October 2: As time goes by

Herb Keinon's "Rosh Hashana relations" (September 28) really hit home.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
letters 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
As time goes by Sir, - Herb Keinon's "Rosh Hashana relations" (September 28) really hit home. When my wife and I made aliya in 1979 we had no really close family here, a situation which continued for six years. Then, thank God, my wife's parents and all her siblings moved to Israel. However, this is not true of my side: I am still the "lone wolf" of my family here Israel. And, like Mr. Keinon's son, my children were disappointed and confused as to why "Grandma" and at least "Aunt Marcia" didn't come to more family functions. They made it to our oldest son's bar mitzva and wedding - but that was it. Three more weddings, two bar mitzvas and four bat mitzvas saw no immediate Harris family representatives from abroad; and that hurt. But you know what? Over the years, our original number of seven children grew to 11, as four got married. I still miss my immediate family in the US and continually cajole them to come visit; but now, with six grandchildren, we are building a rather formidable clan of our own! As time goes on, the Keinon adults and children will also discover the joy of watching their families grow and, in many ways, make up for those missing. GERSHON HARRIS Hatzor Haglilit A real mentsch Sir, - Aside from Paul Newman's artistic prowess, certainly the subject of review for many years to come, his reputation as a mentsch and quiet philanthropist, particularly with regard to needy children, will long live on as a legacy we all can strive toward - particularly during this season of renewal and reevaluation ("Paul Newman, iconic actor who personified cool, dies of cancer at 83," September 28). STUART PILICHOWSKI Mevaseret Zion Sir, - Iconoclastic, quintessential America at its best, Paul Newman touched our lives in so many ways that played out like a kaleidoscope of all that is good in this world. A consummate actor and human being, his death is our loss. DANIEL KOWBELL Toronto Palin's church Sir, - Yoel Sivan dismisses Sarah Palin's support of Israel without mention of her decades-long attendance at an Assemblies of God church, a Pentecostal denomination and one of the most passionate of Christian Zionist groups ("Sarah Palin, pro-Israel by default?" September 24). During my career as a tour guide of Christian pilgrims, I worked with dozens of their pastors and thousands of their congregants. They oppose all territorial concessions and support Jewish settlement in the entire Land of Israel. Pastor John Hagee, for example, the head of Christians United for Israel, from whom John McCain had to distance himself, was ordained in an AoG seminary. They believe that to be against Israel is to be against God. I have been expecting anti-Israel groups to attack Palin on this issue. If she has a problem, it is tiptoeing away from her long association with this church in order to prove that she can be objective in her approach to the region's problems. Sivan, like so many other leftist journalists, is badly in need of a white cane and a seeing-eye dog. JOSEF GILBOA Jaffa Sir, - Yoav Sivan wrote of American Jews who would be horrified to vote for a VP with no foreign policy experience. Why, then, did so many vote for John Edwards in 2004? He had less foreign policy experience than Sarah Palin has now. Contrary to Mr. Sivan's opinion, Ms. Palin's TV appearance did not demonstrate incompetence. Quite the contrary. She may not have known Charlie Gibson's terminology, but her position on Israel and foreign policy were clear. Barak Obama flip-flopped on Israel's capital and demonstrated clear incompetence in asking for even-handedness in dealing with Russia's invasion of Georgia, then recommending the UN Security Council solve the matter. Surely the Democratic candidate for president knows Russia has a veto in the UN Security Council? JONATHAN REICH Lakeland, Florida Sir, - Three cheers for Yoav Sivan. His piece on Sara Palin was right on! Her Neanderthal-type philosophy is not the sort most Jewish Americans can easily stomach. Palin could never lead America, at least not the America I know and love. LEONARD ZURAKOV Netanya Shoots, eats... Sir, - I agree with Larry Derfner ("'Feh' on hunting," September 25) that hunting purely for sport is rather barbaric. However, let's be fair: Eating the food you hunt is not really different from eating steak from a cow slaughtered by someone else. Only vegetarians can claim the high moral ground in regard to animal rights. NECHA FREUNDLICH Nahariya ...and believes Sir, - Larry Derfner might be interested to know that caribou are known as reindeer in Europe and that "Alaskan hunters shoot about 22,000 caribou each year for food. A few thousand other hunters, primarily from the lower 48 states, Europe, and Mexico, travel to Alaska to experience caribou hunting each fall. [They] contribute significantly to the economy of the state, particularly in rural areas. Meat from caribou taken by these nonresident hunters is also required to be used for food" (Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game Web site). In Alaska, it's commonplace to be a hunter. I don't hunt, and I don't eat meat. Derfner evidently eats steak - but does he think meat is grown in a cellophane patch? Just because Jews aren't big hunters isn't an excuse not to vote for the Republican candidate. STEVE KRAMER Alfe Menashe Fragmentation... Sir, - "Racism in the name of religion" (September 24) disgusted us. What kind of society do we live in when parents and a school can disobey a High Court ruling and continue a discriminatory agenda without fear of punishment? Our granddaughter, at age three, was also subject to these rulings by the Beit Ya'acov school system. Our daughter is married to a Sephardi and we can certainly learn a lot from their "internal and external values." STUART & HADASSA PALMER Haifa Sir, - This op-ed explained why we don't have the rebuilt Temple, why we are surrounded by enemies, and why we are not respected as a nation. It is said that God treats the Jewish people as they treat each other. And this from a people that ought to know better. SYLVIA WEISSMANN Jerusalem ...and harmony Sir, - I agree with Elana Maryles Sztokman that discrimination in school, on any basis, is deplorable. However, I am witness to 11 of my grandchildren attending national religious schools in Samaria (and in the former community of Netzarim) where children from all backgrounds are beautifully integrated and treated equally. Here in Nahariya, where I tutor new olim, I am also witness to full integration of children from all backgrounds in the national religious schools. I pray in two synagogues whose members represent Sephardi and Ashkenazi traditions. Sometimes the Torah is read with the Sephardi cantillation and sometimes with the Ashkenazi one; all appreciate the beauty of both. Hopefully, this harmonious trend will spread to all Israeli schools and community institutions, secular and religious. NANCY MILGRAM Nahariya