Our ‘unholey’ cover art
I find the “Holey Strawberry!” Christmas cover of the Nov. 28 issue of J. offensive.
With Hanukkah written all over the cover, I would think a Hanukkah dish would have been appropriate. I’m one Jew sick of all the Christmas hype. Happy Hanukkah!
Rebecca Perl | Novato
Editor’s Note: We’re all about doughnuts for Hanukkah. See our gluten-free doughnut recipe, ube doughnut recipe, favorite local doughnut shops and food guide.
I’m not white — I’m ‘other’
Regarding your Nov. 12 article “New state law says Israelis aren’t white. Let the debates begin,” here’s where I stand on the debate: I’m a 100% Ashkenazi Jew who has been checking the box for “Middle Eastern” or “other” when asked to identify my race or ethnicity for my entire adult life. My Polish Jewish parents were not considered white by their Polish neighbors and were despised and unwelcome in their host country. Like Jews all over Eastern Europe, they were told “Jew go home to Palestine” — a recognition that Jewish ancestry was rooted in the Middle East and not in Europe.
I feel no connection to Poland but feel a deep and visceral connection to the land of my Middle Eastern ancestors. Middle Eastern and North African Jews are my family — not Eastern European Christians. So I am delighted to now be able to check the MENA box when the occasion arises, and I encourage all other Ashkenazi Jews to do the same. Claim your ancestry!
Malka Weitman | Berkeley
Call protesters ‘anti-Jewish’
When slogans such as “Long live the intifada,” “Death to the IDF” and “From the river to the sea…” are chanted in a crowd, it is an unequivocal call for the murder of Jews. J. should stop referring to these demonstrations as pro-Palestinian and instead call them what they are: anti-Israel and anti-Jewish.
Jonathan Bernstein | San Francisco
Opposing genocide isn’t antisemitic
As a Jew-with-a-conscience, I am opposed to any genocide. I am also a retired adjunct faculty member of the mathematics department at San Francisco State University, and member of the faculty union. That is why I am dismayed by the op-ed by Marc Dollinger (“CSU faculty union needlessly alienates its Jewish members,” Nov. 18), complaining about the union’s attack on AIPAC and JPAC.
These two organizations actively support the government of the State of Israel and actively defend that government against criticism. One way they do this is by accusing critics of that government of antisemitism. Educators and colleges have suffered from these accusations.
One thing that worries AIPAC and JPAC is the rise of groups demanding human rights and freedom for Palestinians. Clearly, these demands threaten the expansionist aims of the government of Israel, and threaten its extraordinary support by our own government. And so supporters of Israel try to silence these demands by calling them antisemitic. But you don’t have to be antisemitic to oppose genocide.
They are trying to fight antisemitism by shifting the prejudice from Jews onto another group of people. Our history shows us that is the wrong way to fight antisemitism. The only way to eliminate antisemitism is by opposing all racism against anyone — even including Palestinians.
Helen Finkelstein | Berkeley