Circumcision Offers Many Health Benefits A July 20 article incorrectly reports that the current rate of circumcision in the United States is 57% (“Activists Up Efforts To Cut Circumcision Out of Bris Ritual”). Data released in 2006 by the Center for Disease Control showed that 80% of American males are circumcised; for non-Hispanic whites, the…
Group’s Finances Clear A July 13 article fails to mention that all financial information about the Claims Conference is on the organization’s Web site (“Accounting Shift at Claims Conference”). In addition, the Claims Conference Web site lists every single allocation made by the organization, a level of transparency few Jewish organizations can match. The change…
Revisit History of Kielce The Kielce Pogrom of July 4, 1946, was initiated by policemen and soldiers and later joined by civilians, not the other way around (“Preserve Memory of Shoah By Maintaining Memorials,” July 6). The culpable inaction of police and army commanders, notably state security’s Major Wladyslaw Sobczynski, increased the number of casualties….
Sleep-away Camps Offer Both Fun and Education When deciding to which camp to send their children, parents do not, as a June 27 article asserts, have to choose between a summer of sports, games and other enjoyable activities and a summer steeped in Jewish tradition and culture (“As Kids Head to Camp, Parents Ask If…
Protest Boycott Decision As a professor of chemistry who has lectured at Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Edinburgh and many other British universities, I strongly support Steven Weinberg’s refusal to lecture at Imperial College in protest of the British University and College Union’s recommendation to boycott Israeli universities (“Talk of British Boycott Silences Voice of Scientific…
In response to several complaints about our June 8 story “Suburbia Sells Settlers on the West Bank,” we have checked further into the accuracy of our reporting for that article. Contrary to what we initially reported, the Kwalbrun home does not have “a Jacuzzi, a fireplace and a manicured lawn.” The sale price of Marc…
TB Can’t Spread by Hand Tuberculosis is not spread by handshaking, as Jenna Weissman Joselit claims in an otherwise interesting and informative June 8 article (“In the News Again, Tuberculosis Victims Have History of Seeking Cures Far and Wide”). The disease is spread by the airborne route: Germs are contained in the air coughed out…
WJC Election Was Free Of Backroom Intrigue I am not an uncritical supporter of billionaires, as a June 8 editorial on the World Jewish Congress implies (“Our Ownership Society”). But Ronald Lauder’s generous sponsorship of Jewish education in Eastern Europe and his immense contributions to Israel make him more than just another billionaire. Contrary to…
Access to Holocaust Archive Is Critical The failure of the International Tracing Service to respond promptly to survivors’ requests over the years prompted the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to lead the effort to open the archive (“Shoah Survivors Slam Museum’s Archive Plan,” May 25). Negotiations with 10 nations and the International Red Cross have…
Mistreating Animals Isn’t Kosher Either I applaud Conservative rabbis for creating a Heckscher Tzedek, or ethically based certification for kosher food, that sets humane labor standards (“Rabbis Move Ahead With New Certification Plan,” May 18). I am disappointed, however, that this certification does not include standards for humane treatment of animals. “Kosher” actually means “fit”…
Israel’s Peace Efforts Were Not Questioned A May 18 article presents a woefully inaccurate account of my remarks, and those of Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, with respect to our participation in public forums with Israeli government officials (“Foxman, Wiesel Upbraid Israel for Pace of Peace Effort”). I, for one, did not at any point upbraid…
דאָס בוך איז גרונטיק געפֿאָרשט, לעבעדיק אָנגעשריבן — אָבער אידעאָלאָגיש באַפֿאַרבט
