One wouldn’t know it by reading your news story about employee fingerprinting and background checks in yeshivos (“Leiby Kletzky Killing Renews Call for Oversight of Yeshivas,” August 5), but it is a fact that the two main national organizations representing the yeshiva movement – Torah Umesorah and Agudath Israel of America — have strongly urged…
Thanks to the Forward’s August 12 article, “How B’nai B’rith’s Museum Went From Must-See Site to Oblivion,” readers were reminded about B’nai B’rith’s extraordinary collection of Judaica, which formed the core of the B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. It is true that the majority of the magnificent collection is currently in…
The Forward’s August 4 article, “Gaucher Disease Patients Get New Hope From Drug,” does not in any way represent the views or opinions of the National Gaucher Foundation. They are, in fact, only those of Cyndi Frank, a patient. Therefore the NGF should not have appeared in that article in any manner. The NGF does…
In David Hazony’s July 27 column, “The Death of Peoplehood,” his lament over Jewish ethnic diffusion and friction is understandable, but only to a point. The fact is that even apparent ethnic monoliths have internal tensions, and can go their own separate ways. One only has to look at America. America was founded by white…
I would like to add to Michael Berenbaum’s wonderful July 26 obituary for Hyman Bookbinder by going back one administration earlier than Michael’s memories. For a year and a half, I served as the Jewish liaison for the Ford White House. During that time, Bookie, whose personal political proclivities were pretty much on the other…
A quarter of the world’s population still lacks access to electricity, yet as we seek to right that wrong, we cannot continue to replace it with another harmful injustice. For it is much of that same, impoverished population that has already started to suffer on the frontlines of climate change impact. Many Jewish organizations throughout…
In its astonishingly sympathetic July 29 article on Richard Falk, “U.N. Official Answers Questions About Fierce Criticism of Israel,” the Forward cites a recent blog post in which he portrays himself as being in the tradition of biblical prophecy. Regrettably, there is no reference to other parts of the post, which are far more revealing…
In her letter responding to my June 3 critical review of her book, “Jewish Bialystok and its Diaspora,” Rebecca Kobrin argues that I have “fallen into a classical trap” of assessing her book not on its own merits, but on those of the book I wish she had written, which she argues would have been…
In his July 5 op-ed, “Funding Peoplehood,” Misha Galperin stresses the need to invest in projects that strengthen Jewish identity. He also underscores how Jewish organizations must agree upon a clear, collective goal for advancing “the peoplehood agenda.” But what’s missing from this piece is a more expansive, values-based understanding of how Jewish peoplehood is…
The Forward’s June 14 opinion piece “Hebrew Language Charter Schools Are a Bad Bargain” fails to mention that Jewish federations maintain an unwavering commitment to hundreds of educational programs across North America, dedicating millions of dollars toward the future of our children. In fact, despite continued economic challenges, many federations are expanding their support of…
I write to respond to Allan Nadler’s discussion of my recent book, “Jewish Bialystok and Its Diaspora.” In his May 20 review, “Cities of Jewish Success, Crushed,” Nadler appears to have fallen into a classic trap: He measures my book not against its own ambitions but against the book he wishes I had written. As…
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