October 29: Pricey prelude

Going by previous elections, this costliness is just a prelude to the real contempt the newly elected government will show the public.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters pink 88 (photo credit: )
letters pink 88
(photo credit: )
Pricey prelude Sir, - In "Pricey elections" (October 28) your editorial writer bemoaned the high cost of Israeli national balloting. There may be something to the idea that making politics cheap makes it contemptible. But going by previous elections, this costliness is just a prelude to the real contempt the newly elected government will show the public. After these expensive elections and despite all the wonderful campaign promises, the usual special interests - the banks, the monopolies and the ultra-rich - will get practically all the benefits, loans and other support from the new government, while average Israelis will lose their jobs and homes, or watch helplessly as their wages shrink and they sink deeper and deeper into debt. KENNETH BESIG Kiryat Arba Chance for reform Sir, - Israel will achieve a stable government only when we reform our electoral system. However, we clearly cannot expect our politicians to do this since those with the power have no interest, and those with an interest lack the power. Therefore we must do it for them. I call on all citizens to resist the temptation of voting for a small party. The proliferation of small parties in the Knesset condemns our governments to instability. By voting for the big parties, we can eliminate the small ones. Now is our chance! ("Democracy, at last," Letters, October 27.) ELLIE MORRIS Asseret Sir, - Like a bride standing under the huppa, I await my Prince Charming. But I'm not overjoyed. Not a single politician has said that his priority is the Jewish people, secure and sovereign in the Land of Israel. If it were simpler, I'd establish my own party. BATYA MEDAD Shiloh How Israel will be safe Sir, - Israel will be safe whoever leads it providing he or she remains aware that the entire Arab Middle East hates Jews and loathes Israel. PA President Mahmoud Abbas might appear to agree to a pact with Israel, but only because it makes Israel smaller and thus easier to finally conquer. Abbas or Ismail Haniyeh, it makes no difference: Both want the dismantlement of Israel. ("Why is the West funding Mahmoud Abbas' hate TV?" Itamar Marcus, October 28). DAVID LEE London Best man for the job Sir, - I fully subscribe to Paul Gross's glowing assessment of the candidacy of Nir Barkat for mayor of Jerusalem ("It has to be Barkat," October 26). I was offended, however, by Mr. Gross's apparent need to extol his man's virtues by gratuitously demeaning those of Meir Porush and current mayor Uri Lupoliansky. Moreover, your enlightened op-ed writer seems to base his negative view of Porush and Lupoliansky almost entirely on the fact that both men are religious and his conclusion that they cannot therefore serve the interests of all segments of Jerusalem's populace. He did a disservice in listing reasons for the abandonment of Jerusalem by his ulpan classmates while failing to mention that Jerusalem apartments have become unaffordable except to the extremely wealthy. With the coming of the Messiah, all these problems will undoubtedly be resolved. But in the interim, let the best man win! ZEV CHAMUDOT Petah Tikva Let's face it Sir, - Has any responsible person ever investigated whether political parties' billboards, hoardings or posters have in any way influenced voters? I believe they don't. They are not required to establish the existence of any party and are a scandalous waste of money. It's too late for the municipal polls, but in the interests of the public I urge all the parties, in the runup to the general elections, to agree to refrain from political advertising of any kind on our roads and intersections. The money saved should go to support food programs for the hungry. HERTZEL KATZ Ramat Hasharon Not so smooth a path to divorce Sir, - While the goal of a smooth divorce is certainly a desirable one, I am skeptical that the agreement signed recently in the Tel Aviv District Family Court will achieve that end ("'Smooth divorce' pact approved," October 23). The sad fact is that the Rabbinical Court does not recognize Family Court agreements, nor will it grant a divorce unless both husband and wife agree to it. In my case, a judge-approved Family Court agreement specified that my wife and I were obligated to grant each other a divorce after four months. Yet when we appeared in the Rabbinical Court, she refused, and the rabbinical judges would not impose a divorce. I was subsequently advised that I could appeal to the Family Court and obtain financial sanctions, but that it could take years and involve prohibitive legal expenses. I ended up paying my wife more money and obtained the divorce six months later. Although the Tel Aviv Family District Court agreement imposes a NIS 10,000 monthly penalty on the partner refusing to agree to a divorce, what is to prevent that partner from demanding that the spouse waive the penalty - and capitulate to other demands - in exchange for an agreement to the divorce in the Rabbinical Court? NAME WITHHELD Jerusalem Wrongly represented Sir, - Your article "Leader of Germany's Free Democrats calls to ban Hizbullah" (October 10) claimed that I advocate Iranian nuclear armament and that I compared Israel to Nazi Germany: "When questioned about the Left Party foreign policy spokesman MP Norman Paech, who favors a nuclear-armed Iran and compares Israel with Nazi Germany..." Both allegations are wrong, and a defamation of my character. You may find my views on the Iranian nuclear ambitions as well as my opinions on the State of Israel on my Web site (www.norman-paech.de). NORMAN PAECH Berlin Full of Jewish energy Sir, - We applaud the founders of Adam Le'Adam for the initiative they have taken to form a group that seeks to address the issues challenging the world's most impoverished communities ("New humanitarian group aims to train Jewish leaders to fix the world," October 10). At the same time, we wholeheartedly reject co-founder Uri Amit's observation that there is a lack of "Jewish" energy in Tikkun Olam work and that those who have blazed the trail for a universalistic approach to Tikkun Olam "deny a Jewish influence." Since 1985, American Jewish World Service (AJWS) has been sending Jewish volunteers to communities in the developing world and awarding grants to grassroots community development organizations at the vanguard of social change. Today, we award more than $15 million per year in grants, funding hundreds of projects in 36 of the world's poorest countries; this past year, we sent more than 500 Jewish volunteers to Asia, Africa and Latin America; and our list of donors, activists and alumni now tops 70,000 Jews (including Israelis) - all committed to our mission of alleviating poverty, hunger and disease among people in the developing world regardless of race, religion or nationality. AJWS's identity is rooted in Jewish teachings and values that we proudly promote through electronically distributed D'var Tzedek readings, holiday commentaries, custom-developed curricula and active engagement with Jewish community organizations throughout America. RUTH W. MESSINGER President, AJWS New York CORRECTION It is the deputy mayor of Safed, not the mayor, who has been charged with stealing paintings that had been donated to the city. We apologize for the incorrect headline on the article about this that appeared on Page 4 yesterday.