An Anti-Orthodox Bias
Both the September 16 article, “How an Anti-Terror Program Became a Jewish Earmark,” and accompanying editorial are guilty of anti-Orthodox bias. For example, the authors admit that the Reform movement has, in large part, decided not to apply for the Homeland Security grants because it feels there is a church-state issue. But the authors then condemn Orthodox institutions, and especially Chabad, for receiving a disproportionate number of the grants. What do they expect?
Furthermore, it’s completely disingenuous to claim that the Orthodox/Chabad world is somehow wired into Washington, thereby ensuring receipt of the grants. The three Jewish institutions that received grants here in Massachusetts this year (two Chabads and one Bais Yaakov) utilized the services of a grant writer who has no connections to Washington, but rather knows how to write good grants for deserving institutions.
Temima Cohen
Brookline, Mass.
