Exposing domestic abuse
Thank you to Risa for exposing her name, her face and her story about domestic abuse in the Jewish community in the full-page advertisement in the May 22 issue of j.
No one can now say that “this doesn’t happen among Jews”; no one can any longer imagine that our community does not need to address the issue.
Thank you to the Jewish Community Federation for the courage and new vision of what the “mainstream Jewish community” means, underlying making domestic violence an open subject of discussion and an area for directing vital community resources.
And thank you, most importantly, to Shalom Bayit, for the courage, compassion and persistence in raising the issue and providing shelter, support and new hopes and dreams for the women it has been serving for all these years!
Rachel Biale | Berkeley
Bay Area regional director, Progressive Jewish Alliance
Put it to a vote, again
On the matter of same-sex marriage, Rachel Biale, great teacher and scholar that she is, in the May 29 j. (“Prop. 8 ruling sticks a pin into the balloon of justice”) muddied the waters with irrelevancies such as “stripping of equal rights,” “justice for all”, and the midrash of the giving of the Torah. Let me explain:
For several thousand years society has defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Recently many people want to expand the definition to include the union of man and man as well as woman and woman.
There is no problem of equal rights. Any man, gay or not, can marry a woman. Any woman, lesbian or not, can marry a man. So, proponents of same sex marriage did the right thing. They agreed to have the matter on the ballot as an initiative. They lost the vote on two occasions but they will probably get a majority the next time. Better to have a popular or legislative vote to change the venerable definition of marriage than to have a handful of judges do it.
So, if you want to legalize same sex marriage, get the legislature or an initiative popular vote to make it law. It is that simple.
Edward Tamler | San Mateo
Judges did their job
Rachel Biale’s reaction to the recent California Court decision (“Prop. 8 ruling sticks a pin into the balloon of justice,” May 29) upholding both Proposition 8 and all the marriages solemnized in the state last year reflects much emotional involvement.
It doesn’t quite fit the facts. The court was asked to decide only two questions: 1) May the initiative process be used to amend the Constitution in defining marriage as a heterosexual two-person relationship? And 2) Are all of the marriages solemnized under last year’s ruling valid?
It answered yes to both questions.
Ms. Biale’s piece shows she did not read last year’s 100-page-plus opinion.
She errs in stating that the court found “any restriction” on marriage “impermissible.” The opinion upheld laws against bigamy, and upheld the law voiding marriages between aunt and nephew or brother and sister.
The opinion essentially said: California has always defined marriage as one man, one woman. Court decisions understanding that definition have found marriage to be a fundamental right. Therefore, there’s a right to same-sex marriage.
The current opinion held only that the definition of marriage was a suitable topic for constitutional amendment by the initiative process. The court did its job in applying the law to questions in front of it.
David Altschul | Berkeley
‘Feminism’ hypocrisy?
Shmuley Boteach has a lot of nerve lecturing us about the “degradation of women” (“Miss California misses the real culprit: degradation of women,” May 29). He believes in a Judaism that restricts the rights of women, and he doesn’t believe married women (or men) should masturbate or look at erotic films.
His real complaint about women choosing to participate in Miss America pageants and get breast implants is that they’re about sexuality that isn’t redeemed by romantic love. Boteach believes in a “feminism” with no room for sexual passion — unless the woman is in a long-term couple. Just what we need — more religious justification for narrowing people’s sexual choices.
Marty Klein | Palo Alto
Two wrongs …
Norman Licht seems to think that any criticism of Israel is wrong, since others are worse (Letters, May 29). I guess no U.S. citizen should criticize his own government on that ground. Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank have more rights than in Arab countries — as did blacks in the U.S. compared with Africa, as segregationists hastened to point out. Even that argument lacks credibility if one reads reports from B’Tselem and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
As for the Palestinians denying Jewish human rights by opposing the settlements, not a single country in the world, the U.S. included, recognizes the legality of the settlements or the annexation of Jerusalem. And terrorists, remember that Begin and Shamir were terrorists before they became prime ministers of Israel.
Our people’s suffering does not justify the oppression of another.
Alfred Lerner | San Carlos
Two states for peace
Israel will not have peace until there is finally a two-state solution. Just as the Jewish people are entitled to a homeland, so are the Palestinian people. A checkerboard West Bank, half occupied by Israel will not suffice either. All Jewish settlements should be removed from the West Bank and a true Palestinian state needs to be established.
Electing reactionary leaders to lead Israel, such as the current prime minister, is the worst thing that can happen to Israel and will only lead to perpetual instability in the Middle East and will eventually lead to the economic and political exhaustion of Israel. President Barack Obama is on the right path and the only path that will finally lead to a meaningful peace for Israel, by insisting there must be a two-state solution for a true and lasting peace in the Middle East.
Neither fanatic Israeli supporters or fanatic Muslim opponents of Israel will lead to a peaceful Israel. Both extreme sides of the debate need to cool off and we need to follow President Barack Obama’s policy, which will lead to a true and lasting peaceful Middle East!
Harry Sauberman | Newport Beach