Letters to the Editor January 27, 2020: Rashida: Rushing to demonize Jews
Readers of The Jerusalem Post have their say
By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: PIXABAY)Rashida: Rushing to demonize JewsRegarding “The exploitation of a tragedy” (January 26), US Representative Rashida Tlaib yet again publicly demonstrates the depths of her hatred of Jews and Israel, joining Hanan Ashrawi and thousands of other racists in falsely accusing Jews (“settlers,” of course) of kidnapping and executing an Arab boy (to bake his blood into matzah, perhaps?).If truth and fairness mean so little to her, is she really fit to be in the US Congress?RUTH GERBERHaifaWhile my vice president was addressing dozens of world leaders about antisemitism at the Holocaust Conference in Jerusalem, my congresswoman was stoking antisemitic hatred and inciting to violence. One of them is on the wrong side of veracity, history and morality.Rashida Tlaib, you do not represent me in the House of Representatives when you tweet false blood libels against Jews/Israelis.JACK HANSONDetroitHolocaust Conference takeawaysAt the Holocaust Conference, there was one establishment conspicuous by its absence: the “Church.”Historically, the Church in all its forms was the prime mover of hatred of Jews that culminated in the Holocaust. Throughout history, Jews have been blamed by the Church for being responsible for every imaginable disaster. Mobs were encouraged to attack them and burn them. The most notorious burnings, Spanish Autos da Fe, were public celebrations, authorized by the Church, where Jews were humiliated before being put to the stake.In recent years, there have been announcements by the Vatican and other Christian groups exonerating the Jews from some of their alleged crimes, but where is the ringing and unambiguous denunciation of Jew hatred?The Holocaust Conference would have been an excellent forum for this to take place, but the Church was not there.OSCAR DAVIESJerusalemIn “Pence: We can only marvel at the faith, resilience of the Jewish people” (January 24), I was delighted to read what US Vice President Mike Pence said about us and the global situation. With the resurgence of antisemitism in the world today, we can only hope that other foreign leaders were attentive to his words and will be more “Pence-ive” when developing their positions and policies.SHALVA DAVIESJerusalemIs Nazism really gone? It isn’t Hitler who is saying that there are “malignant [Jewish] genes, and cursed characteristics continue in them. They transfer them from generation to generation. They inherit it from father to son... Humanity will never be able to live together with them... Count them and kill them one by one, and do not leave even one.” It isn’t Hitler – it is PA TV – and this is just a small sample of what they are indoctrinating their people and children with day in and day out.The international community hasn’t really learned the lesson of “Never again” until it holds the PA responsible for its Nazi-like words and deeds.RONIT ABRAMSJerusalemI am puzzled by the ceremonies surrounding International Holocaust Day. January 27, 1945 did not bring freedom for hundreds of thousands of Jews. My parents were in Theresienstadt until May. Countless of people died between January and May 1945.When the UN decided to declare an International Holocaust Day, my mother, a Holocaust survivor, was distraught.”You’ll see they (the nations of the world) will use the Holocaust against us.” How prophetic her words were.It is ironic that Holocaust Day was decided by a unanimous vote of the UN, one of the most antisemitic international bodies in the world. The original aim of International Holocaust Day was to build a “curriculum in the field of remembrance” and “the condemnation of any phenomenon of antisemitism.” How far the reality of 2020 is from the UN decision! In the past few years, there have been countless acts of antisemitism worldwide. Holocaust terminology is used against Israel at every opportunity.The Holocaust did not happen to all the nations of the world. The industry of killing human beings was used solely against the Jews. I do not use the word “industry” lightly. Railways brought the “goods” to killing factories. Property and money was confiscated, gold was extracted from the teeth of the murdered. In some cases, soap was made from the remains of Jews who had been killed – stamped with the letters “RIF,” an abbreviation for Reine Judishes Fett (Pure Jewish Fat).After my parents returned from Theresenstadt, they tried to build a semblance of normality, but were hounded by the Communists. January 27 has no meaning for many survivors. On this day, Europeans self-righteously remember the victims of the Holocaust – however, acting against current antisemitism against living Jews is another matter entirely.TOVA GERTA TEITELBAUMChild Holocaust survivorA survivor of Auschwitz related to my husband, founder of the Rockland Center for Holocaust Studies, that while walking in Paris in the year after liberation, waiting to immigrate into the United States, he spotted one of his worst tormentors among the guards at Auschwitz coming toward him. The flicker of recognition in the man’s eyes confirmed his instinct. The survivor said he wanted to charge the man and kill him on the spot, but after that first instinct, he thought about the new life ahead of him and his fiancée, also a survivor, at his side, and he came to a flash decision not to disrupt his future by going back to the past, but to move forward.Some 55 years later, surrounded by children and grandchildren in Rockland County, New York, he confirmed that he had made the right decision. The family around him was his ultimate revenge.MARION REISSBeit ShemeshReal Deal of the Century“PA warns J’lem, Washington ‘not to cross redlines’ in Trump’s Mideast peace plan” (January 24) reports that PA “officials repeated their rejection of Trump’s plan on the pretext that its main goal is to ‘liquidate’ the Palestinian cause.”At first, one can’t imagine that Washington would set such a main goal, and assumes that this is a typical unsubstantiated claim. However, a moment of serious consideration regarding the essence of “the Palestinian cause” will show that the main, overriding and all-encompassing object of “the Palestinian cause” is the destruction of the only state of the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and its population, so that they will cease to exist.Abbas and his henchmen are no lovers of Israel; they behave and talk in ways not conducive to making peace. But many people fail to grasp the full depth and scope of the uncompromising hatred and Nazi-like fanatical belief that the PA leadership espouses and spreads, that Jews are virtually subhuman and must be destroyed.This is clearly documented in “Palestinian Authority fights Jews to ‘defend’ all humanity” (January 22), recommended reading for anyone seeking to gain a true perspective of the situation here.Under these circumstances, liquidating this “Palestinian cause” seems not only perfectly reasonable but essential, since no possibility of any realistic peace process can ever begin until this “cause” is abandoned.Much credit is due to Trump for recognizing and having the integrity (in this matter) and the chutzpah to ignore the accepted Alice-in-Wonderland “correct” behavior when dealing with the PA as if their above “cause” and declarations don’t exist.CHARLES SMITHMoshav ShoreshRumblings of an announcement by the Trump Administration of the “Deal of the Century” were greeted by the Ramallah Arab Palestinian leadership with a warning to Israel and the US administration to “not cross the red lines.” Or what?Balloon bombs, rockets, shrapnel to kill Jewish teenagers and bus travelers, stabbings, drive-by shootings to follow? Been there, done that. It never stopped.Arabs have enjoyed murdering Jews in the Middle East for a long time, and with particular gusto in Israel since 1948, and in other countries, too. What has changed is that Israeli Jews stopped thinking like victims and routinely fight back.Arab Palestinians who teach their five-year-olds to be martyrs are mentally ill. Institutionalized victimhood is no solution. Arab Palestinians can light a candle or curse the darkness. The latter seems to be their perennial choice. Their predictable petulant threats of violence cannot be allowed to determine the agenda.DESMOND TUCKSan Mateo, CASlaying SoleimaniIn “Ethics and justice in killing Soleimani” (January 21), Michah Halpern writes, “On the justice front, the United States did not act on strong ethical footing. A military strike against an enemy who successfully murdered and maimed hundreds of people is not justice – it is revenge. Revenge is not justified, not ethically and not Jewishly. Revenge is forbidden. That does not mean that there have not been instances in which countries and individuals – even Israel and Jews – have justified the tracking down and killing of evil people.”Halpern justifies the killing as an act of self-defense. That means the assassination is either revenge or self-defense.There is a very significant third possibility:If someone strikes me and I strike his son, that’s revenge; if I strike him back, that’s retaliation. There is a world of difference between revenge and retaliation. The killing of Soleimani was justified ethically and morally. It was not revenge – it was retaliation. We don’t turn the other cheek.Further he writes: “The targeting of Soleimani would have been on shaky ground if he was retired and no longer operating.” And if Hitler had retired, would someone who killed him have been on shaky ground?SHOLOM GOLDJerusalemToo generous to JordanIn “Recommendations for Restarting Israel-Jordan Relations” (January 24) Y. Gal & K. Svetlova propose a well thought-out plan in which Israel is to be the generous donor of many offers and significant concessions to the Jordanian government. In what tangible way does Jordan do anything for Israel in return? I did not read in their one-sided suggestions any reciprocal promoting of benefits coming Israel’s way.LEAH ISRAELJerusalemKorrect about the KotelIn “Macron first French leader at Western Wall in 20 years” (January 23) Tovah Lazaroff and Khaled Abu Toameh describe the Western Wall as “part of Judaism’s most holy site, the Temple Mount.”Congratulations! After the multiple letters-to-the-editor that I have written over the years complaining when the Western Wall was incorrectly referred to as “Judaism’s holiest site,” I feel compelled to compliment you on this milestone achievement of accurately portraying the Temple Mount as Judaism’s holiest site, of which the Western Wall is a retaining wall.Unfortunately, the prayer area outside of this retaining wall is the only part of the Temple Mount complex at which members of all religions have free access and are allowed to pray. I hope that by their next visit, the leaders of Israel will see fit to change this situation and to accompany visiting world leaders to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, so that they can pray together at the “house of prayers for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7).DAVID NEUSTADTERNof AyalonSpinning wheelsRegarding “Formula One’s Williams Racing signs first-ever Israeli driver Roy Nissany" (January 15), whatever took them so long to do this? Isn’t every single Israeli driver a potential Formula One Racer?Consider the following:• Formula One cars have no turn signals, and so it seems with most Israeli cars (or at least their drivers don’t know what or where they are, and certainly know not how to use them).• Formula One drivers tailgate in the most dangerous way trying to intimidate the driver who has the chutzpah to be ahead of him; so does nearly every Israeli driver.• Formula One drivers cut each other off at breakneck speeds and even around curves – just like driving in Israel.• Formula One drivers use every trick in the book to get to the finish line first and not be a friar who doesn’t win the race – just like here where everyone races to the next red light.• It’s a good thing that Formula One cars don’t have headlights, or they would be flashing each other to get the heck out of the way all around the track... just like they do here.That is why every morning when I get into my car I yell, “Gentlemen, start your engines...”NORMAN DEROVANMa’aleh AdumimRecalling RohingyaIn “My Myanmar” (January 22), Sally Joseph (now resident in Los Angeles) characterizes Myanmar as “a desirable place to visit.”No doubt, when Myanmar was Burma, and U Nu, Burma’s first prime minister, and David Ben-Gurion were buddies, the country was a good place to visit. Today, it is difficult to reconcile that claim with the UN statement that “the Rohingya genocide is the world’s fastest-growing refugee crisis.”GERRY MYERSBeit ZayitCoronavirus outbreakMany thanks for publishing Prof Horowitz’s letter (New viral illness, January 22). He is wrong on one point only: there is nothing new about “fear-driven hysteria.”My entry into general practice (family practice) in Dundee, Scotland coincided with the 1956 influenza epidemic. This was dubbed Asian influenza and the press reports ensured that the population was “scared stiff” at the prospect of an encounter with the yellow slant-eyed virus.The result? At that point I was responsible for a population of a little more than 3,500 people. In terms of work, the reaction to the press reports generated 50 home visits and 100 surgery (office) consultations a day. This is not an estimate. These were counted. This lasted for two weeks and then suddenly it was over.Subsequent epidemics generated similar work patterns.This is not a trivial matter. This situation creates great difficulty in offering one’s patients a well-considered examination and well-reasoned diagnosis. One must also remember that there are patients other than those suffering from influenza whose medical care should not be allowed to suffer.ALBERT JACOB, MD.Beersheba
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