
travel. Someone should think
of opening a synagogue in
Ferndale.
We are looking for a new
rabbi. Our hope is to hire
someone who is the age of
the target population, who
has contact with potential
members through Federation
activities or preschools
who could say “Why don’
t
you come to my place one
Shabbat/Saturday morning?
We could schmooze over
lunch and our kids could
play with your kids. Services
start at 9, but feel free to
come whenever you want.”
B’
nai Israel is a bit of a
boutique synagogue. At this
point, we run very tradi-
tional services. Our target
population is even more lim-
ited than some of the other
Conservative synagogues in
town. We would love to have
people who were interested
in living close to the shul,
possible within walking dis-
tance, who are comfortable
with and appreciate a full
service, mostly in Hebrew
that lasts from 9-12 and has
a solid study component
each week. There are lots of
people like that in Chicago,
DC, NYC and LA.
— Rabbi Mitch Parker
B’
nai Israel Synagogue
of West Bloomfield
LETTERS continued from page 5
continued on page 10