December 19, 2008
No Need To Hear Tyrants Pontificate
In deciding whether or not to attend the Durban II conference, the new president should take a cue from the Bush administration and spare taxpayers the expense of sending representatives to hear the usual claptrap about racism and discrimination from some of the worst human rights offenders on the face of the planet (“After Israel Pulls Out, Obama Faces Tough Decision on Durban II Racism Conference,” December 5).
Are our representatives to hear lectures on the sanctity of life and the dignity of man by those sent from Sudan, Libya, Syria, Iran, Myanmar and similar hellholes? The conspicuous absence of the United States will send a message to the United Nations loudly and clearly that we do not countenance the galling hypocrisy of despots and dictators who wouldn’t know a human right if it bit them on the back side.
Bob Klein
Gainesville, Va.
"Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief"
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
