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Friday November 2, 2007

Letters

Harry Potter — Jewish?

Author J. K. Rowling recently disclosed that one of the characters in her “Harry Potter” series is gay. But the series’ real secret is that young Mr. Potter is Jewish.

Consider the following: Harry grows up acutely aware that he is different from others. He knows that his family’s origin is looked down upon by many, yet he remains faithful to and proud of his heritage. He learns a secret language and goes to a special school to learn ancient verses and rituals that have been handed down for generations from time immemorial. He is studious, precocious, a natural leader and a loyal friend. He stands up to those who seek power to promote an ideology of racism and intolerance. And he takes great care to use his abilities ethically and responsibly. These are all values and practices with which Jews around the world can readily identify.

What’s more, Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who portrays Harry Potter in the movies, has a Jewish mother. Her mother, in turn, has reportedly kvelled that she is a “real Jewish grandmother” who was proud of Radcliffe even “before he was Harry Potter, because he’s just so lovely.” If that isn’t Jewish, what is?

Stephen A. Silver | San Francisco

No belief necessary

I was puzzled by Rabbi Stephen Pearce’s column “Militant atheists are getting it all wrong” in the Oct. 19 issue of j. His concluding sentences states, “From the Jewish perspective, doing is as important as believing. What Rabbi Lieb and Mother Teresa teach that today’s atheists miss is that it is possible to doubt and still serve.” But it is Rabbi Pearce who is getting it all wrong, since agnostics are precisely those people who believe that doubt and service are compatible, and Jewish atheists like myself are persuaded that no belief in God is necessary in order to feel that the age-old Jewish notion of tikkun olam (repairing a wounded world) through human and ecological service is what makes for a meaningful life.

Jules Burstein | Berkeley

Atheism acceptable?

It is disappointing to see Rabbi Stephen Pearce’s distorted view of atheism.

Even the word “militant” is an inappropriate slur; atheists have never promoted violent action based on supposed decrees, commandments or promises by a deity against those of other beliefs.

His selective quotation from Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion” ignores the central point of that book: that it is not necessary to believe in God in order to develop a moral code. Rabbi Pearce chooses instead to claim, without evidence, that “Today’s atheists miss that it is possible to doubt and still serve.” No, Rabbi, they do not. Their claim is that belief in God or the tenets of any particular religion are not necessary to living a good life. On the other hand, in countless cases religious beliefs have led, and still lead, to terrible examples of blind prejudice, hatred and evil.

It would have been better for him to explain that atheism, just as Dawkins discusses it, simply underscores the last part of Pearce’s quote from the Gates of Prayer: “Act as if everything depends on you.” Why attack atheism when, as his own quotation illustrates, it is clearly within the mainstream of Jewish tradition?

David Fleishhacker | San Francisco

Warrior needed

Ever since I wrote my first letter to this newspaper in 1978, I have refrained from criticizing the Israeli government. In fact, I have chastised others for doing so. The present circumstances in Israel have led me to abandon that restraint.

I am a lawyer, as is Ehud Olmert. That is why I think I understand him. I think he is the consummate deal-maker, and is poor material as a national leader.

Olmert’s reign has demonstrated that Israel still needs a warrior, not a lawyer, to lead the country in this time of war.

It seems to me that if you make deals with the devil, you are doomed.

Failure to react militarily to the situation in Sderot can simply no longer be justified under any school of thought. Certainly not while Olmert is busy trying to make deals with Mahmoud Abbas, the Holocaust-denier. Certainly not while the Islamic Religious Authority is jackhammering ancient Jewish artifacts under the protection of the Jerusalem police.

I am not optimistic that military strikes against Gaza will fix anything. But I am more afraid that the failure to launch them will lead to greater disaster.

Desmond Tuck> | San Mateo

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