‘Absolute obliteration of kashrut’
It would be mishegas for Wise Sons Deli to be a caterer or tenant at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. (“San Francisco’s favorite deli is coming to the JCC”)
For years, they have made a mockery of the Contemporary Jewish Museum and Judaism generally, by making and selling treif food.
Their normal menu at other locations combine meat and dairy, which is an absolute obliteration of kashrut in their Reubens, burgers, sandwiches and breakfast favorites.
It’s really unlikely that any of the ingredients used are kosher.
It is bad enough what is happening with antisemitism without adding to the trauma with ridicule from inside the community.
Judah Loew
San Francisco
Rabbi Weissman is a treasure
Thanks to J. for publishing that delightful article about Rabbi Sarah Weissman’s new position (“Temple Beth Torah’s new rabbi ready to ‘spread her wings”). As a member of Congregation Beth Am, I am truly grieving the loss of Rabbi Sarah, a feeling that is widely shared among my fellow congregants.
It is a shame that the leaders of Beth Am were too busy searching for some imaginary superstar to recognize the treasure that is Rabbi Sarah. Congratulations to Temple Beth Torah on choosing an inspiring and caring rabbi. Our loss is their gain.
Jamie Beckett
Redwood City
‘Chickens for KFC’
Your story from JTA about Netanyahu’s speech was more or less free of opinion (“Netanyahu is defiant in landmark fourth congressional address”). Congratulations on that. I noted his comment about “Gays for Gaza” being similar to “Chickens for KFC” that is being used against pro-Palestine protesters.
A friend of mine, an imam from Pakistan, once said about a local rabbi, who is a gay man and a supporter of Palestinian rights, that gays understand about human rights, so he wasn’t surprised that the rabbi would be so caring. Human beings who care about life support those whose lives are being destroyed, period. We can sort out the details later.
Lois Pearlman
Guerneville
UnXeptable should oppose Hamas
UnXeptable should be opposing the policies of Hamas, which include barbarically violating a cease-fire on Oct. 7 and vowing more of the same to come (“‘This war needs to end,’ Bay Area Israeli expats tell Netanyahu in D.C.”).
Should Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strike a deal that requires Israel to withdraw from the conflict before Hamas is destroyed, Hamas will be re-supplied by “Death to Israel” Iran with whatever it needs to attack Israel again and again. Read the Hamas Covenant.
UnXeptable should oppose the policy of Hamas that prioritizes building a sophisticated underground complex of military tunnels and command posts with the endless foreign aid it receives, instead of building a cruise ship destination or developing a Mediterranean Singapore.
War is hell, but UnXeptable’s push to end the war (which was forced upon Israel) before Hamas is rendered inoperable will obviously and severely undermine the security of Israel and guarantee more and worse hellish death and destruction very soon.
Julia Lutch
Davis
Jew versus Jew
As an active member of Jewish Voice for Peace Bay Area (JVP), I appreciated Amy Spitalnick’s essay in J. (“To defeat antisemitism, we must embrace partnership and reject polarization”). Spitalnick is CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA,) a group that says it fights antisemitism and other forms of division by “working together across differences” and asserts that the “only path forward is to recognize that all of our rights and safety are intertwined.” I and most JVP members would agree.
Unfortunately, JCPA’s actual practice excludes large numbers of Jews and non-Jews from the fight. That’s because Spitalnick confuses criticism of Israel with antisemitism, classing Israel’s critics as Jew-hating threats to Jewish security. She cites demonstrations against real estate sales of stolen Palestinian land, held at American synagogues, as antisemitic attacks on Jewish houses of worship.
This is the critical dilemma in which Israel places diaspora Jews. Do we support the crimes of Israel, including the slaughter of children in Gaza, when such support causes justifiable anger against us? Or do we act on JCPA’s call for an “inclusive, pluralistic democracy,” recognizing that “none of us are safe until we are all safe”?
I vote for inclusivity, including Palestinians.
David Spero
San Francisco
Harris over Trump
What a shanda! In J.’s article “Kamala Harris supports Israel, but is it enough?,” it says that the Jewish right wing has attacked Harris as insufficiently supportive of Israel. We Jews have always prided ourselves on our empathy for others, for rachmones. Support for Israel is important but not when failure to support Harris means support for a rapist, criminal, liar and bigot who has no empathy for women, minorities, the poor, the disabled or anyone or any cause besides himself. We Jews can and must do better than that.
Alan Godhammer
Orinda
Supporting Netanyahu
Rob Eshman’s column (“‘He should go and stay’: As Netanyahu visits Congress, Israelis at home are tired of the act”) is snide journalism that relies on the lowest form of “man on the street” anecdotes to support his disparagement of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Long after the sniping by media hacks is forgotten, the facts and importance of the address will be remembered. Israel, the UAE and the U.S. are in negotiation for a Palestinian Authority to be run by technocrats and secured by Arab peacekeepers to bring self-governance without the death cult of Hamas. Netanyahu stated that a deradicalized and demilitarized Gaza, governed by Palestinians, is the goal. With rights comes responsibilities for fighting terror that the Palestinians, who express support for Hamas (70% approve of Oct. 7 and continued terror), have not yet adopted. If Israeli destruction is the goal, the goalpost of independence will never be reached.
Most significantly, Iran and its Jihadist proxies are a threat to the global order, and Israel is fighting on the frontline with U.S. assistance, providing arms without American troops on the ground. Like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Netanyahu was there to express gratitude for bipartisan US support and — like Russian aggression that will not stop with Ukraine — the threat Iran poses will be coming to the West. Despite Netanyahu’s many faults, he made a case for his people against the treachery of Israel’s enemies, who cannot abide the strategic alliance that Israel has with the U.S. Our Jewish journalists should keep the perspective that Israel is in an existential struggle, and disparagement of the messenger does our people no favors
Jeff Saperstein
Mill Valley