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Friday February 23, 2007

Letters

‘Enriching the fabric’

Thank you for your article on the capital campaign to establish a permanent home for the Contra Costa Jewish Day School (Feb. 2 j.). This project is particularly important in enriching the fabric of Jewish life for the entire Bay Area.

We have families with children attending the JCHS of the Bay, and over 50 percent of our current graduating class has submitted applications for the coming year. Compared to other multi-million dollar capital projects in our community, this one, at $8 million, is relatively modest.

There is nothing more important than an intensive Jewish education to ensure a strong Jewish future and a deep, lasting commitment to Israel. Recent research shows that most of tomorrow’s philanthropists come from Jewish day school graduates.

The broad-based community support we are receiving from the entire Bay Area community demonstrates that there is a new awareness of the importance of strong Jewish day schools in creating citizens of the world grounded in the values we treasure — tikkum olam, a strong peaceful Israel, and ethical productive leaders in the Jewish and greater communities.

In addition to its values-based curriculum, CCJDS has a reputation for academic excellence. A permanent home ensures this school continues its phenomenal growth and success.

Karla Smith | Lafayette
president, CCJDS

‘Not heroic’

I read with interest Dan Pine’s review of the upcoming Jewish Film Festival documentary entitled “Toots Shor: Bigger than Life” (Feb. 9 j.).

Pine is impressed with Toots Shor’s “ … lust for life, that seems timeless.” There is, however, at least one fact that is missing from his review and, I suppose, the documentary on Shor’s life.

My late father, David Siegal, was president of the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union in New York City from 1939 to 1981. I have in my law office in San Francisco a 1941 photograph of my father leading a picket line in front of Shor’s Manhattan restaurant. The picket sign that my father was carrying stated, “45,000 culinary workers Petition the Friends of Democracy not to patronize Toots Shor. He is unfair to union labor.”

Our culture has a tendency to turn celebrities such as Shor in his day, and many of the celebrities of today, into icons. In the case of Shor, his aversion to union workers in his day was not heroic.

Joel H. Siegal | San Francisco

Blaming the victim?

James D. Besser raises many good questions but, in the end, has elected to blame the victim (Feb. 16 j.). “The words and actions of [Jonathan] Pollard and his so-called friends create the conditions under which no president is likely to offer the only other way out: commutation, an essentially political process,” he writes.

Pollard’s sentence was uniquely harsh. Its severity is linked to secret testimony provided by then-Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger — testimony that none of us is allowed to see and draw conclusions from.

As the 20th anniversary of Pollard’s sentencing to life in prison approaches, how can any of us remain silent?

David Holzel | Montgomery Village, Md

Harmful criticism

The critics of Israel are quick to proclaim, “I’m not anti-Semitic,” “Jews in Israel criticize Israel,” and the Jewish critics say, “I’m Jewish,” before they start their criticism of Israel. This is an attempt to gain credibility that fails.

The criticism — now being debated as new anti-Semitism — is usually unfair, based on opinion contrary to fact, only against Israel without any corresponding criticism of Palestinian terrorism or other countries, which is a double standard.

The S.F. Bay Area has lately engaged in a debate about what kind of criticism of Israel is new anti-Semitism (Feb. 2 j.). This is a distraction from the more important issue, which is what effect this excessive one-sided criticism of Israel in the United States has on the image of Israel and Jews.

The Feb. 9 j. editorial correctly said about “harsh” criticism of Israel, “they should know their words give comfort to forces that want to annihilate all Jews, including those very critics.” Supporters of Israel agree that this brand of criticism is very harmful.

Norman G. Licht | San Carlos

Similarities?

Your Feb. 9 editorial — “Criticism of Israel: Is it anti-Semitic?” — was right on. Interestingly, the same can be said for critics of U.S. foreign policy. By replacing Israel with United States and Jews with Americans in your article, similar conclusions can be reached:

While the United States is strong enough to weather criticism, Americans who are critics are disingenuous if they believe their actions have only benign consequences.

The American people still face many dangers. While Americans are free to harshly criticize the United States, they should know their words give comfort to forces that want to annihilate all Americans, including those very critics.

Allan Berliant | Sudbury, Mass.

Focus needed

Regarding the Feb. 9 j. article, “Report: Outreach to intermarried not the best use of community resources,” and referring to Steven Cohen’s paper, “A Tale of Two Jewries: The ‘Inconvenient Truth’ for American Jews,” one of the most interesting findings is how important a Jewish day school education is in the role of Jewish continuity.

This, assuming the studies used in Cohen’s report were valid, underscores the need to focus our attention on our Jewish day schools, particularly in the Bay Area where Jewish continuity is so often talked about.

For the purposes of philanthropy, Cohen’s report serves to open up dialogue on our obligations and responsibilities toward generously funding our Jewish day schools and encouraging families to send their children to these institutions for their educations.

It is important to remember that the financial commitment of sending children to a Jewish day school can be cost prohibitive for many families even when financial assistance is offered. I cannot think of a better place to invest our community resources.

Deborah Stadtner | Novato

When? Now!

It was with interest and sadness that I read Jeff Saperstein’s Feb. 9 j. commentary from France. Unfortunately what he reports is not new, or news.

He states that French Jews look to Israel and the United States as “heavens when the time comes to go.” We have seen fairly intense real estate buying from French Jews in Netanya as well as in South Florida.

But the report begs the question: Why isn’t the time to go now? What are we waiting for — a bombing in a synagogue or school that kills 100?

France will be 20 percent Muslim in the very near future. Jews will increasingly become scapegoats for all French social ills. It is happening already.

Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is repeating the same experiment under the same conditions, and expecting different results. Europe is in a 1930s mode. It is time for our people to go.

Guy Benrubi, M.D. | Jacksonville, Fla.

Drawing the line

Open, civilized, heartfelt debate on particular policies regarding Israel does not weaken our community’s support for Israel — it ennobles it.

Where the line must be drawn is opposing those who delegitimize Israel and use hateful hyperbole and sinister misrepresentations when attempting to engage in that debate.

Reasonable people can disagree, and the tent is wide open to a variety of diverse and differing opinions on Israel, even those that differ with specific policies.

The community of Israel-supporters, while unified in our support, does not demand uniformity in how to support Israel. On the contrary, there is a wide range of viewpoints in the pro-Israel community.

Tiny, fringe elements represented by the Jewish Voice for Peace loudly and consistently bash Israel at every turn while wondering why the organized Jewish community shuns their irresponsible allegations.

What chutzpah to cast themselves as the victims (Feb. 9 j.) when it is in fact their actions, characterized by a never-ending rant against Israel, that have denied them a seat at the table.

I am proud of the local community’s response to the Middle East crises and decry violence, terror and anti-democratic values that permeate the actions of these irresponsible critics of Israel.

Steve Lipman | Foster City

‘Eternal truths’

Once again, I find my regular dose of anti-Semitism no farther away than j’s so-called jokes column. In only two entries in the Jan. 12 edition, these “jokes” (including something called “eternal Jewish truths”) denigrate rabbis and interfaith couples, and reinforce the stereotype of the whining, money-grubbing Jew who thinks “gentile” is a synonym for “alcoholic.”

Here’s an interesting statistic: Over the next decade or two, Muslims are expected to outnumber Jews in the United States.

It’s the 21st century: Perhaps we can set ourselves a goal of eliminating self-hatred from our ethnic repertoire, and ensuring that our Jewish-American values of compassion, entrepreneurship, generosity of spirit, and fairness to all are the “eternal Jewish truths” we celebrate.

Daniel Leemon | Atherton

Wiesel’s home town

Just a little correction to the city where Elie Wiesel was born (Feb. 9 j.) — it’s the same as where I was born: Sighet.

It was Romanian before the war, and became Hungarian during the occupation (Maramasossziget) when the Jews were deported, but at the end of the war it reverted to Romania.

The Romanians take great pride in their “son,” Elie, who returned a few times to visit and made his family home in Sighet a small museum.

Dora Sorell | Berkeley

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