Tweet

Share
 

'Nonviolent' activists?

In the last issue of j., it was reported that a Berkeley member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), Jim Harris, is organizing protests against Mayor Tom Bates for attending an AIPAC dinner. J. writes that ISM "describes itself as a nonviolent group of international activists who work to oppose the Israeli occupation."

Actually, it is because ISM volunteers are "nonviolent" human shields, that ISM apparently sees itself as a junior partner to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. ISM regards both violence and nonviolence as important tools of their revolution, with violence having the more important role. In the chilling words of ISM's founders:

"In actuality, nonviolence is not enough. Rather, what is needed is nonviolent direct action against the occupation. ... [Offering] themselves as martyrs by standing on a settler road and blocking it from traffic ... is no less noble than carrying out a suicide operation. ... The Palestinian resistance must take on a variety of characteristics — both nonviolent and violent. But most importantly it must develop a strategy involving both aspects. No other successful nonviolent movement was able to achieve what it did without a concurrent violent movement." (See http://www.freepalestinecampaign.org/artadam.htm.)

John Gertz | Berkeley




A memorable rabbi

I am writing to thank you for publishing the article about the late Rabbi Saul White (Dec. 19 j.).

I attended his synagogue every Friday night and those certainly were some memorable services in the chapel with equally memorable sermons.

However, White was an equally wonderful teacher and writer. To this day, I remember his classes and articles with the greatest admiration.

Aggie Heyman | San Francisco




Publicize our honors

J. and the journal of the Anti-Defamation League have provided excellent coverage of the recent anti-Semitic incidents, particularly from Islamic sources.

I would recommend an effective response might also be publicizing in the general press the disproportionately large contributions to civilization by Jews over the centuries that won Nobel and Pulitzer prizes, Academy Awards and many other categories and individuals listed in the Schocken book "The Jewish Lists."

Other sources are two books by M. Hirsh Goldberg: "The Jewish You-Wouldn't Believe-It Book" and "The Jewish Connection."

Norman Coliver | San Francisco




Mistranslating Torah

Without disagreeing with the view discussed in "Board of rabbis condemns death penalty" (Dec. 12 j.), it should be noted that the Sixth Commandment states "Thou shalt not murder," and not "Thou shalt not kill" (as stated in the article).

The latter is a common but erroneous translation of this often-quoted commandment. The Hebrew lo tirtzach specifically addresses murder; a prohibition on killing would be lo taharog.

When quoting from the Torah, we should endeavor to use exact, accurate translations of the Torah words, especially when it's possible to do so, as is the case of the Sixth Commandment since both Hebrew and English use different terms for murder and killing. Misquoting the Torah (even though the mistranslation is widespread) and, by doing so, equating murder with killing (even if unintentionally) may diminish our perception of the gravity of murder crimes.

Rivka Sherman-Gold | Palo Alto




Jews and GOP

In "Republican redux: Jews going right?" (Dec. 12 j.), James Besser advances a couple of misconceptions about Jews and the GOP.

First, he attributes the potential shift of the Jewish vote to the GOP as confined only to the top Jewish leadership strata, and even then, only swathed in support for Bush's pro-Israel positions.

The reality is that the Bush administration's unparalleled support for the Jewish state may be pulling some top Jewish donors and voters.

Certainly, leading presidential hopeful Howard Dean has taken some very disturbing positions on Israel. But Jewish support for the Republican Party has been a growing, grassroots affair, and it has emerged from every economic echelon.

The biggest myth perpetrated by Besser is that Bush's "aggressively conservative domestic policies" may be "hardening" the liberal fury of some Jews.

There are numerous recent examples of the president's moderate domestic policy positions. He co-sponsored the education bill with Sen. Ted Kennedy and recently signed a comprehensive Medicare bill that enacts the largest transformation in Medicare since its 1965 creation.

Of course, polls guarantee nothing for the Republican Party, but these trends are not "perceived;" they are concrete indicators that a shift among Jews is taking place.

Matthew Brooks | Falls Church, Va.
executive director
Republican Jewish Coalition

Dean and Mideast

Amazing! Matthew Berger's article about Howard Dean and New Hampshire's Jews (Dec. 19 j.) spanned an entire page with not a word about Dean's views on the Middle East. Nowhere do we learn of Dean criticizing President Bush for being too pro-Israel and Dean's promise, if elected president, to be much more neutral in the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

In light of the recent capture of Saddam Hussein, Sen. Joseph Lieberman correctly points out that if Dean had his way, Saddam would still be in power with his torture chambers and rape rooms. Palestinian suicide bombers would continue to be receiving moral and financial support.

Although Dean has issued a statement saying that his position on the Mideast has been misrepresented — after it was criticized by the other Democratic candidates — I believe if he becomes the Democratic nominee, he will receive a substantially smaller percentage of the Jewish vote than Gore received and Bush will serve another term!

David Kiachko | San Francisco




Ridiculous accusations

Howard Dean, anti-Israel? Ridiculous! The truth is that Dean is a strong supporter of Israel. His wife and children are Jewish. His campaign is co-chaired by former AIPAC President Steve Grossman. The Anti-Defamation League has even come out in his defense, declaring, "This e-mail, which relates to comments made by Dean in early September, is malicious, misleading and factually inaccurate."

If the person who wrote this vile screed is actually Jewish, then perhaps he or she is familiar with the concept of lashon hara? Spreading slander and lies is no way to support Israel. For shame.

Katherine Falk | Oakland




Fringes and mitzvot

Andrew Ramer asks "But who has fringes on their garments?" (Dec. 19 letters). In his letter, he equates homosexual relationships with neglecting to wear tzitzit, or the fringes that Jews are required by Torah law to tie to the corners of any four-cornered garment.

Besides the fact that tens of thousands of Jews scrupulously perform this mitzvah on a daily basis (and have done so "throughout the ages" as Ramer quotes), the blue thread that he alludes to does not, by its absence, invalidate the tzitzit themselves.

Nevertheless, in an effort to fulfill that aspect of the mitzvah, many Jews do make the effort to obtain the blue thread and wear it with their tzitzit. (For more information, see http://www.tekhelet.com).

I have no doubt that Ramer does not know anyone who thinks that they are violating the Torah. However, he seems unaware that there are, and always have been, Jews who are committed to keeping the mitzvot of the Torah as they have been kept for the last few thousand years.

Naomi Dardik | Oakland




'So what?'

Rudy Budesky's Dec. 5 letter says that the word Torah is not in the Bible.

Everyone knows that Torah is the Hebrew word given to the first five books of the Bible; it is not a word in the Bible itself. So what?

Leonard W. Williams | Sunnyvale




'A brilliant idea'

As we know, the USA is holding back $300 million promised to the Palestinians. Somebody suggested that the president reduce this amount by $10 million every time there is a suicide bomber in Israel by the Palestinians. And I suggest that the president compensate the family of the victims by the amount forfeited.

I think this is a brilliant idea that may take off.

Max Levy | Dublin




Minimum requirements

As a Jewish American who has a deep love for Israel, I do not expect my countrymen and women to share my affection. But I do require of my government, whether administered by Republicans or Democrats, at least the following:

• Do not provide advanced armaments to potential enemies of Israel (such as Egypt).

• Support Israel's determination to defend herself by maintaining a nuclear deterrent, developing an anti-missile system, holding on to the strategically important Golan Heights and destroying Yasser Arafat's terrorist organization.

Paul Rosenberg | Albany




letters policy

j. the Jewish news weekly welcomes letters to the editor, preferably typewritten. Letters must not exceed 200 words and must be dated and signed with current address and daytime telephone number. j. also reserves the right to edit letters. The deadline is noon Monday for any given week's publication. Letters should be sent by e-mail to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or by mail to j., 225 Bush St., Suite 1480, San Francisco, CA 94104.

most popular rss feeds