August 3: Willful hurt

How sad that Roseanne Barr hurts the very religion and people she wanted to be part of.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters good 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
letters good 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Willful hurt Sir, - I have followed Roseanne Barr's career from the early days, when she was doing stand-up comedy. She eventually had her own sitcom about family life, which was quite popular. Years ago she converted to Judaism and, as we know, some Jews are the worst anti-Semites. She is the perfect example, dressing up for a magazine as Hitler taking a tray of "Jew Cookies" out of the oven. How sad that she hurts the very religion and people she wanted to be part of. Shame on you, Roseanne! ("Roseanne disgusts again," photo, August 2). SHEILA NAROTSKY ROTENBERG Petah Tikva Not for themselves Sir, - I would like to connect two articles in your July 30 edition - "Activists protest anti-IDF 'blood libels' at rabbis' parley" and "Ahead of August draft, IDF sees slight increase in motivation to serve in combat units." Both are symptomatic of astartling epidemic of amnesia among some Jews. With the Holocaust 65 years in the past, it seems that those years of unspeakable horror have slipped from some Jews' grey matter. Draft-dodging was once unheard of, because those bound for IDF service had firsthand knowledge of the War of Independence, in which one in every 100 Israeli Jews died. Today it's another story: Why get sweaty and dirty and terrified in a battle zone when you can go air-conditioned pub-crawling on Frischmann St. in Tel Aviv? Rabbis in Nazi-occupied Europe had to try to comfort their doomed parishioners; the so-called Rabbis for Human Rights are more concerned about enemy "civilians" (who in all polls supported, by a vast majority, terrorist missile attacks on Israel) than they are about young Jewish, Druse and Beduin Israelis defending their homes and families. Let our erstwhile gentile "friends" worry about the "poor" Palestinians - their Arab brethren certainly don't. Jews should better recall Hillel's statement in Ethics of the Fathers 1,13: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?" And remember this, all you conferees and night-lifers. The gas chambers at Auschwitz can be rebuilt, and there's a whole slew of Jew-haters waiting in line to help. TREVOR DAVIS Asseret Perspective of life Sir, - Re Moshe Dann's article on the "occupation" ("How settlements became 'illegal,'" July 24): What a pleasure to read something supporting Israel's position in the world and standing up to the bias and prejudice Israel faces internationally. Dann is clear in his disputing the historic lies against Israel, saying what needs to be said against an overwhelming propaganda campaign. Please continue to include articles by this writer and those who hold his perspectives; it's the perspective of life. We don't need to help our enemies destroy us - again. LOU AVERBACH Los Angeles Pull back? No. Hold on Sir, - Leonard Zurakov makes the usual error in logic of most left-leaning people ("Right on," Letters, July 31). He asserts that by "pulling back," Israel will avoid a "permanent stand-off with our Arab neighbors." On the contrary, there is no evidence he can point to showing that any previous "pulling back - such as Lebanon, Gaza or the West Bank (in establishing the PA) - has led to any reduction in the "stand-off... with our Arab neighbors." Given that actual history, it makes sense to hold onto all the "hilltops and settlements" until our Arab neighbors change their policies. JACK COHEN Netanya You've been warned Sir, - Imagine the world outcry when thousands of households decide, overnight, to put up thousands of illegal outposts over the Green Line. Overnight? Yes, overnight. What will the world say? How will the Prime Minister's Office react? ("Prime Minister has agreed to a freeze," July 31). They should brush up for this one. Don't say you weren't warned. Sukkot is just two months away. SETH CLYMAN Jerusalem Man for the job Sir, - Re "Obama chided for failure to name envoy on anti-Semitism" (July 31): Aside from wondering about the link between this omission and the allegations of anti-Semitism levelled at the FBI by those involved in the AIPAC affair, the president could do worse than consider UK President of the Board of Deputies Vivian Wineman for that office. On the evidence of his op-ed "British criticism of Israel is nothing special" (July 28), Wineman believes that everything is lovely in the UK for Jews and that there is no anti-Semitism there at all - surely music to Obama's ears. PETER SIMPSON Jerusalem Saints and sinners Sir, - The recent international media furor over the criminal behavior of Jews in general and the haredi community in particular calls to mind the wise words of Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of Finchley, London, some years ago. Challenged by a well-meaning but unlettered member of his congregation as to the behavior of several haredi Jews who had been sent to prison for misappropriation of housing allocations for the specific benefit of other Jews, he stated: "The behavior of these frum Jews was a profanation of God's name." The rabbi wisely went on to say that these people were not Orthodox Jews, they simply "dressed like frum Jews." We must remember that every community has its saints and sinners ("Haredim continue parking lot protests," August 2). S. COHEN Jerusalem Innocence & guilt Sir, - Those who know me would never accuse me of being pro-haredi. Yet your editorial "When righteous stumble" (July 27) had me seething. The venerable rabbis arrested in New Jersey are, of course, completely innocent of all wrongdoing, until and unless they are found guilty in a court of law. Yet your editorial not only assumed their guilt, but went on to base upon this completely unproven thesis an entire philosophy of piety and corruption. This grave distortion is not uncommon in the media generally, but it is nonetheless reprehensible. A. LUDER Rosh Pina This statue must go Sir, - As a Post subscriber, I read with a sense of gratitude Michael Freund's "President Klaus, tear down this statue" (July 23). That statue of Jesus in Prague is an insult to every decent person, even to someone not Jewish, like me. I was in Prague several times, the last time in March. The bridge was under restoration, but the statue was still there. I translated the Hebrew inscription to my Italian friends, the majority of them not Jewish, and I told them how everything started. All were shocked. We also asked a friend who works in the municipality why this shameful statue was still there. I hope that Mr. Freund's strong request will be heard by President Kraus. ANGELO PEZZANA Italy-Israel Association Torino Illuminating pieces Sir, - Our enemies' boastful archival records of rapine conquest depicted in sculptures, paintings, coins, pottery and triumphal arches further prove our long national patrimony here. Stephen Rosenberg's "Must we lose the two Temples again?" (July 29) inspires the hope that his well-documented articles will illuminate all our holidays. ESTER ZEITIN Jerusalem