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Misusing the Shoah

When a non-Jew evokes images of the Holocaust to describe some random act of hatred, or ethnic or racial discrimination, we go ballistic — and rightly so.

   How shocking, then, that Abe Foxman, longtime director of the ADL and a survivor himself, would invoke that unique event in his back-peddling opposition to the Islamic center in Manhattan.

   Referring to the loved ones of 9/11 victims, Foxman said in the New York Times: “Survivors of the Holocaust are entitled to feelings that are irrational.”

   Regardless of the other flaws in his argument, does Mr. Foxman equate the tragic loss of 3,000 lives by a terrorist cell, to the horrific, systemized, previously unimaginable technological murder of the Six Million and countless other victims of the Nazis?

   Mr. Foxman has not, for a long time, either consulted or spoken for the ADL membership, let alone the Jewish community of New York or elsewhere.

   How pathetic that when he passed his peak he didn’t lay down his alarm bell and retire! Now it is my hope that he resigns. If not, can we ever again complain when others misuse the sacred memory of the Shoah?

Rabbi Moshe Levin   |   San Francisco

 

Pluralism is real

Joshua Skootsky’s letter (“Stop meddling with conversion bill,” July 30) is precisely the reason Israel is rapidly alienating itself from the global Jewish people. Skootsky writes, “Reform or Conservative Judaism is an American export with a tiny following — less than 1 percent of all Israelis are Reform or Conservative.” His numbers are wrong, but his point is more problematic.

   Judaism is and has always been a global reality, and the Jewish extremism that dominates the Israeli landscape is killing Judaism for the vast majority of Israelis. Masorti (Conservative) and Mitkademet (Reform) Judaism are fighting for the soul of Judaism in Israel. Jews around the world must take notice and join in the effort.

Rabbi Menachem Creditor   |   Berkeley

Congregation Netivot Shalom

 

J Street is deceptive

To answer your op-ed headline, “Is J Street trying to deceive the public?” (July 30), one needs to look no further than into J Street’s president and founder Jeremy Ben-Ami’s article under this headline. His platitude that “the mainstream of Americans, Jewish and non-Jewish, will support a major push to forge a rational resolution to the conflict” speaks for itself. Of course, the majority of people stand for a rational resolution. But it hardly justifies J Street’s birth and existence.

   Unfortunately, behind J Street’s “rational” façade is lurking its irrational push to force Israel into more concessions to Palestinians and accommodations of their ever-expanding demands. While AIPAC aims to develop and nurture within the American public the appreciation of the mortal threat to Israel, J Street muddies waters by insisting that Israel must do more and more to cajole her enemies.

   J Street’s prodding for urgent actions in the Mideast

conflict is totally irrelevant. As evident from Netanyahu’s April and July visits, the administration follows its own path toward Israel. What is relevant is that J Street drains resources, which otherwise could have been available to fight anti-Israel forces around the globe.

Vladimir Kaplan   |   San Mateo

 

Not welcome at the Wall

The caption of the photo on page 10 (“Kotel jubilation,” July 30) was sadly misleading.

   As wonderful as it is for us to celebrate new immigrants to Israel, this is not a photo of people “at the Western Wall.” This is a photo of people near the Wall — you will notice the “security fence” behind them. These people are not allowed at the Wall — at least not as mixed-gender couples, friends or families. The Israeli government has divided the Wall in response to the demands of a small radical sect. And in dividing the Wall, it has divided our people — woman from man, wife from husband.

   This is exactly what Pharoah did. It is surely what the enemies of Judaism and of Israel would do if they had the chance.

Marty Klein   |   Palo Alto

 

Truth about American Friends

Allan Solomonow claims that the American Friends Service Committee is not anti-Israel (Letters, July 30). Yet AFSC participates in, and endorses, events promoting BDS — the “boycott, divestment, sanctions” movement that demands Israel end its existence as the state of the Jewish people. Last December at the anti-Israel demonstration in Union Square, a flyer promoting BDS was handed out; included on the list of endorsers was “Pacific Mountain Region of the American Friends Service Committee.” (You can see the flyer at www.bluetruth.net/2010/01

/jewish-voice-for-peace-and-afsc.html).

   I invite Mr. Solomonow to publicly declare that AFSC opposes the BDS movement. His silence will tell us all we need to know.

Michael Harris   |   San Rafael

 

Support human rights, Israel

A Nobel Prize in Chemistry was recently awarded to Dr. Ada Yonath of Weizmann Institute, Israel. The award came for her  investigations of a body cell component, ribosomes, which control protein reactions and may improve life quality and duration.

   But Dr. Yonath and other Israeli scientists involved in  life-improving research are targets for Palestinian/

Hamas terrorists or missiles. To Hamas members and their Palestinian supporters who voted for that  party to govern Gaza, the slaying of Israeli scientists, even if working on a life-improving project, would be of no consequence as their covenant proclaims that Israel is to be wiped out.

   U.S. supporters of Palestinians must also accept this possibility of unintended killings. Even if supporters claim to be “human rights activists” they must understand that their support means that they approve/accept three or four honor killings per month, that they approve persecution of  homosexuals, female circumcision, stoning of woman for adultery and limitations on women’s activities.

   How fortunate to live in a nation where if one favors human rights, they can support Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. If one opposes human rights, especially for women, they can support Palestinians.

Bud Rubin   |   Palo Alto