Let’s face it Sir, – My congratulations to whomever wrote “Before it’s too late” (Editorial, December 7). He or she has articulated the main problems facing Israel today and in the future, and they’re not minor. The constant threat of massive fires and earthquakes, the miserable state of hospitals and other problems seem to be almost overwhelming when considered together. Yet they must be faced – and solved!If other modern nations can do it, so can we. It only takes a wideawake government with members who care. If the present government does not fit the bill, we’d better have elections.LEONARD ZURAKOV NetanyaSir, – Your December 7 editorial comments on several shortcomings in various areas. However, your criticism of the short duration of stay in hospitals implies that this is detrimental.While I accept that some patients require longer stays, the prevalence of hospital-acquired infections is a major factor in increasing avoidable hospital deaths. Among the risk factors for such infections is “prolonged hospital stay.”In the absence of reliable statistics from different centers, there is no evidence that repeated hospitalizations are an outcome of early discharge. Moreover, help from the National Insurance Institute can provide adequate care after hospital discharge, and I seriously doubt if such home care is available in Japan or in Switzerland, with which you make comparisons.The shortage of hospital beds and overcrowding at in-patient facilities are factors regarding many patients who would benefit from hospitalization. This should indeed be remedied.MONTY M. ZION, MD Tel MondYet another boycott? Sir, – The Meretz members of Jerusalem’s city council are joining the ranks of those deluded professors of Israel’s universities who are calling on the international community to boycott Israel (“City councillors to Adidas: Boycott Jerusalem Marathon,” December 7).While I am opposed to any activity in the streets of Jerusalem, such as marches and demonstrations that interfere with the regular flow of traffic, the call to boycott Israel for any reason sickens me.It is one thing to criticize within the confines of one’s family, but to stridently take the criticism of ourselves to the international community, especially now, is the height of irresponsibility.CYRIL ATKINS Beit ShemeshGood (rich) guy Sir, – Regarding Shmuley Boteach’s “A different kind of rich guy: Michael Steinhardt at 70” (No Holds Barred, December 7), Steinhardt exemplifies a growing phenomenon in contemporary Judaism – Jewishness and non-theism.All too many would say that such a combination is a contradiction in terms. But Steinhardt the person gives the lie to that. His deeply felt Jewishness in a vibrant mode of action should be a role model for the all-too-many Jews whose non-theism has helped push them into indifference.Indifference deadens. But there is a spark of Jewishness in the heart of each non-theist that can be fanned for a brighter future, with Michael Steinhardt as a mentor.PROF. JOSEPH DAVID LEVINSON JerusalemHitch that to your post Sir, – I wish to offer an addendum to the Palestinian assertion that the Western Wall is where Mohammed tethered his winged steed Buraq, as cited in Alan Dershowitz’s keen analysis of the Israel-Palestinian impasse (“Whose fault is the continuing occupation of the West Bank?,” Comment & Features, December 7).The Muslim link of Buraq with that shrine in the course of the prophet’s miraculous journey from Mecca to Jerusalem appeared for the first time in 1840 in a proclamation by Sherif Pasha, the governor- general of Syria, to his deputy in Jerusalem. It was issued during a period when the Western Wall assumed increased importance as the focus of Jewish spiritual and, later, national aspirations.Earlier authoritative Muslim accounts that amplify the post- Koranic narrative of Mohammed’s night journey make no mention of the Western Wall. The 10th-century poet and literary scholar Ibn Abd Rabbih wrote that “under the corner of the [al-Aksa] Mosque is the spot where the Prophet tied up his steed.” In the 11th century, the traveler Nasir Ibn Khusraw placed Buraq at the Dome of Gabriel on the Temple Mount, while the noted 15th-century historian Mujir al-Din fixes the location as the “south side” of the Dome of the Rock.JACK E. FRIEDMAN Jerusalem
December 9: Expect another clone
We all witnessed what occurred when Tzipi Livni had the political courage to stand up to Shas and refuse to be blackmailed.
Let’s face it Sir, – My congratulations to whomever wrote “Before it’s too late” (Editorial, December 7). He or she has articulated the main problems facing Israel today and in the future, and they’re not minor. The constant threat of massive fires and earthquakes, the miserable state of hospitals and other problems seem to be almost overwhelming when considered together. Yet they must be faced – and solved!If other modern nations can do it, so can we. It only takes a wideawake government with members who care. If the present government does not fit the bill, we’d better have elections.LEONARD ZURAKOV NetanyaSir, – Your December 7 editorial comments on several shortcomings in various areas. However, your criticism of the short duration of stay in hospitals implies that this is detrimental.While I accept that some patients require longer stays, the prevalence of hospital-acquired infections is a major factor in increasing avoidable hospital deaths. Among the risk factors for such infections is “prolonged hospital stay.”In the absence of reliable statistics from different centers, there is no evidence that repeated hospitalizations are an outcome of early discharge. Moreover, help from the National Insurance Institute can provide adequate care after hospital discharge, and I seriously doubt if such home care is available in Japan or in Switzerland, with which you make comparisons.The shortage of hospital beds and overcrowding at in-patient facilities are factors regarding many patients who would benefit from hospitalization. This should indeed be remedied.MONTY M. ZION, MD Tel MondYet another boycott? Sir, – The Meretz members of Jerusalem’s city council are joining the ranks of those deluded professors of Israel’s universities who are calling on the international community to boycott Israel (“City councillors to Adidas: Boycott Jerusalem Marathon,” December 7).While I am opposed to any activity in the streets of Jerusalem, such as marches and demonstrations that interfere with the regular flow of traffic, the call to boycott Israel for any reason sickens me.It is one thing to criticize within the confines of one’s family, but to stridently take the criticism of ourselves to the international community, especially now, is the height of irresponsibility.CYRIL ATKINS Beit ShemeshGood (rich) guy Sir, – Regarding Shmuley Boteach’s “A different kind of rich guy: Michael Steinhardt at 70” (No Holds Barred, December 7), Steinhardt exemplifies a growing phenomenon in contemporary Judaism – Jewishness and non-theism.All too many would say that such a combination is a contradiction in terms. But Steinhardt the person gives the lie to that. His deeply felt Jewishness in a vibrant mode of action should be a role model for the all-too-many Jews whose non-theism has helped push them into indifference.Indifference deadens. But there is a spark of Jewishness in the heart of each non-theist that can be fanned for a brighter future, with Michael Steinhardt as a mentor.PROF. JOSEPH DAVID LEVINSON JerusalemHitch that to your post Sir, – I wish to offer an addendum to the Palestinian assertion that the Western Wall is where Mohammed tethered his winged steed Buraq, as cited in Alan Dershowitz’s keen analysis of the Israel-Palestinian impasse (“Whose fault is the continuing occupation of the West Bank?,” Comment & Features, December 7).The Muslim link of Buraq with that shrine in the course of the prophet’s miraculous journey from Mecca to Jerusalem appeared for the first time in 1840 in a proclamation by Sherif Pasha, the governor- general of Syria, to his deputy in Jerusalem. It was issued during a period when the Western Wall assumed increased importance as the focus of Jewish spiritual and, later, national aspirations.Earlier authoritative Muslim accounts that amplify the post- Koranic narrative of Mohammed’s night journey make no mention of the Western Wall. The 10th-century poet and literary scholar Ibn Abd Rabbih wrote that “under the corner of the [al-Aksa] Mosque is the spot where the Prophet tied up his steed.” In the 11th century, the traveler Nasir Ibn Khusraw placed Buraq at the Dome of Gabriel on the Temple Mount, while the noted 15th-century historian Mujir al-Din fixes the location as the “south side” of the Dome of the Rock.JACK E. FRIEDMAN Jerusalem