Do Jewish ‘psychic wounds’ matter?
If Jews had ever done as the Jordanians did in Jerusalem in 1948 and uprooted Muslim gravestones, then Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin might have a point regarding the infliction of “psychic wounds” (“We can love Jerusalem as Jews without taunting its Muslims,” June 10). But since the gravestones that were desecrated were Jewish, apparently “no psychic wounds” were inflicted. No harm was done.
When Jews at a café are murdered in cold blood by Palestinians, the Palestinians pass out candy, shoot off fireworks and dance in the streets. Any possibility of the infliction of psychic wounds here? This clear demonstration of how Palestinians behave in celebration of what they see as a victory toward those they feel they have “vanquished” leaves one gasping at their inhumanity.
Rabbi Salkin’s concern about aspects of the Jerusalem Day march as being “taunting” is so off-base that the mind reels. The rabbi might wish to belatedly apprise himself of the fact that Jerusalem is the Jewish state’s capital, under her sovereignty. All of Jerusalem. That her Jewish and non-Jewish residents can enjoy a life of safety and freedom unparalleled in the raging Middle East is the reason the Jews marched on Jerusalem Day through all of their old/new capital.
Julia Lutch | Davis
As presidential candidate, RFK died supporting Israel
Shortly after the 2016 U.S. presidential primary campaign effectively ended, two Palestinian gunmen murdered four Israelis in a terror attack at a Tel Aviv café (“Four killed, four critical in Tel Aviv attack,” June 10). Tragically, this happened almost 48 years to the day after another American presidential primary campaign intersected with Palestinian terrorism, when Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian who murdered the senator for supporting Israel.
Before beginning his political career, Kennedy covered the Middle East in 1948 as a reporter for the Boston Post. In a series of dispatches, he lauded the Jews’ plight as a determined underdog under siege — “Jews with their backs to the sea, fighting for their very homes, with 101 percent morale” — and commended their efforts to help their Arab neighbors, noting that “the Jews point with pride to the fact that over 500,000 Arabs, in the 12 years between 1932 and 1944, came into Palestine to take advantage of living conditions existing in no other Arab state.” (robertkennedyandisrael.blogspot.com)
Kennedy’s experiences inspired him to support Israel as a U.S. senator, incurring Sirhan’s wrath. Sirhan wrote in his journal that “Kennedy must die before June 5th,” the anniversary of the start of the 1967 Six-Day War, and admitted at trial that he had killed Kennedy “premeditatedly with 20 years of malice aforethought,” referring to the 20 years since Israel achieved independence.
On the night in 1968 that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Kennedy quoted the ancient Greek poet Aeschylus in calling on his supporters to “tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.” Yet for daring to support Israel, Kennedy himself would soon become a victim of Palestinian savagery. Nearly 50 years later, that savagery still has not been tamed, as the tragedy in Tel Aviv reminds us.
Stephen A. Silver | San Francisco
JCRC operating outside bounds of its mission?
I received an email from the Jewish Community Relations Council asking me to urge Gov. Jerry Brown to sign California Senate Bill 10. This bill will require the state’s insurance exchange (created under Obamacare to facilitate enrollment for insurance) to seek a federal waiver for illegal immigrants so they can apply for insurance. (Editor’s note: The governor signed the bill on June 10.)
Why is the JCRC involved in state and federal health care and immigration policy? Doesn’t this undermine our community’s credibility and ability to question organizations and academics that criticize Jewish and Israel issues out of their areas of focus? Isn’t this involvement out of the JCRC’s mission?
Isaac Winer | Palo Alto
‘Vapid’ anti-BDS bill needs its teeth back
When U.C. President Janet Napolitano wanted to sweep the U.C. Regents’ definition of anti-Semitism under generic terms of anti-discrimination, the Regents stood firm and singled out the scourge of anti-Semitism spreading across the system’s campuses. But when the anti-BDS resolution introduced by state Assemblyman Travis Allen was watered down by the Appropriations Committee into a generic anti-boycott statement, the Assembly sheepishly voted for the vapid resolution (“Anti-BDS bill passes Assembly, but author calls current version ‘gutted,’ ” June 10).
The BDS movement aims to delegitimize a U.N.-member country, Israel, by means of half-truth, lies and intimidation. There are no similar boycott efforts manifested by feminists against Arab monarchies, Western Saharans against Morocco, etc. Even our so-called progressive universities don’t emit a peep about these human rights violations, as they are busy yelling, screaming and arousing anti-Israel hate at pro-BDS rallies.
Since Israel is singled out for boycotts, it is only logical that the state Senate reinstate the original BDS condemnation contained in Travis Allen’s bill.
Vladimir Kaplan | San Mateo