Yeah, Lerner
I know we’re supposed to appreciate the diversity within the Jewish community, but when I read last week’s diatribe by Alan Dershowitz against Michael Lerner, and your letter writer who proudly identifies as a Jewish Zionist Republican, it makes my stomach turn.
The brutal effects of this Republican administration on the most vulnerable in our society, and the tragic impacts of the Israeli occupation on both Israelis and Palestinians, seem lost on these individuals.
As someone who is active in my shul, who lived in Israel and speaks Hebrew fluently, and most significantly, as a child of a Holocaust survivor, I feel challenged to remain open to these individuals as members of my community.
Even though I don’t know Jews who trample on the ethic of tikkun olam in this way, I know they are out there — a handful of them consistently fill j.’s letters to the editor with unapologetic rationalizations for all of Israel’s actions. I fear that many progressive Jews have already given up on reading j. because of the sentiments expressed in these letters. For those who haven’t, please speak up.
Richard Weiner | Oakland
Yeah, Dershowitz
Michael Lerner opens his defense of distributing a literal “hit” piece on Alan Dershowitz by accusing Dershowitz of “succeeding in freeing O.J. Simpson.”
It was the jury and prosecutorial incompetence that freed O.J., not Dershowitz.
In defending Simpson, Dershowitz was upholding the bedrock principle of our legal system, namely that every criminal defendant, no matter how vilified and unpopular, is presumed innocent until the contrary is proven by the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt.
What is not in doubt is that Lerner, hiding behind the First Amendment, has contributed to the level of violence in the debate over Israeli policy by passing on a thinly veiled call that Dershowitz be assassinated as a war criminal. This man is a rabbi?
Peter Goodman | Lafayette
Religious bias?
Predictably, the Tiburon Neighbor Coalition (TNC) revealed their thinly veiled religious bias at the Oct. 24 town council hearing by showing parking lot and traffic images photographed on the holiest days of the Jewish new year.
Is this not a form of religious discrimination in an effort to stop a synagogue from upgrading its classrooms and social hall?
Would there not be an outcry if the homes of Christians were photographed on Christmas Eve to show excessive use of lighting or if a parking lot of a mosque was photographed during Ramadan?
The neighborhood surrounding Kol Shofar talks about extending an olive branch, and yet they call the police when they hear the sound of children singing at the first day of Sunday school, they put up signs in their front yards saying “Don’t let Kol Shofar turn our neighborhood into a parking lot,” and they refer to Kol Shofar as a “PrayMart.”
Forget about world peace. We can’t even resolve things in our own backyards.
Matt Haligman | San Anselmo
Proud Zionists
I stand with Israel. As a proud Democrat and pro-Israel activist, I stand with Israel. I passionately believe our issue crosses party lines, so I proudly stand next to proud Republicans as they stand with Israel.
For those that want to make standing with Israel a partisan issue, you harm our cause. The U.S.-Israel friendship has thrived in Congress when our community is staunchly non-partisan regarding Israel.
For those like me who feel at home as Democrats, feel proud. For those who feel comfortable as Republicans, you should feel proud. The partisan bickering needs to stop. We thrive when we cross the aisle with ease as we educate every member of Congress about Israel as America’s greatest friend.
I can list many Republicans who aren’t friends of Israel and haven’t been denounced by their party leadership, just like previous letter writers have written about Democrats (the fact is Congress is overwhelmingly pro-Israel no matter the party). But it doesn’t do our cause justice. So I ask those who feel the need to constantly attack either party for your perception of their weakness on Israel to stop.
Stop because you love Israel. Stop because you are a proud Zionist Jew.
Sam Lauter | San Francisco
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