Tarnishing a legacy
As much as I was outraged by the Walter and Elise Haas Fund’s grant to the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (“Anti-Zionist org gets $100K grant as Walter and Elise Haas Fund changes direction,” Dec. 16), I was mostly deeply saddened. This fund, and the vast family it derives from, have been a pillar of our community for decades. They have funded and sustained many of the organizations around the Jewish community that we cherish.
I want to believe that the staff and board of the fund are unaware of the hatred that AROC has spewed over the years (well framed in a Jan. 9 letter by Doug Kahn), but there is too detailed a public record of their statements and actions for that to be possible. I hope the board will consider a non-hateful organization to support in accomplishing their goals in the future.
Danny Grossman
CEO, Jewish Community Federation, 2015-2021
Don’t forget JFCS
Thank you for your engaging article spotlighting the many impactful organizations that make up the Bay Area Jewish community’s “alphabet soup” (“Decoding the alphabet soup: Acronyms of Jewish life in the Bay Area,” Dec. 30). It’s an impressive list, and I’d like to suggest one more essential addition: Jewish Family and Children’s Services.
As the oldest Jewish organization in the Bay Area, JFCS of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties has been serving the community for 175 years, addressing contemporary issues of Jewish life in the Bay Area, California and Israel. Among its many vital programs is the JFCS Holocaust Center, one of California’s leading resources and advocates for Holocaust and genocide education. The JFCS Holocaust Center fights antisemitism through statewide educational initiatives, speakers, and programs that strengthen Jewish Peoplehood and inspire empathy in future generations.
In addition, JFCS provides crucial mental health services, parent education, senior care, spiritual care, and support for immigrants and refugees. Its innovative programs continue to strengthen Jewish life and ensure that families and individuals of all ages thrive.
Thank you for considering including JFCS in this important conversation.
Dr. Bruce Feldstein
Palo Alto
Alameda treasurer doesn’t understand
Henry Levy and I share a similar life history, as we are both about the same age and were impressed early on by the same stories and books about Israel. Unfortunately, Henry’s affinity for numbers does not extend to his understanding of human nature, true history and the worldwide pogrom targeting Israel and the Jewish people. (“I’m a Jewish elected official. Here’s why I divested our county from Caterpillar,” Jan. 10)
The only thing getting in the way of an equitable solution to the Middle East quandary is — and has always been — Arab and Palestinian intransigence when it comes to honest compromise and cooperation. (I’d like to remind Levy that the Hamas charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the elimination or enslavement — their wording — of the Jewish people worldwide.)
And those Palestinian homes that are bulldozed? Typically, they are the family homes of terrorists who are encouraged to murder Jews with financial incentives offered by the Palestinian Authority itself.
Does Levy really believe that the bulk of the money provided to the Bank of Palestine will be used to help fund women-run businesses? I don’t think so, if current history has taught us anything. It’s kind of like saying that all relief aid going to Gaza is actually delivered to those civilians truly in need. You can now be sure that some of our tax dollars in Berkeley and Oakland will be going to support terrorist activities that do a lot worse than tearing down a house.
So congratulations! Your progressive idealism is doing just the opposite of what you intend. Support for BDS and any of its related activities is a vote for antisemitism worldwide.
Jeff Morgan
Berkeley
Other Alameda County investments?
Henry Levy’s explanation of why he divested Alameda County from Caterpillar corporate bonds features a vivid description of the awful things the Israeli government is now doing. I’m not going to disagree with that.
His way of criticizing Israel’s behavior is to act against a corporation making a wide range of products, some of which are used by the Israeli military.
Levy fails to mention whether he has carefully examined the rest of Alameda County’s portfolio to make sure it contains no other company that supports governmental bad behavior. So, presumably, the portfolio does not include any company making telecommunications equipment, or that relies on oil, or that involves manufacturing or extractive processes involving minors, or that supplies clothing or food to repressive regimes or violent militaries. Presumably his now-pristine portfolio has been cleansed, for example, of all companies contributing to China’s genocide against Tibet or the Uyghurs.
If he hasn’t done that, he has simply singled out Israel for moral condemnation — a powerful and shameful antisemitic approach the rest of the world uses while ignoring the massive violence of regimes in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Egypt and Pakistan.
It takes enormous self-delusion for Mr. Levy to label his behavior as reflecting “Jewish values.” Hypocrisy is not a Jewish value.
Marty Klein
Palo Alto
Dubious investment ethics
In Alameda County treasurer Henry Levy’s Jan. 10 opinion piece, he explains that he sold $32 million of Caterpillar bonds because the company produced militarized bulldozers for the Israel Defense Forces, which were used to destroy private homes in the West Bank and Gaza. There is no indication as to why any particular homes were destroyed.
Levy does not explain whether the bonds were sold at a profit or loss. He does not indicate whether the proceeds of the sales were invested in other securities that provided the county as good or better return than the Caterpillar bonds.
He does not indicate whether he or his staff have made detailed investigations into individual business transactions of other issuers of Alameda County-held securities to ascertain compliance with principles of social justice.
He admits that he remains dubious of the ability of divestment to bring substantive change. If so, what is the point of divestment?
My wife and I own a home in Alameda County for which we pay property taxes through Mr. Levy’s office. We cannot decline to pay these taxes just because we don’t agree with the county’s divestment policies.
Theodore Bresler
Fremont
Don’t erase us, we’re Jews too
J.’s Dec. 12 coverage of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors vote to create an ethical investment policy (“Alameda County policy will advance BDS, opponents say”) quoted several Jews who gave public comment against the resolution, but failed to represent the many more who spoke in favor of it. The article quoted a JCRC representative who claimed, “If you wonder why there’s so few Jews and Israelis in this meeting in person, it’s because of this kind of hate and intimidation tactics that are constantly being used against us.” As he said this, dozens of Jewish attendees stood up and waved our arms to counter this notion.
A huge portion of those supporting this ethical investment policy are ourselves Jews, standing against violence and with our Palestinian siblings for the sanctity of every life. Many of those who gave public comments cited their descent from Holocaust survivors and their Jewish identity as core motivators for opposing the horrific and disproportionate violence the Israeli state has leveled against Gaza. I am a proud Jew with a deep relationship to my heritage, who believes in justice and dignity for all. The cited comment from that JCRC speaker appeared aimed to erase Jews like myself.
Further, J.’s article implied that the county resolution is unfairly skewed against Israel. The focus on the current atrocities in Gaza stems from the absolute urgency of the need to stop the killings and reach a cease-fire immediately.
Yael Platt
Berkeley
I relate to Levy’s grappling
Thank you to Henry Levy for making the courageous decision to sell Alameda County’s shares in Caterpillar, and thank you to J. for publishing his op-ed (“I’m a Jewish elected official. Here’s why I divested our county from Caterpillar,” Jan. 10).
I first became an anti-war activist in 2003 in the lead-up to the war in Iraq as a student at Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. While it was Iraq that got my attention, I quickly learned from other activists about similarities between the U.S. war in Iraq and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. As a Jewish person raised in a Zionist community, I can relate to Mr. Levy’s grappling with the contradiction between Jewish values and Israeli policy.
In March 2003, the same month the war in Iraq started, Rachel Corrie, a student activist just a few years older than I was, was run over by a Caterpillar bulldozer in Gaza while trying to protect a Palestinian home. And now, more than 20 years later, I’m relieved and proud to live in a community that’s divested from Caterpillar.
Stevie Schwartz
Berkeley
Ethical investing matters
I want to express my deep gratitude to treasurer Henry Levy and J. for the recent op-ed explaining Alameda County’s divestment from Caterpillar. As a Jewish person committed to justice, I applaud Levy’s courageous decision and the county’s broader step toward adopting a human rights-focused investment policy.
Jewish tradition teaches us to pursue tikkun olam — repairing the world — and to stand in solidarity with those facing oppression. Caterpillar’s role in human rights violations, particularly through its involvement in the demolition of Palestinian homes and communities, cannot align with these values. By choosing divestment, Levy honors our shared ethical obligations while demonstrating leadership grounded in compassion and accountability.
Amid inevitable criticism, I hope Levy will find encouragement in the growing support for divestment and human rights advocacy. Many of us stand with you in calling for investments that reflect Jewish values of dignity, justice and equality for all.
Nick Kline
San Francisco
A leap toward justice
I commend Alameda County treasurer Henry Levy for his ethics. I wish we saw more of his kind of Judaism. Given a choice, I will always choose a “leap of action” toward social justice. Thank you, treasurer Levy, for giving us that choice. Today I am a proud resident of Alameda County.
Emily Katz
Berkeley