Letters

Loyalty questioned

I don't expect the far left-wing San Francisco Jewish community to care, but Bernie Ward has been at it again.

When the supposed AIPAC spy story broke, there he was stating very clearly that once again there was a question as to the loyalty of Jews.

He stated categorically that one had to question whether Jews were more loyal to Israel or to America.

It's unfortunate the KGO-AM 810 doesn't give a damn, but it's appalling that the hardcore Jewish left doesn't care as it long as it advances their anti-Republican agenda.

Steve Kassel | Burlingame




No whitewashing

I remember listening to Cat Stevens' "Peace Train" and "Moonshadow" in college. I admired his musical talents. I was bemused that Yusuf Islam was removed from a U.S.-bound flight because he's on the Department of Homeland Security's "no-fly" list and the half-truth-defense put forward by his brother that he "just wants to be an ambassador for peace."

One needs to dig a bit deeper to understand the legitimate reasoning for his deportation. Islam chose to contribute to organizations such as Hamas, which are on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations. 

Hamas is anything but a peaceful organization, bearing direct responsibility for the deaths of scores of innocent Israelis over the last four years of bloodshed. 

One cannot whitewash Hamas' bloody track record with the salve of a few soup kitchens.

Despite a track record of good works in other areas, the simple fact is that he cannot have it both ways. Support for terror is support for terror. Hamas has a well-demonstrated track record in that arena. 

Steve Lipman | Foster City




Delighted, but...

I am absolutely delighted with the new j. I would never be bothered with the Jewish Bulletin, but this is lively, interesting, full of good stories and information. I look forward to reading it and sharing information with family and, often, non-Jewish friends.

Absolutely only criticism — with all the Jewish humorists past and present, could you maybe get some better jokes, shorter, more to the point.

Lynn Orne | Hayward




Sensitivities offended

This refers to the content of two ads recently published in j. Each left me deeply disturbed.

The first described the special High Holy Days program developed by the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco culminating in an option to break the Yom Kippur fast at 6 p.m. at a non-kosher restaurant.

The second ad outlined the features and programs of the new health and fitness center at the JCC. It urged readers to become members, mentioning that the membership office is open for business seven days a week, including Saturday.

Of course, every individual has the right to work on Shabbat or to rest, and to break the Yom Kippur fast whenever and wherever he or she desires. However, the JCC is not an individual. It calls itself a Jewish community organization. As such, it is the beneficiary of the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation, which represents all sectors of the local Jewish community, including Conservative and Orthodox Jews.

In all fairness then, the JCC should at the very least publicly espouse values the entire Jewish community can live with and, in the future, be more careful not to offend the religious sensitivities of many Jews who live in this area.

Bernard Rotenberg | San Francisco




Takeover?

Robert Jancu's column in the Sept. 3 j. about the "peace" rally in Manhattan illustrates the takeover of the anti-war movement by anti-Zionists.

This is not news to those of us in the Bay Area who have been publicly active in our support for Israel.

International ANSWER, the far-left extremist group that has hijacked the anti-war movement to its anti-Israel agenda, has made Israel the theme of several of its recent public actions in the Bay Area. Readers may even recall that last year they prevented Michael Lerner from speaking at a rally against the Iraq war because he was "too Zionist."

Over the past few months, though, when ANSWER takes its message of hatred of Israel and support for the intifada to the streets of the Bay Area, they have been met by supporters of Israel organized by S.F. Voice for Israel.

SFV4I members have stood proudly with Israeli flags and pro-Israel signs, and provided information to the public to counter the lies and the hate from ANSWER. We invite all supporters of Israel to stand with us in support of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.

Michael Harris | San Rafael




No scholars needed

In your Sept. 10 letters to the editor column, Verna Wefald wrote that unless someone is a scholar, their opinion on whether Islam is a religion of peace or not is "baseless."

Huh? What planet is this woman from? Nobody needs her permission to analyze data and come up with their own conclusions. I think she's been up in her ivory tower for too long.

Islam may or may not be "responsible for Muslim terrorists," but it certainly hasn't spoken out against them. Not when they killed Israeli Olympic athletes. Not when they started hijacking airplanes in the 1970s. Not when they killed (and continue killing) Israeli civilians — in restaurants, shopping centers, discos, buses, you name it.

The Islamic world has had endless opportunities to denounce these terrorist acts, and yet has remained silent. One not need be a "scholar" to come to their own conclusion regarding that silence.

Mike Bromberg | San Jose




No equation

"One-sided arguments" by Verna Wefald in the Sept. 10 j. letters to the editor makes an attempt to equate terrorism by Palestinian Arabs and Israel's actions in response, which is a comparison that is illogical and unfair.

The suicide bombers and other terrorists have intentionally killed and injured civilians in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. That is terrorism.

She refers to Israel's actions, which have been taken using great restraint to minimize accidental killing or injury of civilians. That is self-defense.

For instance, in Jenin, Israel could have fought the terrorists from the air, but they fought them house to house and hand-to-hand, with resultant Israeli casualties. The Arabs said it was a massacre, which investigation found was a lie.

There have been unfortunate inconveniences for the Palestinian Arabs, but that cannot be equated to the intentional deaths and injuries of Israelis.

She says the arguments by Jews are one-sided, which is because the Palestinian Arabs' terrorism is one-sided.

Norman Licht | San Carlos




Bimah politics

Regarding the letter in the Sept. 3 j. headlined "Timeless messages," I just want to remind the author, Laura Siegel, that the U.S. Constitution guarantees equal rights to everybody. We can't tell rabbis how long he or she has to talk about politics.

I agree with Rabbi Ted Alexander, who I enjoy listening to every time I come to B'nai Emunah for Shabbat services. To talk 10 minutes about politics isn't enough. I agree with Alexander when he talks about politics 30 minutes or more.

Alexander is a very well-educated person and he knows what he is talking about. I like that he puts his political views on his jacket — a blue pin with the future president, John Kerry.

So, in my opinion, Siegel has all rights to express her opinion, but she can't tell the rabbi what to do and what to say.

Paul Shkuratov | San Francico




Israel before U.S.?

I have become appalled at the large number of Jewish people who are planning to vote to reelect George W. Bush because "he is good for Israel." One letter I read said we must ignore the domestic problems we face because Israel's are more important.

This absolutely validates the position of those who were against the founding of Israel, as they predicted it would cause dual allegiances, and allegiance to Israel would prevail if push came to shove.

In my opinion, those who place the welfare of Israel (no matter how important this is) above the welfare of their own country are nothing less than traitors.

Deborah Swartz Laden | Sunnyvvale




'A powerful model'

As a participant in Project Kesher's multinational women's summit that was held in Russia this June, I wanted to counterpoint your Aug. 20 story, "Art Ahoy." 

Beth Grossman's work undoubtedly added to the cross-cultural understanding of women from the United States, Israel and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (FSU).

However, your article's tone did not convey Project Kesher's very real and very substantive work.  During the past 15 years, it has become one of the largest Jewish women's human rights and advocacy organizations building democratic organization and leadership with 165 chapters across the FSU. 

Working to empower women through economic development with a micro-loan fund and ORT KesherNet job training centers, a strong ongoing advocacy campaign on domestic violence, and providing leadership on the international trafficking of women, Project Kesher has moved into international discussions of liberation.

I found Project Kesher's work to be a powerful model for how Jewish Americans can be effectively involved in the creation of grassroots leadership development while addressing the ever-present ethnic hatred and anti-Semitism that still persists throughout the world.

Judith Bloom | Hillsborough




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.