Right and Wrong at the Western Wall In her December 4 first-person article “The ‘Crime’ of Praying with a Tallit, and a Plea for Tolerance,” Nofrat Frenkel admits that she entered the area at the Western Wall reserved for traditional women’s prayer along with 41 other women, wearing tallitot “hidden under our coats” and with…
In Discussing Mount’s Future, Remember Its Recent Past In discussing the recent tensions between Israelis and Arabs over the Temple Mount, Daniel Seidemann writes: “Regardless of one’s view on the political future of Jerusalem, Israel’s claims to be a responsible guardian of this complex and sensitive city require it to respect competing religious and national…
The Gender Gap Isn’t Only at the Top The information contained in the November 13 article “Jewish Women Lag Behind Men in Promotion and Pay,” regarding the large discrepancy in pay and promotion between Jewish women and men in Jewish communal organizations, is not new. What is disgraceful is that there has been so little…
What Happens When Jews Stop Serving? Deborah Dash Moore’s informative and poignant opinion piece, “The World That Jewish Veterans Built,” raises troubling questions about the contemporary relationship of the American Jewish community to military service (November 13). Ever since the late-18th century, European Jews fought to prove their battle-worthiness in order to gain political rights….
The U.S. Military Has Been Good to Jews Your story on the tragic loss of Captain Benjamin Sklaver in Afghanistan was significant on that basis alone, but it also brought up the issue of the relative dearth of Jews in our armed forces (“Officer’s Death Highlights Dearth of Jews in the Military,” October 23). I…
On Abuse, the Catholic Church’s Progress Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s representative to United Nations organizations in Geneva, noted that the Catholic Church has been “cleaning its own house” and that other institutions “could do the same” (“Vatican’s New Defense on Child Molestation Charges: Finger-pointing,” October 16). There is validity to his statement. While the…
Putting Victims First I am writing this letter to correct any misimpressions that may arise as a result of quotes from me that were published in your October 23 article “Rabbis Still Want Role in Abuse Cases.” I fear that the context in which my quotes were presented in the article may cause my views…
An Orthodox Exodus I was surprised and disappointed to see you print the old-school canard that the liberal streams of Judaism will inevitably disappear due to intermarriage, with only Orthodoxy thriving in the future (“The Jewish Future, in Black and White,” October 16). This outcome has been predicted for decades with no tangible proof that…
Desmond Tutu Was Not Right About Israel Desmond Tutu was wrong about Israel, and so is letter-writer Martin Hird (“Desmond Tutu Was Not Wrong About Israel,” October 2). Hird wrote: “I don’t believe anyone can argue that if not for the Holocaust the State of Israel would exist today.” A more accurate statement about the…
Defending Democracy In Honduras The rule of law and democracy must be restored in Honduras (“Jewish Groups Take Sides in Honduran Strife,” October 2). Rep. Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is correct in his statement that, regardless of how we view a deposed leader, coups d’etat are unacceptable and the United…
Desmond Tutu Was Not Wrong About Israel In your September 18 editorial “Despairing Words,” you take Desmond Tutu to task for “implying that Israel resembles apartheid.” Under the South African apartheid policy, blacks had to present identification periodically to legitimize a presence or activity. Today, in the West Bank, there are dozens of internal Israeli…
100% of profits support our journalism
