Tattoos on a Jew: ‘Profane bumper stickers’
Tattoos, hairdos, clothing styles and bumper stickers, be they tame or wild, carry their statements for all to see. As we grow older though, our clothing changes, our bumper stickers lose the profanity, our hairstyles quiet down.
How opposite then are tattoos, picket signs of the skin that shout: “We find our own scars attractive and want to show them. We disregard the Jewish contempt of scarification.”
I can still feel that first chilling pang of regret for my own tattoos. It was the first time I saw the numbers on the arm of a survivor, a neighbor in Cleveland some 25 years ago.
I had heard he and his wife had numbers, so I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong. Instead, I finally came to see what my own tattoos-on-a-Jew were: profane bumper stickers that I had outgrown, but couldn’t escape by changing cars.
I no longer carry that graffiti, that burdensome silly picket sign. I am so thankful for the UCSF dermatology clinic, which gave me back that fresh start.
Your readers might want to keep this referral in their Rolodexes for future use, to replace that of the tattoo parlor.
Julie T. Cohen | Pleasant Hill
‘Nothing more horrific’
It was with absolute disbelief that I read Peter Newman’s Jan. 23 letter about getting a tattoo on one’s forearm, in memory and honor of a survivor of the blackest time in our history.
When I initially read it, I thought he was being sarcastic, using dark humor, but obviously he is not.
I could think of nothing more horrific than tattooing a number on one’s arm to remember individuals. The tattoo reduced people to numbers; they were as nothing while in the camps, mere numbers to be disposed of, any iota of their humanity and uniqueness as individuals taken away.
Speaking to survivors today makes one so aware of the individuality and uniqueness of these people. Why remember them by the very thing that takes that uniqueness away?
If you wish to remember a survivor, support an organization that records their stories, invite them to your synagogues and schools to speak to the generation that will grow up to become witnesses themselves one day.
Ilona Shechter | Sunnyvale
An Einstein myth?
Dan Pine, in his Jan. 23 article on dreams, repeated the myth that Einstein was “a poor student throughout most of his youth.”
Einstein was a good student, as can easily be verified by checking his grades, which have been published along with much other biographical material. He dropped out of the gymnasium (high school) he was attending in Germany not because of poor grades but because he objected to the rigid and authoritarian mode of instruction, and he continued his education in Switzerland.
The worst thing about this myth is that it conveys to students the idea that they can accomplish great things without doing well in school. This may be true for some fields, but to succeed in science and other professions you need to enter a university followed by graduate school, which is impossible with poor grades.
We should encourage students to study.
John Brunn | San Francisco
Boycott KQED-FM
Once again, KQED-FM, our local National Public Radio affiliate, is running a pledge drive — and once again, I call on all Bay Area Jews who care about Israel to boycott the drive or to cancel any pledges already made, and to tell KQED-FM exactly why you’re doing so.
Why? Because NPR remains one of the most biased, anti-Israel American media outlets (go to www.CAMERA.org for exhaustive proof).
Constantly critical of Israel, NPR portrays Palestinians as innocent victims, minimizes Arab terrorism and downplays Israeli suffering.
NPR refuses honest self-examination and defends its reporting in knee-jerk fashion.
Do you love Israel? Then boycott KQED-FM, and tell them why!
Jonathan Segal | Palo Alto
Irrelevant information?
On Dec. 19, you published an article concerning a kosher diet lawsuit filed by an inmate at CSP/Solano.
In the article, you printed the inmate’s conviction. This information was entirely irrelevant to the subject matter. It seems that you intended the reader to infer that there is some irony implicit in this story.
Those who are incarcerated are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. If they succumb to the prison culture, we regard this as proof they deserve to be where they are. But when they take “uncharacteristic” actions to turn their lives around, we dismiss their efforts as a scam.
I expected j. to present a more nuanced account of the plight of Jews who are trying to do the difficult work of tshuvah, repentance, in our state’s prisons.
Carole Hyman | Penngrove
Jewish chaplain
California Medical Facility, Vacaville
California State Prison, Solano
Thanks for article
Thank you so much for Alexandra Wall’s excellent article on queer Torah (Jan. 16 j.). I’d like to see more articles like hers.
Alexander Jackson | Menlo Park
‘An emerging trend’
Kudos to j. for shining a light on an emerging trend: Weddings with a philanthropic twist (Jan. 23 j.).
More and more, couples across a broad range of age and religious identities are using their special day as a way to promote new beginnings, both for themselves and for the charities they support.
Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger has long encouraged the link between lifecycle events and charitable giving. Over the course of nearly two decades, wedding and other contributions have helped Mazon raise $30 million in support of the most effective hunger-relief programs around the world.
Mazon does not accept food donations. Rather, it raises money from socially conscious Jews committed to ending the scourge of hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds.
Mazon then pools its funds and makes targeted grants to anti-hunger agencies that work not only to meet people’s emergency food needs but also to find sustainable solutions that offer the less fortunate among us hope for a brighter future.
Jeremy Deutchman | Los Angeles
director of communications and development
Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Zaka help urged
Thank you for your Jan. 23 article on Zaka, the Israeli volunteer rescue and recovery organization, which I have been supporting for some time.
In addition to Zaka’s highly important and commendable rescue and recovery work, for which it has become widely known in the past three years, since Arab terrorists intensified their attacks on Israel, Zaka’s volunteers provide emergency services at the sites of automobile accidents and other incidents that involve injuries or fatalities.
Zaka’s staff, nearly all of whom are volunteers, refer to their incredibly difficult work as avodat kodesh (“holy work”).
Zaka’s Web site is at www.zaka.org.il — it’s in Hebrew but the pictures need no words.
Zaka’s activities are funded by donations. Since the article didn’t provide contact information, I’d like to encourage readers to donate to Zaka by contacting the U.S. office at Zaka Rescue and Recovery, 622 E. Eighth St., Brooklyn, NY 11218.
Rivka Sherman-Gold | Palo Alto
letters policy
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