Saying that tattooing those who are suffering from trauma by covering their scars with ink is rehabilitating might also rationalize an act that is prohibited in the Torah.
By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)Women Wage PeaceRegarding “Women Wage Peace hold rally in Jerusalem” (October 20), the thousands of women waging peace present a very sympathetic picture, but they accomplish the opposite.They also wrongly blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The Latin saying “If you want peace, prepare for war” is still valid. So is German philosopher, poet and writer Friedrich Schiller’s “The very meekest cannot be at peace if his ill neighbor will not let him rest.”JOEL ASCHKENASYJerusalem Humiliated teachersRegarding “Teachers protest at Education Ministry over deductions from salaries” (October 20), I know many teachers who are so disgusted and disillusioned that they are looking to leave the profession. Other people are deciding not to go into it.With all the hype about their importance for the future of our country, most teachers feel undervalued, overworked and, of course, underpaid. Certainly, no one goes into teaching in order to make money; teachers are usually dedicated, idealistic and hard-working people – among the nation’s finest. But now they feel humiliated – if you can’t pay your bills and you owe interest on overdrafts, it is a poor answer to have teachers run to different offices in order to get their own money back.Education Minister Naftali Bennett says nothing, and his silence is insulting. I say that if he can’t manage his own ministry, how does he imagine that he can be prime minister one day? Bennett should stop playing politics and do his job. Thousands of children depend on it.ESTHER SHURINJerusalemThe writer is the mother of three teachers.Trauma and tattoosWith regard to “‘Healing ink at the Israel Museum” (Arts & Entertainment, October 20), there is no known healing effect of tattooing one’s body.Saying that tattooing those who are suffering from trauma by covering their scars with ink is rehabilitating might also rationalize an act that is prohibited in the Torah (“Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the LORD” – Leviticus 19:28.) If the tattoo recipient requests to have tattoos incised on non-scarred parts of the body, will this be refused? Using the Israel Museum to carry out this procedure is offensive to many of its visitors and supporters. However, having the event take place next to the bronze statue of the Roman emperor Hadrian is quite fitting.Hadrian tried to turn the holy city of Jerusalem into a pagan city. The irony cannot be missed.FRED EHRMANRa’anana/New York One would think that after the trauma of the concentration camps, the very thought of being tattooed would be anathema to the Jewish population of Israel. Will this “rehabilitation” include tattooing an ID number on one’s arm?MEIR FACTORBeitar Illit Get real on roads Day after day, we read about people being killed in traffic accidents (“One killed, four injured in West Bank car wreck,” October 19).When I am out driving, I am continuously amazed by the bold and dangerous behaviors I am witness to, and the almost complete absence of traffic police.We can be sure that if there were greater enforcement, better road behaviors would follow.I believe that to truly “get real,” however, the National Road Safety Authority and the Or Yarok traffic safety NGO should include the total number of injuries when they give their facts and figures for traffic accidents, in addition to just fatalities. That number must be staggering – and imagine the collateral damage to peoples’ lives and the cost to society.Let’s get real.K. BRONSTEINPetah Tikva US elections Regarding “Top Reform rabbi: Trump has ‘antisemitic associations’” (October 19), am I alone in pondering whether Rabbi Jonah Pesner, head of the US Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, or Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, realize the huge damage they are doing to American Jewry and the organizations they represent with their politicized comments regarding Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump – particularly in the event that Trump wins the election? That they are not supporters of Trump is self-evident. It is their prerogative, but there is no need to go on a witch hunt with tenuous evidence of his alleged antisemitic associations or by identifying alleged correlations in his speeches to antisemitic literature.In addition, this should not have happened in a week when UNESCO members voted to deny the self-evident and basic fact that every Jew and believing Christian would recognize: the historic connections of both religions to Jerusalem.American Jewry is not immune to the spread of the consequences of this antisemitic UNESCO resolution – which should be the real cause Pesner and Greenblatt should be fighting against when using the word “antisemitic.”PETER SIMPSONJerusalemYour newspaper has been running pro-Clinton and anti-Trump items.I am certainly not a fan of Donald Trump. While calling him “groper in chief” might be accurate, my irk is with the media.Did Bill Clinton’s disgusting behavior with women ever get the same condemnation from the press? Hillary Clinton’s lies are open for all to see on Internet videos, as she said without blinking that the FBI backed her claims that she had only one email device, that she handed over all her emails, and that there were no high-security emails among them. FBI Director James Comey directly contradicted each of these claims.Trump might be disgusting, but the Clintons retain the sorry title of the most corrupt leaders the US has ever had.AVIGDOR BONCHEKJerusalem Donald Trump is an obnoxious idiot who is trying to buy his way into the US presidency. He probably will create nothing but division and hate, and make the US a target for all kinds of reactionaries.Trump is using the tool of demagoguery and extremist politics to get votes as he plays the racist anti-immigration card to the maximum. No one denies the validity of arguments on immigration, as it is a problem facing all developed countries.But the problem needs to be tackled at the international level.If Trump is to be president, this super-rich man will have to deal with the bread-and-butter issues of the American working and middle classes. Can anybody see him coming to the aid of the underprivileged? He might not even be able to see the plight of unfortunate people in his own country.Donald Trump is not a politician.He is a bigoted and bloated prig with prejudices that will cause enormous trouble if he is elected.MAURICE FITZGERALDCork, Ireland Being an Israeli citizen originating in the UK, I find myself disturbed about the forthcoming American presidential election.Many months have been spent on campaigning, and so far the outcome is proving that neither candidate comes to par for this prestigious position.America deserves a leader who is responsible, trustworthy and comes with a healthy track record – a person who is well qualified, highly experienced in world affairs and can speak publicly without giving offense.Is it too late to call off the shidduch? RUTH POSNER Beit Shemesh I can only express my total incredulity at the world’s most wealthy, powerful and technologically advanced country of 330 million people having produced from its ranks two such complete lemons from which to choose as its next leader.STANLEY COHENJerusalem
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