June 29: Accuracy a must

Accuracy a must
Sir, – With regard to “Police arrest four haredim for graffiti at Yad Vashem” (June 27), I believe your reporting is inaccurate when you don’t state until the third paragraph that it was members of the Natorei Karta who were involved in the spray painting at Yad Vashem and other sites.

For most haredim the actions and views of this group are totally repugnant and unacceptable.

Your headline should have read, “Police arrest four Natorei Karta members for graffiti at Yad Vashem.”

Accuracy here is very important!

LEAH WEINBERG
Jerusalem

Dying of thirst
Sir, – The State of Israel has much to learn from the rabbinate. The country’s secular are indeed thirsty for spiritual knowledge and for the waters in the well of holiness. However, the chief rabbis, instead of quenching the people’s thirst, have erected a mighty wall around this well, effectively keeping tens of thousands from drinking from its waters (“Amar: Non-Orthodox movements put Judaism in danger of irreparable split,” June 27).

Brick by brick the chief rabbis have managed to cut off so many of our brethren that even knowledge about the well is becoming scarce and people are dying of thirst.

YAACOV PETERSEIL
Jerusalem

No comparison
Sir, – Regarding “Providing hope for refugees in Tel Aviv” (Comment & Features, June 27), which compares the fate we dish out to African refugees to the fate of Jews over the ages, I do have a little difficulty in seeing all those cattle trucks packed with refugees on their way concentration camps to be worked or starved to death or to be murdered in gas chambers.

JULIAN ISRAEL
Haifa

In our hands?
Sir, – While it may be fashionable whether one wears a scarf that looks like a tallit or not, the whole issue is a disgrace to us (“Woman detained at Kotel for wearing ‘male’ tallit,” June 22).

One of the most inspiring results of the 1967 war is that the State of Israel regained control of its holy places. So, now we have the “rabbi” of the Wall and his followers telling valorous Jewish women what they can and can’t wear or do.

While we technically have the Temple Mount in our hands, practically we don’t, and it is a deep shame and stain on the Jewish state that such bigotry and discrimination against women exist in such a holy place.

BARRY LYNN
Efrat

Unfair article
Sir, – I was surprised to see your article “Montenegro’s tiny Jewish community gets organized” by Gil Shefler (June 6).

Many of the remarks were disparaging and offensive. Besides its diminishing tone, the article manipulated factual inaccuracies and interviews recently given to Israel Radio and Army Radio. Portraying the story of the Jewish community of Montenegro – widely accepted as a story of success – in a deprecating light was at the very least distasteful.

Forgive my frankness, but the author’s paraphrase of Frank Zappa’s statement that every country needs to have its own national brand of beer and airline, to which Shefler adds “Jewish community,” is deeply offensive. Moreover, his statement that there are 10 active members in our community is taken out of context – it numbers about 80 members, along with 200 inactive Jews across Montenegro. We have to bear in mind that the whole country has a population of only 650,000.

JASHA ALFANDARI GEORG RAICEVIC-LEVY
Podogroica, Montenegro
The writers are president and vice president, respectively, of the Jewish community of Montenegro