October 8: What mom & dad give...

When we are with our kids, are we really? Or are we busy taking a call, or checking one more thing on the Internet?

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
letters 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
What mom & dad give... Sir, - Kudos to Shmuley Boteach in "Why Orthodox youth are leaving the fold" (October 7) for asking parents to stand up and be counted. It is easy to say it is the "bad" influence of society corrupting our youth, much harder to take a closer look at ourselves as parents. When we are with our kids, are we really? Or are we busy taking a call, or checking one more thing on the Internet? As an ADHD coach for teens and adults, I routinely ask my clients if they eat family meals together. Six years ago, the answers were, "Shabbat, of course, and a few times during the week." Now I mostly hear... "We are not all around," or "my mom puts food on the table and when we are hungry we take something." Parents say, "I don't have the time to make a sit-down dinner during the week." Bur family dinners are not for gourmet dining. They are a way to close out the world for a few minutes - and to listen, listen, listen to our kids. Even one meal together a week makes a difference. Let's not underestimate what mom and dad have to give. HAZEL K. BRIEF Modi'in ...a brand-new bike for Yom Kippur! Sir, - Unbelievably, the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar has been turned into a farce, with the excuse that it is the only traffic-free day of the year. Kids ride all over to their hearts' content and some parents even buy their child a brand-new bike for the occasion! Last year, on my way home from synagogue, I noticed that three kids hadn't even removed all the protective nylon wrapping. Another thing I noticed: Children playing in the synagogue compound behaved very well, while those cycling around the junction behaved like hooligans, uprooting road signs. It was an ugly sight. But it is the parents, not the kids, who were to blame. No one should be compelled to observe any religious practice, but for a Jew to disrespect this most solemn day is incomprehensible. Two Spanish football teams postponed a match to allow Idan Tal, presently a Betar Jerusalem player, to observe Yom Kippur. JOSEPH GUEDJ Karmiel Cutting losses... Sir, - Ronnie Bar-On and the rest of this government had better start taking a good hard look at what to cut out of this coming budget, and the more the better ("Bar-On warns against budget increase amid crisis," October 6). Plainly, as a result of the financial market meltdown throughout the global economy, the expected growth in the international, and Israeli, economy next year won't take place. A worldwide recession including Israel is a practical certainty. Further, as the worldwide credit crunch takes its toll in business contraction and higher unemployment, as well as further defaults on loans, the tax revenues on which the budget depends simply will not be there. Most governments are aghast at the very thought of budget cuts, and this one is no different. However, chances are that Mr. Bar-On will be forced by economic circumstances - such as the fact that various Israeli pension funds have lost over NIS 100b. in the past several weeks and the losses continue to climb - to call for at least a 10% across-the-board budget cut by every ministry except Defense and Education. However, if he and the Treasury fail to heed the economic clarion call being heard throughout the world, many Israeli businesses won't simply contract and reduce their workforce; they will be forced to close, leaving their employees without jobs. People without jobs cannot pay the same taxes or buy at their usual levels. In many cases they have to default on their mortgages. The Israeli Treasury and government have a chance right now to soften the recessionary blow by cutting the budget; and the citizens of Israel have every right to demand it. KENNETH BESIG Kiryat Arba ...in a casino gone bad Sir, - Re "Local stocks drop most in 8 years" (October 6): It is breathtaking to see Israeli stocks slump 6% in a single day... and 9% in a day a week ago in the US. Greed-fueled manipulation of housing prices in America, combined with unwise lending by bankers without being balanced by solid collateral, has turned worldwide financial institutions into a casino gone bad. It is my view that the only way to stabilize things is to link raw land prices with tangible commodities such as gold. Land prices alone tend to stay fairly stable. It is the arbitrary guesswork in appraising home values that has created the unsustainable frenzy in real-estate. Mortgages on paper can diminish in value overnight... but temperate values in raw land alone would equalize the market by eliminating speculation on houses with dubious worth. JAMES A MARPLES Longview, Texas Canada's Jewish lobby Sir, - Ruth Klein's response to Isi Leibler's evaluation of Israel advocacy in Canada was disingenuous in one important respect ("Leibler misses the mark," October 2). She is certainly correct that the current Canadian government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a staunch defender of Israel. By implication, however, she seems to imply that this is a result of effective Canadian Jewish advocacy efforts. The Canadian government's attitude toward Israel has never essentially been determined by such efforts. Because of the Canadian parliamentary system, the "Jewish vote" has never been as influential as in the US, and, historically, Jewish lobbying efforts with the government have not often achieved their objectives. On the contrary: Prime Minister Harper and his Conservative government support Israel out of apparent conviction, despite the fact that the Jewish vote - and political contributions by Canadian Jews - have tended to go to the Liberal Party. IRA ROBINSON Montreal Sir, - Ruth Klein hit the nail right on the thumb, missing the point completely. Canadian Jews have a stronger sense of identity than in much of the Diaspora, and they want to feel proud of that identity. Certainly, there is much to be proud of with regard to Israel's accomplishments. Leibler correctly pointed out that the official policy of Canadian Jewish organizations has been to avoid speaking about Israel in more than a whisper. Support for Israel is supposed to be invisible. When I threatened to walk out of an academic symposium at Concordia University which touched upon the anti-Netanyahu riot, student panelists couldn't believe there were actually people who would openly support Israel. Organizations like CIJR make it feasible to support Israel out loud, to wear a kippa on a university campus. They elevate and inform the discussion, allowing us to express our pride. NATHAN ELBERG Montreal A joy to read Sir, - 'Post' readers are indeed fortunate on days when Yehuda Avner's writing appears. His "When Washington bridled and Begin fumed" (October 7) was a particularly striking example of his narrative skills - transforming a meeting between Menachem Begin and American ambassador to Israel Samuel Lewis into a riveting account of relations between Israel and the US in 1981. It opened, as well, a window onto both men's personalities. Mr. Avner manages - oh, so skillfully! - to draw us into Begin's private apartment, making us feel we are witnesses to what happened there. And he does it all without the use of cliches or neologisms. MEERA JACOBSON Netanya Editor's note: Yehuda Avner's op-ed was dedicated to the memory of Harry Hurwitz, founder and president of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center. We apologize for the inadvertent omission.