12 | JUNE 10 • 2021 

PURELY COMMENTARY

LEFT IN SILENCE continued from page 10

other words, just leave us alone, 
and we won’t stand between you 
and the Jewish state.
It is this duck-and-cover 
response that has allowed the 
term anti-Zionist to somehow 
become acceptable in civil dis-
course as anything but hatred 
of Jews. Repeating the specious 
argument that anti-Zionism 
is not antisemitic will never 
make it true. Zionism means 
supporting the existence of the 
one Jewish state in the world as 
a Jewish state. Anti-Zionism, by 
definition, means you deny Jews 
the right to a state, which most 
every people from Italians to 
Russians to Brazilians enjoy. 
Many Americans criticize 
our government, but none 
would accept the ending of the 
U.S.A. as anything but hatred 
of our nation. We should not 
be bullied into conceding that 
anti-Zionism is anything but 
antisemitism, no matter how 
many thugs in pickup trucks 
make trouble in our cities while 
chanting “From the river to the 
sea, Palestine will be free.
” If we 
are tone deaf to the meaning of 
our silence, know that Israelis in 
America and Israel hear it loud 
and clear — just ask them. So 
do Israel’s anti-Zionist enemies, 
whether on the streets of New 

York and Los Angeles, the bat-
tlefields of the Middle East or 
the halls of Congress.

INTERSECTIONALISM
I do sympathize with the bind 
that younger left-wing Jews are 
feeling. Over the last decade, the 
progressive coalition has made 
being anti-Zionist an entry 
requirement for membership 
in the intersectional club that 
fights against important issues 
such as racism, sexism, poverty 
and many other causes we value 
as Jews. 
It is hard enough during 
times of peace to balance our 
love of Israel with our commit-
ment to the many social justice 
organizations that have been 
our allies on other fronts. But 
when rockets are striking kitch-
ens, schools and buses across 
Israel, targeting and killing 
civilians, and when the Israeli 
military moves to end those 
strikes, as would any military 
on the planet, progressive Jews 
in America need to be more 
clear on our principles, not less. 
If that clarity means stepping in 
front of the speeding train that 
is the misleading intersectional 
narrative on Israel, so be it. 
Amanda Berman at Zioness has 
been one of the few progressive 

Jewish voices to truly stand 
by Israel’s side, and we should 
model after her courage and 
integrity.
Will this stance mean that 
we are excluded from the 
progressive coalitions that we 
work with on so many other 
issues? That depends on the 
integrity of those communi-
ties. If they are comfortable 
choosing Hamas, of all organi-
zations, as their latest darling, 
then I would suggest they do 
not deserve the tacit stamp 
of approval of the progressive 
Jewish community. Nothing 
could represent our principles 
less than a terrorist group that 
deliberately commits the patent 
war crime of targeting civilians 
with rocket attacks while also 
opposing every cause the inter-
sectional community supports. 
From freedom of religion to 

gay rights to women’s rights to 
the basic freedoms of democra-
cy, Hamas ranks with the KKK 
or ISIS, and should be well 
beyond our red lines as liberals 
and liberal organizations.
It may not feel like an easy 
path, but as a major force in 
American politics, it is the 
responsibility of progressive 
synagogues, as well as our 
movement organizations, to 
step up and clearly defend 
Israel. We all fly the Israeli flag 
from our buildings, and we all 
travel to Israel during peace 
times. But what do those mean 
if we don’t pick our own side 
when rockets are landing in our 
homeland? 

Cantor Michael Smolash sits in the 
Stephen Gottlieb z”l Cantorial Chair 
at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, 
where he has served since 2004.

“IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF 
PROGRESSIVE SYNAGOGUES, 
AS WELL AS OUR MOVEMENT 
ORGANIZATIONS TO STEP 
UP AND CLEARLY DEFEND 
ISRAEL.”

Another Local 
Jewish War Hero

Eddie Saslove lived at 2958 
Monterey and went to Roo-
sevelt, Durfee and Central 
High School. He was born 
in 1921. When war broke 
out, he applied to the Army 
Air Corps for pilot training 
and was rejected because he 
was missing some math. The 
Royal Canadian Air Force 

accepted him, and he became 
a bomber pilot. He was shot 
down over Munich on Jan. 
7, 1945. He kept his burning 
aircraft level so four crew-
members could bail out. Two 
gunners were too badly hurt 
to leave, so he stayed at the 
controls, rather than leave 
two men to certain death. 
The plane crashed in a field, 
killing all three. Another 
Jewish hero.

— Martin Saslove

Via the web

Thanks for 
Rally Ef
 orts
Regarding the May 27 “Sol-
idarity with Israel” article. 
Well deserved credit was 
given to ZOA-MI orga-
nizers Kobi Erez and Eu-
gene Greenstein for their 
exceptional skills in putting 
the successful rally together 
so quickly.
Please also add their 
team members Shel Freilich 
(ZOA-MI), Rev. Tim Munger 
(Friends of Israel) and Andre 

Douville (Walk for Israel) 
for their efforts.

— Ed Kohl

West Bloomfield

CORRECTION:
Sari Zalesin, who was men-
tioned in “Specs Howard’s 
Legacy” (May 27, Page 54), 
made national history as the 
first female public addresser in 
the NHL for the Dallas Stars, 
not the Chicago Blackhawks as 
written. 

letters

