And since the author of the column has correctly pointed out that Scottish Jews and Scottish olim aren’t well known in Israel and in the wider Jewish community, let me take this opportunity to enrich
By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)Get to ‘ken’ usWhat charming pieces about Scotland and Kenneth Collins’s new book The Jewish Experience in Scotland: From Immigration to Integration (“Scotland the brave,” Grapevine, December 11, and “Mother love,” Grapevine, December 20). But, wow, what an egregious error in numbers! The guesstimated peak population of Jews in Scotland from 1930 to 1950 was just over 16,000. Ephraim Borowski MBE, who spoke at the book launch, wrote in a 2010 article for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs that “Despite the arrival of thousands of Jewish refugees in the 1930s and after the war, numbers peaked at around 18,000 in the 1950s. Since then numbers have decreased as a result of intermarriage as well as emigration to England and Israel.” There were certainly not 70,000 Jews in Scotland.And since the author of the column has correctly pointed out that Scottish Jews and Scottish olim aren’t well known in Israel and in the wider Jewish community, let me take this opportunity to enrich the reader’s knowledge.Borowski is director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities and the co-author of the brilliant HarperCollins Dictionary of Mathematics.Dr. Neville Yosef Lamdan, the former ambassador to the UN in Geneva and the Vatican, was the founding director of the International Institute for Jewish Genealogy in the National Library of Israel from 2006- 2012.Stephen Kliner is a retired Glasgow solicitor who as a youngster worked in Israel as a lawyer in the civil service, and is now a tour guide in the Holy Land.Arnold Rosin, emeritus professor of gerontology, was awarded the “Yakir Yerushalayim” prize in 5770 (2009-2010) for his work for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia. And please add to the Glasgow descendants: Brig.-Gen. Tal Kelman, the Israel Air Force’s current chief of staff.KALMAN BOOKMAN JerusalemThe writer occasionally resides in Glasgow.Good spot Well done to Knesset correspondent Lahav Harkov on her reporting of how MKs get through the long parliamentary sessions, “War, poetry and theology: MKs pass the time with books during long hours of budget votes,” December 22.Of course, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s choice of literature, a history book explaining how decisive military victories led to long-term peace, seemed anything but coincidental.I was also proud to see MK Moti Yogev reading from the Talmud. The tractate he was reading, Bava Metzia, is the current one in the seven-and-ahalf- year cycle of Babylonian Talmud study (Hadaf Hayomi).Assuming he’s doing the cycle, that’s impressive for an MK to find the time to keep up.And the spotting of Meretz MK Ilan Gilon playing Candy Crush isn’t surprising at all. For a party that has consistently disregarded the country and the nation’s past – this is its future.ITAMAR SACKSMetullaBig Santa Is it absolutely necessary to put such a large photo of Santa Claus on the front page of the Comment & Features (December 22) section? What is the paper trying to prove? Is this what it represents, or could it just not find something more appropriate?YEHUDA SHEINBERGKedumimDrink milk?Regarding the Knesset and Health Ministry’s fight on obesity and junk food, (“Health Ministry obesity campaign to label junk food,” November 21, and “Knesset serves fruits and vegetables rather than junk food,” December 21) why has milk been untouched? In a December 2014 broadcast of the Orly and Guy morning show, the results of their research on all the milk produced in the country revealed that the level of progesterone is dangerously high – agreeing with the test results published by Dr. Ronit Haimov-Kokhman, senior doctor and researcher at Hadassah, which found progesterone at levels parallel to the range of hormones in the middle of the second phase of a woman’s menstruation – when progesterone is found at its maximum levels.Researchers and doctors also say milk is one of the root causes of many cancers and diseases, and it causes early stages of puberty in boys and girls.Why has the Health Ministry completely ignored the subject? Why does the media and our Knesset likewise choose to pretend that the situation doesn’t exist?ELIYAHU HOLLEYMevaseret ZionNot fit to runI would like to thank The Jerusalem Post for its coverage and insight on the Berlin Christmas market terrorist attack (“Suspect freed in Berlin attack, perpetrator at large,” and “Analysis: Still unbeatable? Truck attack shows Merkel’s vulnerability”).We must work on the fact that large sections of the population need to recognize that Chancellor Angela Merkel is neither a professional or ethical choice for the office of the federal chancellor in the coming 2017 election. It was Merkel’s task to prevent the drastic decrease in internal security in Germany, which she could have done.Merkel’s behavior is unconstitutional.She has essentially legalized a totalitarian ideology, which goes against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.The organizers of the Berlin Christmas terrorist attack declared publicly that this was carried out by a “soldier” who served this ideology. This was a war-type act.The moral decline of the Christian Democratic Union is frightening. The politicians of the party do not have the courage to stand up to Merkel.HANS PENNERLinkenheim-Hochstetten, GermanyStart rehabilitatingI was very happy to hear that former President Moshe Katsav was able to spend Shabbat at home with his family, “Former president Katsav leaves prison after 5 years,” December 22.This was a traumatic experience for the whole country, and I’m glad that we can start our national rehabilitation now.But only a couple of pages later we’re met with another difficult headline, “Police: Indict Mateh Yehuda council head for rape, fraud.”And then we have Ofek Buchris, the former IDF brigadier general who was accused of rape and other sexual charges; Teacher Rabbi David Harrison, charged with dozens of counts of rape, sodomy, sexual assault, assault and intimidation through threats against a former pupil, who was a minor at the time; Bayit Yehudi MK Nissan Slomiansky, who is accused of sexual misconduct; and I’m sure if I really tried harder, the list would just keep on going.How can we stop this plague?ELIEZER YELLIN RehovotSomething specialHere is an opportunity to do something special.On the first of every month at 1 p.m., repeat the word “peace,” (in any language), for one minute.Let’s see if we can unite the world with this short meditation.It is said that if a big group of people meditate at the same time, the level of violent crime falls.This meditation can be done alone or in a group.If you miss one month, just continue the following one. To enhance this experience you could also make an affordable donation to your favorite charity – although it is not at all necessary to do that for this process to be successful.Finally, if you like this idea, forward it to others.MARTIN ZAGNOEV Johannesburg
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