Why does Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon think that Israeli citizens should be cheated out of their right to invest in what they wish?
By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)PM’s probesWith regard to “‘I won’t be toppled, I have nothing to fear’” (August 8), enough already! Let’s give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the benefit of the doubt.To quote Mr. Netanyahu once again: “There will be nothing because there was nothing.” To paraphrase a quote from Mark Twain, the frenzied reporting on the prime minister’s imminent political demise is somewhat exaggerated and wishful thinking.STEPHEN VISHNICKTel AvivYour recent coverage of the corruption allegations facing our prime minister gives the impression of a complete abdication of editorial control.The authorities will decide whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be indicted, not the one-sided reporting of journalists like Gil Hoffman, who bases his stories on police leaks.Have front-page headlines such as “‘I won’t be toppled, I have nothing to fear’” and “How long might it take for Netanyahu to go?” (Analysis, August 7) become the province of biased journalism? The daily, one-sided crescendo of attacks on Netanyahu in The Jerusalem Post is being led by Hoffman together with columnist Susan Hattis Rolef, whose personal hatred for our prime minister was made evident by her bilious attacks on him prior to the last election and again in her ludicrous comments about Prof. Alan Dershowitz in “Alan Dershowitz and the Netanyahu investigations” (Think About It, August 7).The Post is an important alternative to Haaretz. Have you decided to adopt the shock tactics of that newspaper? Hopefully not, as otherwise your circulation might end up just as minuscule.It is high time for the editor of the Post to show a little responsibility and leadership! ALLAN LEIBLER Jerusalem Abdullah’s message The king of Jordan went to Ramallah (“King Abdullah and Abbas forge front against future ‘challenges’ to al-Aksa,” August 8). I hope he tried to talk some sense into Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, telling him that the Temple Mount is not his.Abbas cannot be the one to cause rioting on the Temple Mount. He is representing the Wakf Muslim religious trust, Jordan and the other Arab countries, and so cannot be the one who causes changes in the way the Temple Mount is controlled.This time, politicizing the Temple Mount will not work for the Arabs. There is a change going on in the world and King Abdullah sees disaster ahead if the Palestinians run amok. Only Abbas can control them, and he must do so for the sake of Muslim beliefs and for the sake of peace in the Middle East.Politics must be subservient to peace. I hope that this is what King Abdullah told Abbas.THELMA SUSSWEINJerusalem I loved the front-page picture of a smug King Abdullah and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, both of whom are afraid to tell their people that they owe their safety and lives to Israel. Without Israel’s protection, both the king and the president – never have those two titles held such meaningless significance and authority – would have been overthrown and assassinated by their constituencies long ago.As to former ambassador Yitzhak Levanon’s contention that Israel feels snubbed by the king’s non-appearance (“A royal visit for multiple audiences,” Analysis, August 8), it only proves that Levanon is another in a long line of former Israeli diplomats and security heads who have lost touch with reality and with who really wields the power.As to who really wields the power, certainly it’s not Abdullah or Abbas, two shameful frauds who continue to rouse and incite their people while cowering under Israeli protection and knowing their fates are in Israel’s hands.ALLAN KANDELLos AngelesKahlon’s taxIn response to “Kahlon to re-legislate third apartment tax after High Court blow” (August 8), it is time to be realistic and practical.If the finance minister really wants to be popular (which I presume he does, based on all the billboards around town with his huge grin), I would recommend that he adapt his newly proposed law to be imposed going forward, but not retroactively.In that way, he would achieve his concept of making the purchase of apartments less desirable while gaining the votes of those (including myself... mea culpa) who already own three or more and have no interest in selling.Of course, the ultra-Orthodox will probably hold him responsible for the fact that now the Third Temple is less likely to be built, but that is the price one pays for entering politics in our amazing country.DAVID ZWEBNERJerusalem Why does Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon think that Israeli citizens should be cheated out of their right to invest in what they wish? By scaring off investors with a third-apartment tax, he has forced hundreds of thousands to liquidate a solid investment and then gamble the proceeds on some government- sponsored casino such as Teva.Kahlon’s law stems from a pure communist outlook on the economy. That outlook says let everybody be financially equal at the level of the lowest-paid worker instead of a pure free market where people can invest in what they consider to be a safe investment, in this way encouraging people to better themselves.VELVEL ZEV WEISZJerusalemSwastikas and arsenicWith regard to “US T-shirt company sells colorful swastika design as ‘symbol of love and peace’” (August 7), the swastika is a symbol of hate, and of the Nazis who perpetrated the Holocaust.It must not be shown in any other context.Arsenic covered with chocolate is still arsenic.ED BIELAWSKYNetanyaPay to pray In response to reader Donna Tzinamon, who replied to the August 6 opinion piece “It’s too expensive to be Jewish” (“Cost of being Jewish, Letters, August 8), I can only relate my experience in Ra’anana many years ago.My late husband and I were members of a synagogue for around 12 years, from the time we moved there. We were traditional but not religious: We kept a kosher home and all the Jewish holidays; my husband’s greatest enjoyment was wrapping his two sons in his prayer shawl for the blessing of the Kohanim.Those were 12 years of having the best seats for my husband and front row seats for my two daughters and myself.But then my husband found himself in financial difficulty.Straight away, he went to the synagogue to say that this year he could not afford those seats, but would appreciate retaining them and that he would make up the difference as soon as the financial issue was straightened out.The High Holy Days arrived and my husband and our two sons were directed to the back of the synagogue, and my two daughters and I were directed to go to the back room (not in the actual synagogue itself). I immediately left, but my husband, who was completely humiliated, stayed on to the bitter end of the first day of Rosh Hashana.This is the positive experience one receives in a synagogue in Israel? So yes, I agree: It’s too expensive to be Jewish.ANGELA GROSSMANTel AvivCORRECTIONThe outgoing ambassador to Israel from Sweden is Isaac Bachman, and not as stated in the August 9 Grapevine feature.
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