JVS is here to help
Steven’s story of frustration with his job search, as described by Andy Altman-Ohr (“Brother, can you spare a good job-seeking story?” Nov. 28), is all too familiar these days, as skyrocketing unemployment rates mean more competition for fewer jobs. We at JVS wanted to remind your readers that there is a resource in our community devoted to helping us find work in difficult times.
Since July, Jewish Vocational Service has helped more than 400 people like Steven find work in the Bay Area. It’s what we do. We encourage Steven to visit us and find out what we have to offer. Our workshops on Networking and using LinkedIn can help him leverage the connections he already has. He can share successful job search strategies in one of our job search support groups. He can come to an Employment Spotlight and meet directly with employers who are hiring. Our JVS employment counselors can help him hone his résumé, connect with our employer partners, and refine his job search so that he can spend less time pounding the pavement and more time on the job.
I welcome Steven, or anyone else who is looking for work in this tough job market, to come to JVS. We can help.
Abby Snay | San Francisco
Executive Director, Jewish Vocational Service
Shameful ‘twinning’
As a Jewish resident of Los Gatos, I am appalled and ashamed of the only synagogue in Los Gatos, their rabbi and some members of the congregation who participated in twinning with the Muslim community of Santa Clara (“Jews, Muslims confront prejudice during ‘twinning’ weekend,” Nov. 21), an organization which the Lebanese Christian author Brigitte Gabriel described in her book “Because They Hate” as a jihadist sleeper cell awaiting a call to action. The Muslims of Santa Clara have yet to publish a full-page ad in the San Jose Mercury News declaring their support for the American way of life as demonstrated by freedom and equality of our democracy.
In the meantime, I urge the rest of the Los Gatos community to prepare to say Kaddish for the dead and to pray for the living Jews in Chabad House in Mumbai, India, who are under attack by Muslim terrorists.
Herman A. Stern | Los Gatos
Tikvah needs support
Recently, the U.C. Berkeley Tikvah students, a pro-Israel activist group, walked out of a Norm Finkelstein talk on the campus over vilification of Israel, lies, and general anti-Semitism. They were filmed by the Students for Justice in Palestine. As a result, Tikvah has lost certain campus privileges.
I have been witness to Palestinians and other Arab students blatantly disrupting speakers with whom they disagreed, from 1984 to present times, and with no response from either the academic or greater community. This includes hideous rudeness shown to distinguished guests Daniel Pipes and Nonnie Darwish during their respective speaking events.
With the latest provocation, Tikvah students are considered “guilty” in their endeavor to have stopped the SJP’s draping of the Palestinian flag over the Student Union balcony during a pro-Israel concert directly below. Questions asked at the ASUC building revealed particular logistical and other relevant issues, which community people passing judgment have overlooked. Instead, the SJP and Muslim student association are thrilled with the Jewish community’s condemnation of “Jewish student violence.”
It behooves us to support Tikvah for doing the work that the rest of us neglect to do.
Susan H. Somerville | Oakland
Cal students ‘silenced’
It’s not easy to be a Jew at Cal. The group Students for Justice in Palestine has victimized Jewish students on this campus for too long. Similar to the behavior of the Hamas government they admire, they use bully tactics and violence against those who disagree with them.
In the past, no one stood up to them and
this created an unhealthy environment for students who are passionate about Judaism and Zionism. Fortunately, a new force has arisen to combat their anti-Semitism — Tikvah: Students for Israel.
Berkeley, the birthplace of the free speech movement, should encourage students who wish to stand up and voice their opinions. Instead, we are silenced. From the director of Hillel to the dean of students, the authority on this campus has made life very difficult for us. They are uncomfortable with the fact that we are standing up to our detractors and not simply turning the other cheek.
The revolting anti-Semitism I have faced on this campus could have brought me down and destroyed my Jewish identity. Instead, because of Tikvah, I have never been prouder to be a Jew and a Zionist. Thank you, Tikvah. Do not let those who wish to silence you succeed.
Yonatan Weinberg | Berkeley