By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)Mourning pornRabbi Shmuley Boteach sermonizes that “Porn is ravishing a generation of good men” (August 14) but he can’t resist proselytizing about the benefits of the Jewish religion – the beautiful laws of the mikveh, the proper attire of husbands and wives in the bedroom, etc., serving as a catalyst for desire.I finally understand the extreme behavior of Orthodox Jewish: the refusal to shake hands with members of the opposite sex, even those of a family member, the refusal to hear the voice of a woman in song, the refusal to sit near a woman on a bus or a plane, the refusal to look at a woman, even fully garbed – all these are intended to increase lust when confronted with the woman of their choice. What a pity that such extreme means are required.Perhaps such Judaism is destroying a generation of good men as well. Perhaps Boteach could also deliver a sermon on the extreme, dehumanizing aspects of Jewish orthodoxy to women in order to enhance their carnal desires. It is no less extreme than addiction to pornography.YIGAL HOROWITZBeershebaTruce in our timeSo now we have another truce, supposedly a result of a secret meeting in Cairo between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (“Netanyahu met Sisi secretly in Cairo in May about Gaza,” August 14).Let’s now look at a couple of historical blunders. It was December 1941. The American government was in secret talks with the Japanese government about a possible peace deal. In a breathtaking subterfuge, what the Americans didn’t know was that the Japanese fleet had already sailed toward Pearl Harbor. They were on radio silence with no way to call them back.The other grotesque blunder of those years was, of course, “Peace in our Time,” brought to the world by UK prime minister Neville Chamberlain’s meeting with German chancellor Adolf Hitler in 1938. Old stuff? Even Chamberlain’s umbrella was a source of scorn and ridicule for years. People have wondered for years how anyone could have been such a gullible fool. Isi Liebler’s magnificent article (“Deterrence against Hamas is evaporating,” August 14) said it all. “Every time a truce is announced, Hamas breaks it.” Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman had better be paying attention if they don’t want to be remembered as the blunderers of our own time.Leibler’s final comment was, “Failure to act now virtually guarantees a full-scale conflict at a later stage, when Hamas will probably be in a better position to inflict greater casualties upon us.”Especially if we give them (again) supplies to do it with.THELMA JACOBSONPetah TikvaBroad consensus requiredThe arguments of those on both sides of the Nation-State Basic Law resonate with me (“Basic truths about the Basic Law,” August 14).Objectively, the law doesn’t really change anything and I don’t see a need for it. Both those who say it unnecessarily caused criticism of Israel and those who say the criticism of it demonstrates its need make reasonable arguments, but I’m inclined to believe most MKs voted based on political considerations rather than the good of our country.I also tend to believe that once everyone figures they’ve milked the issue to death, the controversy will die down and nothing much will have changed. For me, however, the way the law was passed, by a narrow 62 to 55 margin, is of greater concern. As a relatively new oleh, I was flabbergasted that a Basic Law could be passed without a broad consensus. In the United States, a constitutional amendment requires not only separate two-thirds votes of both houses of Congress, but must also be approved by fully three-quarters of the state legislatures.In Israel, we desperately need another new Basic Law, one with the provision that future Basic Laws will require the approval of two-thirds of the Knesset.ALAN STEINNetanyaLook the other wayHamas recently fired more than launched at least 200 rockets into Israel, which retaliated with precision air strikes against more than 150 sites in Gazan territory. Why did Hamas decide to attack Israel precisely at this moment?On August 13, 2018, the UK-based Asharq al Awsat newspaper reported that the Iranian-backed Syrian army began air strikes against the last rebel-held province: “At least 53 civilians, including 28 children, were killed in a fierce bombardment on Friday that targeted rebel-held areas of northern Syria.”Is it a coincidence that the Idlib offensive was happening at the same time that Hamas was attacking Israel from Gaza? Could Iran be escalating the conflict in Gaza as a distraction to the Idlib offensive?Iran controls both Hamas and the Syrian army; Iran decides when to order an attack in both cases. Iran knows its atrocities in Syria will be overlooked if it escalates the situation in Gaza. As long as the news media are busy condemning Israel, everything else is permitted.EZEQUIEL DOINYMaryland, USALaying a wreathRegarding “PM slams Corbyn’s visit to graves,” (August 14), I am compelled to comment on this despicable act by the leader of the UK Labor Party in being associated with the wreath-laying ceremony for the terrorists of the Munich atrocities.I attended the games, and on leaving the Olympic Park in Munich on that fateful morning in 1972, I was aware of a major incident taking place due to the frenzied activity (police and soldiers) running in one direction past me as I made my way to find my vehicle to head for Frankfurt Airport for my return to London.All flights were delayed, incidentally, as we watched the horrendous events unfolding on the airport’s TV screens.Having been so close on the actual day is for me a personal and constant reminder of the cold-blooded murder of Israeli athletes and the less-than-tepid response from the Olympic authorities, who showed scant regard in their haste for the games to continue.To have the memory of brave athletes besmirched once again in such a blatant manner by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn shows him to be – if more proof were still needed – someone who would be a most unsuitable candidate for the high office of prime minister.Corbyn has shown his true colors via his actions and serial veiled apologies an innate inability to hide his true alliances. Numerous incidents where he has shown greater than tacit support for anti-Jewish/Israeli causes reveal him to be not only a clear danger to the UK Jewish population and the State of Israel, but to all right-thinking persons.It has gone well past the date to realize when someone spits at you, don’t say it’s raining. The proof is in the pudding – and this one tastes very nasty.STEPHEN VISHNICKTel AvivBy laying a wreath at the graves of the perpetrators of the Munich Olympic massacre, Jeremy Corbyn may well have laid a wreath on his own ambitions to become prime minister of Great Britain.Corbyn attempts to fend off Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s condemnation of that wreath laying by attacking Israel for defending itself against tens of thousands of violent rioters amassed at its border, many of whom were armed. Tweeted Corbyn, “What deserves condemnation is the killing of over 160 Palestinian protesters in Gaza by Israeli forces since March, including dozens of children.” With this diversionary response, Corbyn further confirms his visceral disdain for truth and fairness where Jews are concerned.One relies on the basic goodness of a majority of Britons to ensure that this unbalanced demagogue never assumes power in their country.HARRY BROWNBeit ShemeshMaximum security ruinsAs a tour guide, I read with much interest your article on the Megiddo prison being removed so the extraordinary find of the early home church can be exposed and perhaps opened to the public (“Archaeological finds bode the end for Megiddo prison,” August 9).I still have the article from the Jerusalem Post dated Nov 5, 2005. Christianity was forbidden in the Holy Land by the Romans after 70 CE and the prayer hall is dated 220 CE, which indicates that there must have been a wave of Christianity among the Roman soldiers of the 6th Legion, thus predating what is thought to be the earlier churches sanctioned by the Byzantines after 325 CE, when Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.This new site will no doubt be more than welcome to Christian tourism. HELA TAMIRNeve Ilan
