Eli Ungar-Sargon’s claim (“Outlawing Circumcision: Good for the Jews?” May 20) that the health benefits of circumcision are only “purported” is sadly misinformed, and his analogy to mastectomy is just plain silly. Numerous studies by the World Health Organization, as well as independent studies published in the Lancet, Scientific American and the New England Journal…
The May 6 op-ed by Israel Finkelstein, “In the Eye of Jerusalem’s Archaeological Storm” underscores some problems and misconceptions surrounding the “City of David” in the Palestinian village of Silwan. Much of the site lies beneath village houses. It is this intermingling of ancient remains and modern homes that makes archaeology in the City of…
The Forward’s May 13 article, “Survey of Campus BDS Finds Few Serious Cases” unfortunately focused solely on the failures of Israel’s campus detractors to implement boycott, divestment and sanction (BDS) against Israel. But this misses the critical context that support for Israel on campus has never been greater, and the network of campus Israel supporters…
I am flattered but uncomfortable with the fact that David Hazony chose to base his May 2 Op-Ed, “A Tale of Two Brothers,” on a blog I posted two months ago. He used that piece of writing to establish his premise that, “a great many mainstream, longtime supporters of Israel” are publicly expressing embarrassment. He…
I want to commend you for your March 25 special section on the centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. I will use it in my master’s-level class, “Social Welfare and the Jewish Community,” in the College of Social Work at the Ohio State University. The Forward took up the cause of the labor union…
Regarding Israel Finkelstein’s May 6 article “In the Eye of Jerusalem’s Archaeological Storm,” I find it curious that he has written a lengthy article about the City of David’s “whirlwind of conflicting political agendas” without once referring to the planned eviction of over 1,500 Arab residents of Silwan, the demolition of their 88 homes, and…
The article about the new owners of the Washington bookstore, Politics and Prose, includes an unfortunate line: “the age of independent bookstores seems to have closed” (“Coveted by Jewish Bidders, D.C. Bookstore Finds New Owners,” April 8). The vigor of Politics and Prose and its many prospective purchasers, as reported in your story, belies that…
I am writing concerning the April 1 opinion article “The ‘A-word’ in Hebron” by Letty Cottin Pogrebin. I was deeply offended by it. I think she has things backward. The separation is because Palestinians won’t let Jews live in Hebron without an Israeli military presence. And let’s remember that Hebron is holy to both Muslims…
This is in reply to the comments of Iain Levine of Human Rights Watch in your March 30 article “HRW Founder Charts Another Way to Probe Human Rights.” There is no basis for his claim that I urge human rights organizations to refrain from investigating complaints of war crimes. When I chaired HRW, we pioneered…
Regarding your April 15 editorial “A Cynical Giveaway,” what is cynical is the editorial’s tone and substance. The New York State Legislature’s decision to finally make state tuition assistance available to students in undergraduate rabbinical colleges, on a par with other undergraduate colleges, is more than long overdue; it is an expression of elemental equity….
It is disturbing that as 2011’s Festival of Freedom began, a Passover cartoon in the Forward by Eli Valley slammed StandWithUs and Israel (“The Four Sons,” April 22). Drawing on the four sons of the Haggadah, the cartoon implied that, like the son who doesn’t know enough to ask, StandWithUs supports Israel blindly, never raising…
אַלעקס דאַפֿנער, פֿון מעלבורן, אַנאַליזירט די באַדינגונגען וואָס האָבן אפֿשר דערפֿירט צו דעם אומגליק.
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