Letters

From soldier’s mother: ‘Who are you to judge?’

Rabbi Eilberg (“Trying to make sense of a new, unethical, Israeli army,” March 27):

I am writing to you from a point of view of a mother of a soldier in the IDF. The war you criticized could have been prevented had the Hamas stopped firing on civilians in Israel. War is a very ugly picture. Every day during this war I prayed that the leaders of our enemy will be wise enough to stop their aggression.

Your heart went to the poor Palestinians who suffered through the war, but what about us, the Israelis? You may or may not have heard the commanders of our soldiers giving orders in plain Hebrew. They ordered the soldiers to protect their lives before the life of any Palestinian who seemed suspicious. I thank them for that. The lives of our soldiers are precious and should not be taken lightly.

My question to you: Who are you to judge what is right or wrong or ethical during a war time? Who is giving you the right to criticize the IDF or their soldiers? God bless you and I hope you will never be in a position of being worried about your kids fighting a war to protect the lives of their loved ones.

Noga Niv   |   Palo Alto

Can we civilly disagree?

Rabbi Amy Eilberg has expressed the sorrow many of us experienced reading of disregard for civilian casualties by some IDF soldiers in Gaza. Her report that Rabbi Arik Ascherman “rent his shirt” in response is searing because it is so immediate and raw. And yet, Rabbi Eilberg received hate mail from our community. Perhaps we should collectively tear our shirts in response to this conduct.

 We do have resources to frame our deep disagreements.

 Cannot the talmudic habit of mind be our guide?

Should we not celebrate our capacity to weigh the “prophet” and “guardian” within each of us?

Isn’t this our legacy?

Isn’t this the cultural DNA of our collective psyche, passed down through generations of mothers and fathers, echoing the rabbinic voices, the tropes of Torah?

 A founding principle of Brit Tzedek is to bring forward for examination throughout our community the differences among us regarding Israeli government policies, precisely for Israel’s well-being. Civil discourse can sustain our communal bonds as we respectfully air our sometimes diametrically opposing views, to come to deeper understanding of our fears and our visions for a better world.

Hate mail is self-destructive for American Jewry and for Israel.

Molly Freeman

S.F. Bay Area chapter leader

Brit Tzedek v’Shalom

Too quick to accuse

As a rabbi, Amy Eilberg should know better. What she has done in her opinion is Lashon Hara at its worst. She is merely repeating accusations which were found to be false. No correction or apology can make up for the damage the initial article has caused. These accusations were only second hand accounts; there is no evidence against any Israeli soldier involved in any of these purported incidents.

At the same time, she is silent on the systematic use by Hamas of civilians as human shields, shooting from schools and homes, and using mosques as bases for storing weapons and launching attacks.  These are all publicly documented, as is the extreme restraint shown by the IDF, who risk their own lives to avoid civilian casualties.

Rabbi Eilberg should not be so quick to judge others now that she is guilty herself.

Bob Cohen   |   Menlo Park

Rabbi replies with regrets and concerns

I’m aware that there have been questions about my March 27 op-ed regarding testimony by Israeli soldiers who served in Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. It has since emerged that an investigation by army officials concluded that two specific reports of soldiers killing Palestinian civilians was based on hearsay. I regret having made reference to these incidents. I also regret j’s choice of a headline for my op-ed. The paper’s headline was more provocative than any that I would have authored.

However, nothing has changed in the depth of my concern that a group of Israelis testified that during the operation in Gaza they witnessed a pervasive policy of permissiveness regarding care for the life and dignity of the Palestinian population, in contrast to the long-standing policy of “tohar haneshek” (“purity of arms”) on which the Israel Defense Forces has prided itself. These claims have not been discredited. In fact, I have since learned that 11 Israeli human rights groups have called for an independent investigation.

What have we come to, that some readers have become so intent on “defending” Israel against all criticism that they are unwilling to believe Israeli soldiers’ own accounts of the war in which they served?

Rabbi Amy Eilberg    |   Saint Paul, Minn.

Editor’s note: When we went to press Wednesday, March 25, the Israeli military was still investigating the allegations and had not yet debunked them. We printed the only JTA news story that we had at the time. However, we apologize for the tone of the headlines on both the news story and Rabbi Eilberg’s column. This week we are publishing  a story about the military’s report on page 20 and an op-ed column on page 40 that says Israel has no reason to apologize.

A ‘journalistic disgrace’

Thank you for alerting the j’s readers about this ongoing problem with the Daily Planet (“Anti-Israel letters to Berkeley newspaper draw ire,” March 27).

The Daily Planet has long been a journalistic disgrace as well as an insult to those of us residing in Berkeley who don’t subscribe to the far left agenda. The Planet’s favorite subject to publish lies and inaccuracies about is Israel, a popular whipping boy for much of its readership. The sheer volume of letters in the Planet deriding Israel while pretending not to be anti Jewish is appalling and frightening. The Daily Planet has a long tradition of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel editorialism which is well documented.

No legitimate media outlet should publish racist rants against African Americans, Latinos, the LGBT population or Jews. Yet the Planet does so against Jews with disturbing regularity.

I personally plan to let the Planet’s advertisers know that I find the Planet offensive and racist towards Israel and Jews and ask them why want to be associated with such a publication.

Anybody who wants more proof should visit http://www.dpwatchdog.com

Susan Sholin   |   Berkeley

Federation model not a good fit

I’m a professional Jew in my early 30s. I give almost my entire charitable budget to Jewish nonprofits. But the Federation isn’t among them. I know dozens of other Jews my age who do the same. Shocking, I know.

Why? In my case, I agree with many things the Federation funds, but not all. When I called Federation recently, I asked if I could target my gift to the causes and issues I care about most. I was told no, it was an all-or-nothing proposition. I was, and still am, flabbergasted by this answer. I’m generous with my giving, but I do it on my own terms — not unusual for my generation.

To those who tell me I need the Federation’s expertise in researching and evaluating charities, I say that’s condescending. Like many younger donors, I do my own research, thank you very much. It’s so easy, thanks to a wealth of free, web-based resources.

I wish Federation well, and I encourage those who believe in the full range of causes they fund to increase their support this year if possible. The Federation model still works well for many of us, but not all.

Laurie Krakauer   |   San Francisco