C’mon, dude!
Monday morning. Commute awaits. Thinking: How can I possibly be expected to go to work … umm … when there is so much Jewish stuff on Facebook that I’ve not read yet?! Priorities, dude!
Art Altman | San Carlos
What ‘moral strength’?
If I were Gilad Shalit I would not be much impressed by Akiva Tor’s effort to rationalize my five-year imprisonment (“Shalit deal shows Israel’s resilience and moral strength, not surrender,” Oct. 21). Tor calls Shalit’s liberation a “great salvation,” something Israelis have been talking about “in cafés and on street corners” for five years.
What have they been talking about for five years: the “moral strength” that they lacked to bring the matter to a conclusion? Shalit could have been ransomed in six months if morality was the issue. After five years, morality had nothing to do with it. Better look at Benjamin Netanyahu’s popularity ratings. It appears that in every Israeli action a glorious motive must be discovered (or invented).
George Hochfield | Berkeley
Setting ‘Yiddishkeit’ straight
Allan Nadler inaccurately refers to an “Israeli tank” in his review (“Harvey Pekar harbored dark attraction to Yiddishkeit,” Oct. 28). As co-creator of the comic in question, I can say there is nothing on the tank to suggest it is Israeli, and the cross drawn on the tank ought to clue him in. The drawing in question portrays a diverse group of Mideastern combatants, not just Israelis or Arabs.
The drawing, by the way, is not by Harvey Pekar, but by Spain Rodriguez, and I wrote the script for it. Nadler’s understanding of secular Yiddish culture is not so accurate, either, in my view, but that would require a longer discussion.
Joel Schechter,
contributor to “Yiddishkeit” | San Francisco
Mazon paved the way
As a board member for Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger, I was disappointed that Mazon’s name was not mentioned in Rabbi Noah Zvi Farkas’ article (“Between forkfuls, let’s be food thoughtful — and kosher,” Oct. 28).
I am so proud of the work that Mazon has done for over 25 years in advocating for food justice for people of all faiths and backgrounds. Its efforts truly paved the way for all of the remarkable work that so many organizations have now made a priority.
Indeed, Mazon’s work is enriched and strengthened by its invaluable partnerships with Netiya and all the organizations Rabbi Farkas highlighted in his piece. We are more optimistic than ever that real change is possible, and that we can work together to transform how it is into how it should be.
Jenna Weinberg | Ann Arbor, Mich.