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Israel's downfall?

I am so disgusted with this expulsion of Jews by Jews; it seems that at least Israel's government and the left are hell-bent on the suicide of the Jewish state.

Mahmoud Abbas licks his chops as he publicly announces this expulsion of Jews from Gaza is the first step to a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

I suggest travel to Israel now so that generations to come have anecdotes about what the former state of Israel was like before it became Palestine.

Lisa Cohen | Menlo Park




'I am proud ...'

I am proud of Israel, perhaps more this week than any other. The courageous decision to disengage from Gaza and some isolated points in the West Bank, while fraught with possible perils and pain, is a necessary step forward.

I am proud of the dignity with which Israel has conducted itself in the face of almost five years of unrelenting Palestinian terror. I am proud of the Israeli Army's actions in the war against terror, a dirty job that no one else seems to want or have the ability to do.

I am proud of Israel's people who struggle with the import of their government's decision. I am proud of Israel's government that understood the demographic reality and have taken appropriate actions to preserve Israel's democratic and Jewish nature.

I am proud of Jewish settlers who are having their lives uprooted for that democratic future, with no guarantee of future security.

I am proud of Israel as an American and a Jew who cheers her on from the box seats but realizes that I am not in the starting lineup, on the field or even sitting on the bench in the dugout, but nevertheless passionately believes in her cause.

Steve Lipman | Foster City




False claim?

Yitzhak Santis of the Jewish Community Relations Council uses the word "consensus" six times in his flawed attempt to say that his approval of Sharon's attempt to deport/disengage Jews from Gaza represents what most Jews in the Bay Area want (July 22 opinion). But he never asked us what we want. He falsely claims to know what we want.

In Israel there actually was an attempt to get a consensus on this issue by holding a referendum. All parties agreed to abide by the result of the referendum, since it would show the will of the people. But there was no peaceful resolution of the problem, because Ariel Sharon, who has become a dictator, did not allow a referendum.

Sharon has not even given even one valid reason for the retreat from Gaza, because dictators do not give reasons. Dictators are to be obeyed.

Sharon has turned it into a power struggle, which he intends to win, at all costs, regardless of the scenes the world will see on our TV screens of Jews beating Jews, and violently dragging them from their homes.

Yehuda Sherman | Lafayette




Consensus view

An Aug. 12 letter criticizing JCRC for refusing to debate Americans for a Safe Israel requires a response.

Our Middle East Policy Committee, comprised of representatives from left, right and center, shaped a consensus statement addressing Middle East issues, including Gaza disengagement. That statement was sent to JCRC's regions — East Bay, North Peninsula, South Peninsula and Marin, which discussed its merits and approved it (with minor changes).

It was then submitted to the Metropolitan JCRC (which, with the regions, include representatives of nearly 80 member synagogues and organizations plus at-large representatives).

The statement endorsing the Israeli government's decision to withdraw from Gaza, which we believe reflects the majority view of our community, was approved unanimously. It is available at http://www.jcrc.org.

JCRC subsequently received a demand from AFSI representatives to debate the matter — and a threat to hold a noisy demonstration outside our building if we refused. Our executive committee rejected both the demand and attempts at intimidation.

Inevitably on difficult issues certain community members on the left and the right will take positions outside the broad consensus. That's their right. It does not, however, undercut the integrity of JCRC's deliberative process or the community's consensus positions flowing from that process.

Michael Futterman
president, Jewish Community

Relations Council, San Francisco

Road to insanity?

Regarding the Aug. 5 lifecycles announcement of Edwin Jones and Edward Reynolds on their "marriage" and effort to destroy the traditional family: Congratulations on your friendship and union and success in obtaining legal benefits.

But married you are not.

Marriage by definition always has been between a man and woman since the institution was developed in prehistory to create a family of mother, father and children. It cannot be changed because a selfish minority of people want to do so (yes, Edwin and Edward, you are selfish because you have abandoned your children in every possible way.)

J. was a family publication; it no longer. That photo and accompanying article are pornographic. What will j. endorse next? Guns for Arabs in the name of equality? Compassion for Nazi murderers who were "only doing their job"? Celebrate the "marriage" between a Muslim bomber and his camel?

Please do not continue on your suicidal road to insanity. Write and do what is correct, not what a tiny minority dictates.

David Browda | Lodi




'No former fighters'

Your July 29 article "Sting like a Maccabee" quoted Jewish boxer Dimitriy Salita saying that in the 1930s there were "Jewish fighters who were considered some of the greatest fighters of all time ... Benny Leonard is the Jewish Muhammad Ali."

Benny Leonard was indeed a great fighter, but my uncle, Barney Ross, like Muhammad Ali, was both a great boxer and had the courage of his convictions.

Forty years before Ali made headlines by refusing to fight in Vietnam, Ross entered the ring of public controversy with his efforts to rescue Jewish refugees from the Holocaust.

Thanks to research by the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, we know that Ross was active in the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe (the Bergson group), which used newspaper ads and rallies to press for the rescue.

Later, he was active in Bergson's American League for a Free Palestine, and chaired its George Washington Legion, which recruited Americans to join the militia fighting the British in Mandatory Palestine.

One Bergson newspaper ad featured a photo of him with his words: "There is no such thing as a former fighter. We must all continue the fight. Amen.

Audrey Cantor | Northbrook, Ill.




Keep jokes

Please don't listen to the small minority that would have you eliminate your joke column. I think that the jokes are delightful and I love to share them with my friends at the JCC.

After all, "laughter is the best medicine" and as far as I know, "Thou shalt not laugh" is not included in the Ten Commandments.

As for the j., I always find it interesting and informative.

Andrew P. Morgan | San Francisco




No future in Poland

As an ex-Polish citizen, living in Poland for over 50 years, I was shocked reading Stephen Dobbs July 29 article "Jewish life over death in Poland."

I was very surprised how it can be so easy to forget and forgive what Poland and the Polish population did to the Jews and Jewish community with their extreme anti-Semitic feelings before World War I (1918-1939), during World War II and after World War II (1945-1980s).

It is impossible to believe that Poland and the Polish population suddenly began to love the Jews and the Jewish culture.

What's happening in Poland now, it is very fashionable. There are economic benefits to attracting tourists to visit Poland.

Poland is definitely not the right place to help to build a Jewish community and a future for Jews. I doubt the victims of the Kielce and Jedwabne pogroms and the Holocaust survivors from Poland would agree that Poland deserves any kind of help.

I am open and available for a debate with Dobbs and will provide him with information and facts I believe he doesn't know and isn't aware of.

Jakob Atlas | San Francisco




'Through the mikvah'

Thanks to Dan Pine for his Aug. 5 column on conversion. He neither damned nor overglorified converts to Judaism.

"Should Jews rethink conversion strategy?" he asks. Jews will continue to rethink everything, and will find unanimous agreement on very little. No problem — we're into process.

As for those who have converted, are now converting, or are thinking about it, there should be more resources. Here in the East Bay I maintain a small listserv of and for converts and seekers. The members share thoughts, books and conversation, and are willing to speak with others who are treading the same path.

What movement did they convert into? Orthodox to Renewal, they are remarkably nonjudgmental of each other.

I try to offer a workshop on conversion once a year.

We need to keep the door open. Jews by birth came in through the womb, Jews-by-choice came in through the mikvah. We all stood at Sinai (Deut. 29:1, 9-14); let's stick together now.

Dawn C. Kepler | Oakland
director of Building Bridges: Outreach to Interfaith Couples

Film fest forgettable

Nu, you ask, did I go to the Jewish Film Festival? Oy, where else could I stand in the sun for an hour before they opened the doors? And once I got in, did I get a seat? Only after a complete stranger let me sit down because on every seat was a coat, a hat, a book— they were saved. Would it hurt to print tickets with seat numbers? But this is a small thing because I was sent the wrong tickets for the wrong night, at the wrong theater. Did they help? "We don't make exchanges or refund." They wouldn't do anything. Four tickets I paid for but couldn't use. There was no arguing with these menschen. Even Abraham could get God to change his mind about Sodom and gomorrha, but not these bureaucrats. Maybe next year will be better, God willing.

Marvin H. Zinn | Castro Valley




'One-sided portrayal'

Right on, Bruce Reingold (Aug. 12 letters). We have attended many films of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival these last few years, and we have learned to shun the ever-present blatantly anti-Israel entries.

This time, however, "Wall" slipped by us. And so we were unfortunately present to lament the one-sided sympathetic portrayal of the Palestinians whose lives are interrupted by the inconvenience of the barrier, who sneak around and through the rolls of barbed wire to carry on their lives without ever once showing the inhuman destruction wrought on Israelis by Palestinian terrorists, the real cause of the wall/fence being built. It made us feel a bit like Shylock: "Do we not bleed?"

"Zucker," a "comedy" entry from Germany (of all places), was also extremely distasteful at best: a shallow stereotypical caricature of German-speaking Jews, greedy amoral money-hungry hypocrites. We could literally visualize the Germans laughing at us, we the simpletons who consider that film Jewish art.

And lastly, shouldn't the festival be more correctly called the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Film Festival?

Paul & Sharry Schwarzbart | San Rafael




Best bagels

Your survey methodology for the July 22 "Best of the Jewish Bay Area" does need some work. Many of the published choices made me wince. As far as I can tell, for example, Noah's Bagels has never actually served a bagel. It cannot possibly be best bagel, although it's a fun store to visit.

Where to get a real bagel in the Bay Area? Izzy's in Palo Alto or various House of Bagels are authentic and quite good.

Art Altman | San Carlos




'Improper, illogical'

We are extremely disappointed in j.'s decision to hold a contest for the "best of" everything in the Bay Area Jewish community. We believe that the Northern California/Bay Area is one of the finest Jewish communities in the country — it takes all of us to make this a true statement.

It is improper and illogical to attempt to quantify who is the best. The quality of our community must not be based on a popularity contest responded to by a small number. It appears to be a commercial venue to increase the j.'s profits with advertising from the organizations/people receiving recognition.

Please abolish any thoughts of continuing this type of misleading contest.

Len and Roberta Cohn | Moraga




Relationship clarified

I was very pleased to read your coverage of PlanitJewish.com's excellent new service for schools in the Aug. 12 Back to School supplement. But I'd like to clarify the company's relationship with InterfaithFamily.com.

PlanitJewish.com developed InterfaithFamily.com and hosts our Connections In Your Area system, which connects people in interfaith relationships to welcoming Jewish organizations and programs all over North America, with particular emphasis on local areas for which we provide community pages, including San Francisco and the greater East Bay.

Connections is just one of the services that InterfaithFamily.com offers, in addition to our biweekly Web magazine and archive, online discussions and our advocacy membership association, the InterfaithFamily.com Network.

Edmund Case | Newton, Mass.
InterfaithFamily.com president

Recalling a pioneer

I wanted to mention that the "staff of one" in 1980 that Lee Marsh referred to in the recent article "BRJCC at 25" was my late husband, Sandy Trachtenberg. He died suddenly May 8, 1983.

Sandy devoted his life, both professionally and personally, to Jewish causes.

He was the child of Holocaust survivors. He started the Rhode Island chapter of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry while he was in college, and went on to receive a master's degree in Jewish communal service from Brandeis University.

He continued on this Jewish professional path when we arrived in Berkeley in 1978, working for the Jewish Community Center of San Jose. He was a founder of Generation to Generation Children of Holocaust Survivors, and sat on the board of directors for the East Bay Jewish Community Relations Council.

He was hired by the Oakland Jewish Community Center to help Lee and Dorothy Marsh, Ursula Sherman and the other founders of the BRJCC.

I hope others will remember Sandy as having a hand in the building of the wonderful BRJCC.

Karen Winkleman (Trachtenberg) Furman | Palo Alto




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.

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