Your Focus on Las Vegas Victim’s Beauty Is Offensive

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
To the Forward,
Of course I have every sympathy for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting. But when I read the line about what a young man told his Jewish mother when he met his wife for the first time (“She’s so beautiful, I can’t believe she’s Jewish!”), I couldn’t believe I was reading a Jewish publication. The article would have been fine without that statement about Mr. Grumet’s views of beauty.
Would the Forward or Mr. Feldman have included a statement if a Jewish woman had said “He’s so handsome, I can’t believe he’s Jewish!”? And would that viewpoint have bothered anyone on staff who might have hesitated before publishing it in an otherwise sympathetic article?
Janine Baer El Cerrito, California
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