Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 January 2003 — Page 26

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Podet Continued from page 5 prehensible reasons to have been blessed in every material way. And we are powerful. And we use our money and power to rule. All of this would be bad enough, but there is worse: we preach and export democracy — never mind that we do not practice it at home. "Islam" is a word that means submission, and Islam calls for absolute submission to Allah, or in practice, to those who represent Allah. Thus, no Islamic state in the Near East is a democracy, nor, in their eyes, should be. Democracy necessarily gives equal debate time to truth and falsehood. Every opinion is equal in that it has a right to be heard. Democracy is a governing style suitable to those who do not know what is definitely the truth. But for those who have the truth, it is not appropriate. Indeed, it is a threat. And from the point of view of feudal states, or a family-owned business like Saudi Arabia, it is an attractive disaster. The Saudi royals know who Allah wishes to rule in that land. T h e last thing they need is a vote of the ignorant mob. But we teach that precisely the ignorant mob should have the final say. All the more proof that we are, indeed, Satan, come to undermine them and destroy them. And, to tell the truth, whether we want to undermine them or not, they are right. Exposure to our way of life, our commitments to freedom, sexual equality, and universal franchise, will certainly undermine their present way of life. Not every Muslim thinks this way, indeed it seems the majority do not. And we should recognize that the "eyes" of which we speak are the eyes of extremists. But it does not take many of them to do what they wish to do, and they have the cooperation, willing or unwilling, of those in ruling authority. No one wants war. And it is true that anticipating hostility from a neighbor can, in fact, provoke hostility. But minimizing or failing to recognize a real threat against our life and culture is not a road to peace, but rather an encouragement of extremist adventure, which will come at our own expense. Rabbi Podet welcomes renders' comments at [email protected].

Gertel Continued from page 6 zis destroyed the Warsaw Ghetto, the actress who hides him rebuts that everyone was amazed by how long the small, makeshift army of Jewish women and men were able to resist the Nazi forces and inflict damage on them. We hear the words: "The Germans didn't expect it. Nobody expected it. Jews fighting back. Now the Poles will rise." By the end of the film, all Warsaw looks like the ghetto into which Jews were herded. The suggestion is definitely made that earlier Polish resistance could have meant less destruction and that tolerating the killing of Jews made the deaths of large numbers of Poles inevitable. Since music figures prominently in the plot and theme, it should be pointed out that Jewish music is relegated only to ragtag klesmer bands that the Germans intimidate into playing tunes for mockery of forced Jewish dancing. In this movie, Szpielman has no Jewish music in his soul, even after he returns to the concert stage in Poland and around the world. (By the end of the 20th century, the Poles had demonstrated a marked fascination with Jewish music, even though there were few Jews there, in addition to Szpielman.) Do we have here a suggestion that Jews are interesting only to the extent that they are a barometer of dangers to society and not as a culture and spiritual force in and of themselves? Secondly, Polanski suggests that, in order to survive, or even just by surviving, by living and moving from place to place, Szpielman learned to look at every place where he was sent or where he sought refuge as a setting in which he had to act, or react, or simply hide and resist touching some of the props around him. At one point, there is a piano in a room, but he cannot play it if he is to avoid being hunted down. Still, he can move his fingers over it. Later, while in hiding among ruins, he finds a building intact and is, in turn, found by a German soldier. There, playing the piano is his only hope of living, and even then, the camera makes the soldier's gun holster much larger than the piano. The surreal is the real. Often the ruins appear like old movie scenery. The film gives the last word neither to Jews nor to survival. In the end, Szpielman is better at preparing for survival, but he cannot plan for it. The smallest, near

comical but always dangerous misstep can result in his death. Another change of scenery, the quick dismantling of a barbedwire detention camp for German soldiers, seals the fate of the decent German who helped the Jewish pianist. Polanski tells us in his adaptation of Szpielman's story that even, or especially, in the most terrible times, all the world is a stage and we human beings drift from set to set, surviving only by the grace of the goodness or moods of others and by our own ability to make the choice to keep our dignity and our options in the scenery in which we find ourselves. Here is a filmmaker's approach to responding to catastrophe: namely, learning to navigate through props. That may also be a philosophy of history. But is it the approach of Judaism?

Peck Continued from page 7 the events in Israel, I feel as though 1 am watching the coverage of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, only from Hitler's perspective. What is wrong that they just don't get it? I would love to see the reaction from my country if these same animals strapped bombs to their own women and children to go in and butcher civilians. Would we say the Arab cause is equivalent to our own? They probably would, as the vast majority of our government activities and press have never even traveled to the area and are totally uninformed about whom they're writing. Yet they continue to write about the "roadmap" for the Middle East which they've conjured up. In reality, it would be the road to hell. All it does is condone and reward savage acts of terrorism on one side in the vain and delusional hope that somehow their Arab neighbors will be miraculously transformed from a sow's ear into a silk purse. It's not going to happen. By the time, if the time ever comes, that they are brought out of their 7th century mentality, it will be too little and too late. Too much damage has already been done by their obsessed hatred of Jews. They have already sacrificed their morality and the health of their family structure. The Islamic culture, as we know it today has already committed moral suicide. They don't have to

plan the suicide in the coffee shops. They're already dead. Arlene Peck welcomes reader comments at: bes t red [email protected], www.arlenepeck.com.

Edlin Continued from page 7 him, don't pry, and don't give him false hope. Meanwhile, Linda may not feel like crying on your shoulder - yet. She might not even want to talk, especially if she still hasn't fully digested the diagnosis and what the future holds. She may not have accepted Jeff's homosexuality - if he is gay. Furthermore, he might have become infected from sexual contact with a woman. So don't make that an issue. Take your time and allow Linda to be distant for a while - if that's what she wants. If you leave the door open, she will probably reach out to you - when she is ready. Do let her know that you miss her. That will help. Families of PLWAs need all the support they can get, but they have to be ready. So hang in there, and don't take it personally if she expresses anger before she grieves. She may not need you now or in the weeks to come, but eventually she will. So keep in touch and let her know you care. Thanks for writing. Rita Edlin may be reached at 2412 Ingleside Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45206.

Silver Continued from page 11 ery week. 7. Have Jewish books in your home. 8. Light candles on Shabbos. 9. Keep kosher. 10. Observe family purity. Sam Silver may be reached at 2730 Timbercreek Circle, N.W., Boca Raton, FL 33431.

Ages Continued from page 11 ties across the state, and the introduction of a Europe-cen-tered educational, commercial, and political ethos. All these changes came about, notes Kinzer, in the absence of democratic choice. In fact, the whole thrust towards

delegitimating Islam and modernizing the country would have been neutralized had the many changes been put to a vote. Change came about by fiat and agreement to those changes by consensus, not parliamentary vote. Ataturk was the first modern political leader to understand what Rousseau had meant when he spoke of the "general will" being beyond statistics. It's been more than 70 years since Ataturk's death, but his signature is deeply imprinted on the consciousness of modern Turkey, where statues honoring him can be found in every town. The state he created, the denial, is sacrosanct, and severe punishments (including death) await anyone who impugns the dignity of the state and the memory of Ataturk. The agency that regulates those punishments is not the nationally elected members of parliament but a National Security Council composed of generals who, while ultimately secular in nature, run i’urkey like the conservative mullahs in Iran. It is these generals, says Kinzer, who run Turkey. Ataturk achieved remarkable success in transforming his country into a modern state, but in the last 25 years a reconstituted Islam has been making steady progress among the conservativeminded Turkish people. Kinzer reports many conversations he had with Turkish men and women who chaffed at the government-sponsored antiIslamic practices of the country. One woman in particular told of being given the choice of removing her head scarf in her medical school classes or removing herself from the university. She chose the latter. A secular, raki-consuming Turkish friend with a Christian girl friend told Kinzer that he would be voting for the Welfare party - basically a Muslim fundamentalist group that has been making leaps and bounds in the public domain. Asked why a total secularist like him would vote for a party that would wipe out the liberal lifestyle he enjoys, Kinzer's friend told him that the conventional political parties in Turkey were totally and incorrigibly corrupt. Hence Islamic parties were drawing increased support from Turks who were supporting them in reaction to the rot in Turkish politics. Seepage from Islamic influences in Iran and other Muslim Continued on next page