letters

Much ado for the mandolin

Thanks for alerting the community to the wonderful riches of the Jewish Music Festival, and especially the unique mandolin orchestra performance (“Revival of lost mandolin orchestra making debut in Berkeley,” March 4).

   It was very meaningful to learn it had been sponsored by Avner Yonai as an homage to the 1930’s Ger Mandolin Orchestra, where his grandfather and many other relatives played before the Holocaust destroyed that famous Jewish community.

   From Mr. Yonai’s moving speech about this lost chapter of European Jewry to the opening memorial dedication of a soulful “Sholom Aleichem,” the concert progressed from glory to glory. Exciting participants from an international star roster of musicians included famous organizer Mark Mitchell, popular Yiddishist Jeff Warschauer and Avi Avital, the first mandolin player to be nominated for a Grammy award.

   The musicians’ joy in playing together was contagious, inspiring the audience to tears and cheers.

   Congratulations to Ellie Shapiro and her small hard-working crew for coordinating such a special event, and all the other great festival concerts, from opening night’s rousing Yemen Blues to the great traditional closing Klezmer Dance Party on March 13.

Susan Steinberg   |   Livermore

Paul Weiss   |   Livermore

Progressive or hateful?

The coincidence of two major articles in j. describing “progressive voices” in the Jewish community is worthy of comment (“The progressive prophet” and “J Street sign: Keep left,” March 4).

   Michael Lerner, who has been peddling his wares for 25 years, is a skillful, self-serving publicist and exploiter of his Jewish identity. His credo is obviously “blame Israel first” and his personal presentation of an award to Judge Richard Goldstone is a perfect example. Goldstone exemplifies extreme hubris for allowing his name to be used as the chair of a United Nations group which offered a preordained result and found a Jewish handle under which it was presented. This is self-delusion at its worst.

   Ironically, Lerner over the years has damaged the progressive movement of which he so proudly claims to be a part. His anti-Israel screed has allowed other progressives to justify their bashing of Israel because the positions are addressed first and blatantly by a Jewish rabbi.

   The article on J Street reports that their members are increasingly from the fringe left of the Jewish community. However, the article fails to report the recent revelation that the repeated denials by Executive Director Jeremy Ben Ami that his organization was substantially financed by George Soros were untruthful.

Larry Goldberg   |   Tiburon

J Street’s real mission

Uriel Heilman’s reportage of the recent J Street conference (“J Street sign: Keep left,” March 4) misrepresents J Street’s positions and ignores major parts of the event. Indeed, I and my fellow attendees find ourselves among the majority of American and Israeli Jews who, according to recent B’nai B’rith and New America Foundation surveys, agree with J Street’s position in support of a two-state solution and a bold U.S. role in resolving the conflict. Supporting Israel as a secure and democratic homeland for the Jewish people alongside a sovereign Palestinian state is not a “leftist” opinion.

   Heilman rightly notes that the conference wasn’t monolithic; indeed, J Street represents the best traditions of Jewish debate and wrestling with difficult problems to reach solutions. This is an approach not to be dismissed, but celebrated.

   Ami Ayalon, the decorated former commander of Israel’s navy and former chief of Israel’s Security Service addressed J Street’s first conference, providing the following vision: “Two states for two peoples. Permanent borders generally following 1967 lines. Removal of the settlers from Palestine. Jerusalem as an open city, capital of two states … the Palestinian state demilitarized, protected by international forces. And the conflict will end.”

   Like Gen. Ayalon, J Street and its supporters aren’t leftists. We’re pro-peace Zionists and pragmatic realists. 

Michael J. Cooper   |   Lafayette