Herzliya PituahAiming at Shmuley Sir, – Regarding “Will ‘Kosher Jesus’ affect my children’s shidduchim (marriages)?” (No Holds Barred, February 21), I completely agree that concentration on yichus (family background or pedigree) and other extraneous items is destructive when it comes to marriage. I feel certain that Shmuley Boteach’s children will be blessed with marriages that will bring him nachas (prideful joy), and thus I do not have concern for their shidduchim.What I do have concern for are the impressionable, unlearned and sometimes naïve young Jewish people who will be influenced by Kosher Jesus.No matter the intent, it can easily leave the impression that after all is said and done, all human beings have somewhat similar beliefs, opening the door for those who seek to justify intermarriage, which is causing havoc to Jewish survival.Rabbi Yisroel Salanter said: “Not everything thought should be said, not everything said should be written, and not everything written should be read.” With all due respect, I believe Kosher Jesus is just such a book.MOSHE STERN Beit ShemeshThe writer is a rabbiSir, – I hope The Jerusalem Post receives sufficient remuneration from Shmuley Boteach for publishing his self-aggrandizing columns without printing “Advertisement” above them.Come now, your readers deserve better than his continual drivel.IRA GRINBERG RehovotSir, – What’s all the fuss about whether Shmuley Boteach is qualified to be chief rabbi? Of course he is. He looks rabbinical.He writes religious columns for The Jerusalem Post. He lectures.He writes scholarly books like Kosher Sex and Kosher Jesus.There’s no question Boteach would make a great chief rabbi.Of Los Angeles. In LA he would be embraced by other famous personalities – Madonna, Lady Gaga, who knows? Also, he can continue writing his scholarly books without having to endure any more ridiculous criticism. The possibilities are unlimited! Yo, Shmuley, you da man!BRUCE CLEMENT Federal Way, Washington‘Apartheid’ IsraelSir, – Combatting the insidious vitriol directed toward Israel on university campuses in the Diaspora is an arduous task (“Fighting the apartheid libel,” Editorial, February 20).As a university student I have encountered only a small taste of the hatred that is so often leveled at Israel on campus.Perhaps I am one of the lucky ones.Here, the Australian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) does a remarkably good job stifling some of the anti-Israel sentiment on our campuses. This is often done by educating fellow students about the inaccuracies and fallacies of the hardcore Left’s argument. In a sense, that’s all that can be done.Israel bashing is in vogue.Proving that Israel is not a demonic superpower responsible for all the world’s woes is seemingly an uphill battle.JOEL FEREN Melbourne, AustraliaSir, – I was born and brought up in South Africa and as a young student became involved in a university group fighting against apartheid. We all managed to flee the country before being taken to trial. I came to Israel 60 years ago.All the claims that Israel is an apartheid state stem from ignorance.This is what the real apartheid looked like in South Africa: People of color (non-whites, or POC) were not allowed to study in whites-only schools, enter city parks or sit on city benches. In every bank and post office there were separate lines for POC. POC were not allowed to travel on whitesonly trains and buses, and were not allowed in whites-only cinemas, restaurants, concert halls and churches. They were not allowed to live in whites-only suburbs, so they lived in shanty towns on the outskirts of town.There were separate hospitals for POC. White doctors could work at POC hospitals to gain experience, as these facilities were filled to capacity, but black doctors were not allowed to work at whites-only hospitals.The government established homelands for the various tribes. These homelands were at least a six-hour train journey away, so these people made it home once or twice a year.Every POC had to carry a pass permitting him or her to be in a specific urban area. If these people ran afoul of this law they would be arrested on the spot and jailed for up to three months without being charged.May I recommend that all those participating in Israel Apartheid Week do their research thoroughly before they start spreading lies. Let them drop the word apartheid, as they have no idea what it means. I can assure them that the word is not applicable to Israel. There is no similarity whatsoever! YVONNE NARUNSKY Kfar ShmaryahuSir, – I agree with your editorial, which advocates a proactive policy against those using the word apartheid to describe Israel. I strongly disagree, however, with the statement from The David Project “White Paper” that we should realize “the futility of reaching out to [university] students and faculty in the humanities and social science departments.”According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), business is the most popular college major among undergraduates. Second in terms of popularity are degrees in the social sciences and history.Humanities and social sciences are clearly very popular with all students and especially those who are Jewish. To give up on this large segment seems to me to be foolish and extremely short-sighted.STEVE KRAMER Alfei Menashe
February 23: Those prices!
I do not know what the shelf life of Pesek Zman is, but let us stop buying them so that more will have to be thrown out.
Herzliya PituahAiming at Shmuley Sir, – Regarding “Will ‘Kosher Jesus’ affect my children’s shidduchim (marriages)?” (No Holds Barred, February 21), I completely agree that concentration on yichus (family background or pedigree) and other extraneous items is destructive when it comes to marriage. I feel certain that Shmuley Boteach’s children will be blessed with marriages that will bring him nachas (prideful joy), and thus I do not have concern for their shidduchim.What I do have concern for are the impressionable, unlearned and sometimes naïve young Jewish people who will be influenced by Kosher Jesus.No matter the intent, it can easily leave the impression that after all is said and done, all human beings have somewhat similar beliefs, opening the door for those who seek to justify intermarriage, which is causing havoc to Jewish survival.Rabbi Yisroel Salanter said: “Not everything thought should be said, not everything said should be written, and not everything written should be read.” With all due respect, I believe Kosher Jesus is just such a book.MOSHE STERN Beit ShemeshThe writer is a rabbiSir, – I hope The Jerusalem Post receives sufficient remuneration from Shmuley Boteach for publishing his self-aggrandizing columns without printing “Advertisement” above them.Come now, your readers deserve better than his continual drivel.IRA GRINBERG RehovotSir, – What’s all the fuss about whether Shmuley Boteach is qualified to be chief rabbi? Of course he is. He looks rabbinical.He writes religious columns for The Jerusalem Post. He lectures.He writes scholarly books like Kosher Sex and Kosher Jesus.There’s no question Boteach would make a great chief rabbi.Of Los Angeles. In LA he would be embraced by other famous personalities – Madonna, Lady Gaga, who knows? Also, he can continue writing his scholarly books without having to endure any more ridiculous criticism. The possibilities are unlimited! Yo, Shmuley, you da man!BRUCE CLEMENT Federal Way, Washington‘Apartheid’ IsraelSir, – Combatting the insidious vitriol directed toward Israel on university campuses in the Diaspora is an arduous task (“Fighting the apartheid libel,” Editorial, February 20).As a university student I have encountered only a small taste of the hatred that is so often leveled at Israel on campus.Perhaps I am one of the lucky ones.Here, the Australian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) does a remarkably good job stifling some of the anti-Israel sentiment on our campuses. This is often done by educating fellow students about the inaccuracies and fallacies of the hardcore Left’s argument. In a sense, that’s all that can be done.Israel bashing is in vogue.Proving that Israel is not a demonic superpower responsible for all the world’s woes is seemingly an uphill battle.JOEL FEREN Melbourne, AustraliaSir, – I was born and brought up in South Africa and as a young student became involved in a university group fighting against apartheid. We all managed to flee the country before being taken to trial. I came to Israel 60 years ago.All the claims that Israel is an apartheid state stem from ignorance.This is what the real apartheid looked like in South Africa: People of color (non-whites, or POC) were not allowed to study in whites-only schools, enter city parks or sit on city benches. In every bank and post office there were separate lines for POC. POC were not allowed to travel on whitesonly trains and buses, and were not allowed in whites-only cinemas, restaurants, concert halls and churches. They were not allowed to live in whites-only suburbs, so they lived in shanty towns on the outskirts of town.There were separate hospitals for POC. White doctors could work at POC hospitals to gain experience, as these facilities were filled to capacity, but black doctors were not allowed to work at whites-only hospitals.The government established homelands for the various tribes. These homelands were at least a six-hour train journey away, so these people made it home once or twice a year.Every POC had to carry a pass permitting him or her to be in a specific urban area. If these people ran afoul of this law they would be arrested on the spot and jailed for up to three months without being charged.May I recommend that all those participating in Israel Apartheid Week do their research thoroughly before they start spreading lies. Let them drop the word apartheid, as they have no idea what it means. I can assure them that the word is not applicable to Israel. There is no similarity whatsoever! YVONNE NARUNSKY Kfar ShmaryahuSir, – I agree with your editorial, which advocates a proactive policy against those using the word apartheid to describe Israel. I strongly disagree, however, with the statement from The David Project “White Paper” that we should realize “the futility of reaching out to [university] students and faculty in the humanities and social science departments.”According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), business is the most popular college major among undergraduates. Second in terms of popularity are degrees in the social sciences and history.Humanities and social sciences are clearly very popular with all students and especially those who are Jewish. To give up on this large segment seems to me to be foolish and extremely short-sighted.STEVE KRAMER Alfei Menashe