In April and May 1994, the world stood silent while Hutu extremists killed nearly a million of their countrymen in a rampage that lasted 100 days. I was a part of that silent crowd. In studying the events of World War II, I have often asked "How could THEY do nothing?" With Rwanda, the question is more personal. "How could I do nothing?" And the truth is, as during World War II, I did not know or understand the magnitude of what was occuring and it was far, far away. Additionally, as...

This the 350th Anniversary of the first Jewish community in America, an event not really recognized outside of the Jewish community. Yet it symbolizes what America has to offer. The story of Jews in America begins in 1492. In that year, the last Moslem city in Spain fell, Columbus set sail to find India (being a man, he refused to ask for directions and so ended up in Puerto Rico) and the Inquisition began in Spain. Soon the Inquisition spread to neighboring Portugal as well. Jews living i...

Today, at the JCS of Ann Arbor, I was privileged to take part in a reenactment of the Ellis Island experience, as follows: For millions of immigrant families, Ellis Island represented the last hurdle that needed to be overcome on the long journey to America. Ellis Island was a place of hope for, after long and often difficult struggles, the New World was in sight; but at the same time, it was a place of fear and desperation, because individuals or families could be refused admittance and sent b...

On January 20th, 1942 a meeting was held by senior Nazi officers in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. The purpose: to inform participants of plans for the "Final Solution of the Jewish problem." That solution being the extermination of the 11 million Jews living in Europe. By the time the Wannsee meeting was held, hundreds of thousands of Jews had already been killed, mostly in Russia. Deportation of Jews from occupied territories, beginning with Germany and Austria, to labor camps in Pol...

I don't watch a lot of TV and when I do, it tends to be sports. But I recently came across an OUTSTANDING show called "Destination America" on PBS. Check out the link. The episode that I watched chronicled the flight to America of two groups that came for religious freedom and found it. The title of the episide was "The Earth is the Lord's" and the groups discussed were the Anabaptists (better known as the Mennonites and the Amish) and the Chasidic Jews. The Anabaptists (and this is a name...