Standing up for Jewish students
Tammi Benjamin hasn’t just taken on the University of California, she has embarrassed members of the Jewish establishment who have ignored this problem for too long (“Standing tall in Santa Cruz,” Nov. 4). The local Hillel has been not only ineffectual in combating anti-Semitism on campus, at times it has promoted it. How are Jewish students supposed to feel when Hillel helps bring Hatem Bazian to U.C. Santa Cruz?
A number of UCSC students have told me privately that they are afraid to speak publicly about the anti-Israel bias on campus for fear of retribution from faculty members. Part of this fear is because they feel that they do not have any support in the campus community. With Tammi taking this bold action students now know they have an advocate.
As a UCSC alum and former board member of UCSC Hillel, I support Tammi Benjamin 100 percent in her efforts to make UCSC less hostile for Jewish students. The university suffers when students are intimidated and professors abuse the classroom for their political agenda.
Gil Stein | Aptos
Occupy’s hateful tactics
Last week, professor Tammi Benjamin received a flyer from one or more members of Occupy Wall Street. It had anti-Semitic rhetoric and Abe Foxman’s name and address on it, and, also the address of a N.Y. synagogue. (Foxman is the executive director of the national office of the Anti-Defamation League. Benjamin teaches at U.C. Santa Cruz and has been a leader in combating anti-Israel propaganda on the college campuses.)
Tammi alerted many people about the flyer, including me. I suggested to her that someone who would spew out something so detestable as anti-Semitism might also try to turn our people against each other and/or against our institutions.
I think that it’s incumbent that any tactic that expresses hateful language or action toward our people and/or Israel should be exposed. It does not matter whether it comes from OWS or any other movement/circumstance of the left, right or center. “Never again” is mandated to be realized. We cannot afford to fail in this task.
Susan Heller-Somerville | Oakland
‘Cut’ doc has it wrong
If you liked the anti-Semitic-supported S.F. circumcision ban initiative, you’ll love a documentary named “Cut,” a Jewish version reported in j. (“Filmmaker puts circumcision on the table in ‘Cut,”’ Oct. 21). The potential harm to males is the same. There is now overwhelming scientific evidence of multiple preventive health benefits of newborn circum-cision. These include protection against severe infant kidney infections, foreskin infections and retraction problems in childhood. Most significant later on is less chance of acquiring HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. Circumcision helps prevent penile cancer in men, and cervical cancer in women.
As “intactavists” such as Mr. Ungar-Sargon are convincing some Jewish parents, we are now seeing foreskin-related diseases in Jewish boys for the first time in 4,000 years. For shame.
Dr. Edgar J. Schoen
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, UCSF | San Francisco
Stop Israel’s ‘surrender’
A recent survey suggests that older Conservative rabbis identify more strongly with Israel than younger ones (“Rabbis’ identification with Israel: a generational thing?,” Oct. 14). The author of the survey says it’s probably caused not by the rabbis’ ages, but by the era in which they came of age. If true, what was the difference in the eras that led to these different attitudes?
When Israel won its smashing victory in the Six-Day War, Jews everywhere felt a huge surge of pride and rushed to identify with the Jewish state. But it’s been many years since Israel displayed that kind of strength.
Young Jews watching it today see a nation that’s always apologizing, always retreating, caving to external pressures and having no answer when its enemies accuse it of stealing their land. Why would young Jews want to identify with a nation like that?
If you want to see young American Jews identify with Israel again, let it stop its policy of piecemeal surrender, make no more concessions or retreats, acknowledge that it’s at war with an implacable foe, set its goal for victory rather than stalemate and pursue that goal vigorously until success.
Martin Wasserman | Sunnyvale
Imagining a new covenant
Kudos to Abby Porth (Governor signs law ending circumcision bans,”
Oct. 7) for her stalwart support of religious freedom! Had Abraham made a covenant with God that demanded coed-prenuptial sacrifice among his tribespeople, I’m “almost” confident she would also champion the sacred rite/right of “female bris.”
Paul Zuppan | Walnut Creek
Confession is a Jewish thing
Regarding Emma Silver’s column (“Clearing the way for new challenges and experiences in 5772,” Sept. 30), the line “Jews don’t really do the whole ‘confession thing’ ” struck me as silly and very under-researched.
A quick glance at almost any page of the High Holy Day machzor (prayerbook) would show that Jews very much do the “confession thing” and have done so for the last 3,000 years.
Quoting a rabbi in the play “Angels in America” — instead of consulting with any of the many real rabbis in the Bay Area — seemed like not the most solid way of finding out what is the Jewish approach to confession and what are the very deep layers of meaning attached to this time of year.
Shalom Bochner | Berkeley