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Magnes story continues

It was gratifying to read in j. that, due to the vision and generosity of local philanthropists, the Magnes Museum’s Western Jewish History Center will find a new home at U.C. Berkeley’s Bancroft Library (“Magnes partners with U.C. Berkeley to preserve collection,” June 25).

The WJHC was founded by the late Seymour Fromer, and under his leadership and that of Professor Moses Rischin, who served as director for several decades, a series of highly skilled, dedicated archivists built up the premier regional Jewish history center in the country.

The history of the Bay Area Jewish community has been exceptional in many respects. Fortunately, the tools needed to tell its story — institutional minutes and personal correspondence, photos and ephemera, books and periodicals — will be preserved for future generations. 

Fred Rosenbaum   |   New York City

Founding director, Lehrhaus Judaica

A step in the right direction

I think it is important to give credit where credit is due and the co-sponsorship of the July 10 Union Square screening of ‘Dirty Dancing” by the San Francisco Jewish Film Fest was a fun, positive step in the right direction. What a great location! I hope they do something like this again next year to kick off the festival.

“Dirty Dancing” is not great cinema and it certainly is not everyone’s cup of tea, but the event was fun, lighthearted and evidence of the SFJFF’s power as a potential unifying force in our community rather than its previous divisive and irresponsible history.

Like many in the community who were dismayed by the scandalous behavior exhibited by the SFJFF last summer with “Rachel” and the subsequent, well-deserved, community backlash the SFJFF leadership received, I looked to this summer’s schedule as a chance for SFJFF to mend fences and act as a unifying, rather than a divisive force in our community. From what I have seen, there is progress in that direction.

As long as the SFJFF keeps steering a careful, constructive, positive course on Israel and with the Bay Area Jewish community, we can applaud progress when progress occurs. We expected better, and on July 10 we got better.

Steve Lipman   |   Foster City

Israel’s survival is job one

Rachel Biale’s unbalanced criticism of the federation and American Jews (Letters, July 9) for their support of both Israelis living in the West Bank and such respected institutions as the College of Judea and Samaria lacks any fact-based analysis.

She laments why we don’t support such viciously anti-Israel organizations as the American Friends Service Committee and the Lawyers Guild of America and urges redirecting of community dollars to similar agents of the pro-Palestinian hard-left. Other than her radical prescription for the federation to pander to such a cabal of Israel bashing attack-dogs, Ms. Biale’s smuggles in a pliant appeal to those of a leftish bent.

She urges Jews not to support Israel’s government because it will soon wipe out both the Jewish foundation and the democratic quality of the nation. For such inflamed antagonists, even when Israel acts wisely, impartially and with the best of motives, it fails their utopian test.

Short of explicit tolerance for Hamas and Hezbollah, one cannot expect a fragment of understanding from such commentators. They smugly turn aside and, in effect, believe that this is an enlightened view — and the ultimate cost to Israel’s liberty and survival be damned.

Ernest Weiner   |   Berkeley