The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 28, 1991 - Page 3
Speaker
discusses
* medieval
Spain
by Karen Sabgir
What if Christopher Columbus
were Jewish?
Dr. Benjamin Gampel, of the
Jewish Theological Seminary, ad-
dressed this question in his speech
on Jews and conversos in medieval
Spain at the Rackham amphitheater
yesterday.
Although Gampel said Colum-
bus was not Jewish, he said the no-
tion had originally been posed in the
19th century in the United States as
a result rising anti-Semitism.
Gampel pointed to marginalized
Jewish groups in America who were
trying to imagine what it would
have been like if Columbus were
Jewish. Some Jews thought that if
Columbus had been Jewish, the
dominant Anglo-American society
would have been more open to the
inclusion of Jews into the society,
he proposed.
Gampel also examined anti-
Semitic practices in Spain during the
* 14th century.
During the Middle Ages, an al-
liance of Christian monarches
united in an effort to rid the Iberian
peninsula of all religious dissent.
The conversions of "thousands upon
thousands" of Jews to Christianity,
was sparked by an outbreak of
massacres in the streets of Seville
on June 4, 1391.
By 1415, nearly half of all
Sephardic Jews had converted to
Christianity. With so many Jews
converted so quickly, the Spanish
Christian government was faced
with a large segment of society
which remained unassimilated.
Gampel said that the issue of the
conversos - or Jews who converted
to Christianity- became a major
"social problem."
"Spain dealt with the problem
of integrating the conversos by pass-
ing laws giving rights only to pure-
blooded Christians," Gampel said.
With the 1478 Papal decree,
which ordered the Spanish Inquisi-
tion, the main conflict was between
the Christians and the conversos,
not the Jews who refused to con-
vert. The Jews were expelled on the
basis that they were influencing the
conversos.
Graduate student Bethany
Grenald said she found the confer-
ence interesting.
"It was a very stimulating dis-
cussion on a not-often discussed as-
pect of Jewish history, about which
there are many misconceptions."
Friends learn
how to help
rape survivors
Witch's brew
Two University students walk by Drake's window display Friday.
by Julie Schupper
Daily Women's Issues Reporter
The FBI reported in 1990 that
one in three women and one in ten1
men will be raped during their life-
time.
This statistic was one of many
cited at the University's Sexual
Assault Prevention and Awareness
Center (SAPAC) workshop Friday
titled "Friends Helping Friends:
How to Support a Survivor of
Sexual Assault."
The workshop was part of the
Sexual Assault Awareness Week
which will conclude tomorrow.
The discussion's primary purpose
was to provide a forum for open dis-
cussion and questions concerning the
issue of rape for survivors of sexual
assault, their friends and relatives.
"People who give support to
victims have the right to receive
necessary support and knowledge. It
is not uncommon for these people to
get lost in the shuffle," said Julie
Steiner, the coordinator for
SAPAC.
Kata Issari, a counselor for
SAPAC, facilitated the discussion
which focused primarily on what to
say and what not to say to a survivor
of sexual assault.
"Often the friends and family of
a survivor will feel a tremendous
rage that arises from their feelings
of powerlessness. They will look
for some kind of rationale as to why
the survivor was raped. This search
for reason occasionally results in
attributing blame to the survivor. It
is very important not to blame the
survivor," Issari said.
In addition to reassuring the sur-
vivor that they were not at fault,
Issari said that friends and families
of survivors can do a number of
things including: minimizing the
number of times the survivor must
tell the story of the assault, helping
the survivor to realize that the ex-
perience will cause a disruption in
their life, but that they will re-
cover, and expressing constant
support.
Participants also learned that for
survivors to regain control and con-
sequently overcome the feelings of
helplessness, they must learn to
make their own decisions.
"It is important to allow the
survivor to decide on his or her own
if they want to discuss the experi-
ence. If you do not allow the sur-
vivor to reach their own conclu-
sions, you will further their feel-
ings of powerlessness," Issari said.
Issari also advised against ques-
tioning survivors as to why they did
not scream, fight, or run.
"Rape is extremely traumatiz-
ing. I once heard a survivor refer to a
rape as a murder that was not
completed."
Laura Bater, an LSA sophomore,
said that she felt the workshop was
a necessary and informative event.
"I feel like the workshop gave
me an edge in dealing with sexual
assault. Rape is a really scary and
prevalent crime that we all need to
be educated on and concerned with,"
Bater said.
"I thought the workshop was re-
ally interesting. It gave me a better
understanding of where to maybe
beginmand alsomade me realize just
how much I need to keep learning
about sexual assault," said LSA se-
nior Michael Jennings.
On a final note, Issari urged the
participants to seek help from the
many options available rather than
dealing with a friend's or family
member's situation alone.
"On campus we have SAPAC.
Our office can also tell people about
resources in other states. There is a
pretty good network of rape crisis
centers," Issari said.
Organizers said they were
pleased with the workshop's
turnout and stressed the importance
which must be given to sexual
assault.
"It is necessary to raise people's
consciousness that rape is not just
another issue, it is a problem which
severely affects people's lives,"
Steiner said.
Speakers discuss Holocaust
history at East Quad forum
by Lauren Dermer
Daily Staff Reporter
In response to an ad in Thurs-
day's Michigan Daily, a seminar on
the harmful effects of denying the
reality of the Holocaust was held in
East Quad last night.
Brief presentations were made by
Sid Bolkowsky, a history professor
at the University's Dearborn
campus, and Hank Greenspan, a
lecturer in the Residential College
to a crowd of 50.
"The advertisement was de-
signed to provoke, to make us feel
paralyzed and helpless, to inspire
fear, and to divide us," Greenspan
said. "I was shocked, surprised, and
hurt, and I was not alone."
Greenspan focused on the psy-
chological response which evil
illicits in people. He said people
would rather accept the seemingly
harmless ideas of Bradley Smith, the
author of the ad, than face the harsh
realities of the Holocaust.
"If it were not for the reality of
the Holocaust, it would be very easy
to believe that this man was not
shamelessly lying to us," Greenspan
said.
Prof. Bolkowsky spoke about the
history of the revisionist movement
and emphasized that men such as
Bradley Smith do not revise history,
they deny it.
"Rule number one for these peo-
ple is that any evidence of the use of
gas chambers to kill is unaccept-
able," Bolkowsky said. "Rule num-
ber two is that we can count on the
ignorance of the general public and
raise questions on any issue that we
want."
Bolkowsky quoted passages
from books written by Holocaust
survivors and described dozens of
witnesses' accounts to Hitler's oral
decree to "cleanse" society of Jews.
"It is legitimate to debate the
cause of the Holocaust, whether it
was evil or banal, whether it was
known or a secret, or the impact it
had on survivors. However, it is not
legitimate, scholarly, or reasonable
to deny it's existence, and to deny
the suffering of the dead,"
Bolkowsky said.
"No historian would walk into a
room and debate such an issue, just
as no historian would debate
whether or not slavery existed," he
added. "People need to know what
the advertisement is - it is Neo-
Nazi propaganda."
"The one lesson we can draw
from the Holocaust is that anything
horrible is possible, it really can
happen," Greenspan said.
READ IT WRIT FOR IT RECYCLE IT
THE MICHIGAN DAILY 764-0552
State legislators struggle with 'obscene' art
WASHINGTON (AP) - consider obscene. That provision was proposed by
Michigan's House delegation voted In a 214-205 vote last week, the Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) and
mostly along party lines in the lat- House rejected an effort to sidetrack backed by other conservatives.
est round of a lengthy fight over a compromise with the Senate under Opponents contended that exist-
federal funding of art that some which current guidelines would be ing language was enough to guard
THE LIST
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
Meetings
Enact, weekly mtg. SNR,
1040 Dana, 7
p.m.
Comedy Company, writers mtg. All
comedic writers welcome. UAC offices,
second floor of the Union, 7:30.
Indian American Student Associa-
tion, weekly board mtg. All members
welcome. League, 3rd floor, rm C, 8
p.m.
U-M Greens, weekly mtg. Union, Tap
Room, 5 p.m.
Hindu Students Council. MLB,
Bi115A, 8 pm.
Support Group for Women Who Are
or Have Been in an Abusive
Relationship. First United Methodist
Church, 3-4:30
Christian Science Organization,
weekly mtg. League, ask at front desk
for room, 7:30.
Undergraduate Philosophy Club.
Topic: "Philosophy Games 11." 2220
Angell, 7 p.m.
Undergraduate Psychological Society,
mass mtg. 2235 Angell Hall, 7:30.
International Program in Aix-en-
Provence, France, informational mtg.
443 Mason, 5 p.m.
Speakers
"Appeals in Islamic Law: A
Reconsideration," Dr. David Powers.
3050 Frieze, 4 p.m.
"History and Higher Education After
the Coup," Dr. Efiim To. Pivovar,
Russian State University. Lane Hall
Commons, 4 p.m.
"Current Trends in Global Climate
Change," Roland Drayson and Robert
Ferrett.1014 Dow Bldg, 3:30-5.
.. .- I
Fri. and Sat. 8 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. Stop by
102 UGLi or call 936-1000. Extended
hours are 1 a.m. -3 a.m. at the Angell
Hall Computing Center or call 763-
4246.
Northwalk, North Campus safety
walking service. Sun-Thur 8 p.m.-1:30
a.m. and Fri. and Sat. 8 p.m.-11:30 p.m.
Stop by 2333 Bursley or call 763-
WALK.
Ultimate Frisbee Club, practice. Be-
ginners welcome. Mitchell Field, 7-9.
Call 668-2886 for info.
Guild House Writers Series,
Lawrence Pike, Gaye Rabin, and M.L.
Liebler. Guild House, 802 Monroe, 8:30.
10.
English Department Coffee Hour, ev-
ery Monday. Haven 7th floor lounge, 3-
4:30.
Blues Party and Open Mike Night,,
every Monday, $1.50 cover. Blind Pig,
8:30.
U-M Ninjitsu Club, Monday practice.
IM Bldg, wrestling rm, 7:30-9.
U-M Women's Lacrosse Club, Mon-
day practice. Oosterbaan Field House,
9-10:30. Call 996-3392 for info.
ECB Peer Writing Tutors. An-
gell/Mason Computing Center, 7-11.
611 Church, 7-9.
U-M Taekwondo Club, Monday
workout. CCRB Martial Arts Rm,
6:30-8.
"Choosing A Physician," Lesbian
Health Series, free. Common
Language Bookstore, 7-9.
Ethnic Greek Dancing. Union,
Wolverine Rm, 7:30.
Vigil in Honor of Battered Women.
Rackham steps, 6 p.m.
Custodial Annreciation Week. kick-
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