September 8: Electorate's will

The majority response to Mofaz's statement about "a wide coalition that will last until the term ends in November 2010" must be, "Oh, no!"

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
letters 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Electorate's will Sir, - In "Mofaz accuses Livni of misusing funds for Holocaust survivors" (September 7), the transportation minister was reported as saying: "Most people in Israel and most MKs don't want elections." Perhaps he is right about MKs, who don't want to lose their jobs, and Kadima party members who are in the "driver's seat." But surely it is not true about most Israelis, especially since the diplomacy seems to be all secret now and, of greater significance, there will soon be a new US president. I think the majority response to Mofaz's concluding statement about "a wide coalition that will last until the term ends in November 2010" must be, "Oh, no!" SIMCHA RUDMAN Jerusalem 'Flex aliya' Sir, - On paper, it sounds interesting ("US Reform Movement hopes Nefesh B'Nefesh will support 'flex aliya' concept," September 4). In practice, however, if it succeeds with any numbers at all, it will simply serve to further drive up Israeli real-estate prices, especially in "Anglo" neighborhoods, making it harder than ever for Israelis to buy homes, especially olim who are fully committed to life here. It will also exacerbate the phenomenon of neighborhoods turning into ghost towns, which we see happening in areas of Jerusalem. In two words: Bad idea. EMMY ZITTER/i> Beit Shemesh Loyalty begins at home Sir, - Re "High Court allows right-wing march through Umm el-Fahm" (September 5): I would like to suggest to Baruch Marzel and his associates that instead of marching through Umm el-Fahm with flags to "emphasize the obligations of the residents to be loyal to the State of Israel and its symbolism," they start by marching through Me'a She'arim and other haredi neighborhoods throughout the country whose residents are just as opposed to the symbols of the state. Is there a single Chabad institution in Israel that ever flies the Israeli flag? They prefer to fly the yellow Mashiach flag instead. Before we attempt to teach our Arab citizens a lesson in loyalty, I propose that we begin with our fellow Jews. As the saying goes, "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." ELI MINOFF Safed Pocketbook vote... Sir, - The idea of paying people to leave their homes in Judea and Samaria - Disengagement II - might be worthwhile if it was widened to include others: Israelis who don't really want to live here, such as many non-Jews brought over from the former FSU; leftists who support radical Arab views; and Arab Israelis who don't identify with the state and hate Jews. Such an Equal Opportunity Incentive Plan, allowing people to vote with their feet and their pocketbooks, could reduce our security, education and social budgets while strengthening the economy ("'Evacuation-compensation cabinet debate unrelated to PA talks,'" September 7). MOSHE DANN Jerusalem ...& gov't 'compensation' Sir, - Maybe Haim Ramon really believes that there are "tens of thousands" of Israelis in Judea and Samaria who would move if compensated; but if he does, then maybe he is just hopelessly misinformed, or perhaps even delusional. Every Israeli, certainly every so-called settler, has by now learned the painful lessons of the Sharon disengagement and is aware of what the words "Israeli government compensation" mean: almost inhuman treatment of the pitiable Israeli refugees created by the Gaza and Northern Samaria disengagement. We know that, like those refugees, we can expect chronic unemployment, which, coupled with delays in paying compensation, will lead to a loss of income, resulting in a precipitous drop in our standard of living. We will have no permanent housing or even reasonable access to it, and thus no stable schooling for our children or a social milieu for ourselves. Finally, we can expect a callous Israeli media and societal indifference to our miserable situation. If anything, given these expectations, I expect any plan for a further disengagement - or expulsion, if you will - of Israelis from Judea and Samaria to be met with far more violent and destructive opposition than was ever imagined in Gaza or Northern Samaria. I suggest Messrs. Olmert and Ramon conduct a serious reality check. KENNETH BESIG Kiryat Arba Love thy neighbor Sir, - The various agnostics tend to forget that the Bible has been and still is the greatest civilizing instrument in the world. It is not whether the writing is true or legend, but commandments like "Love thy neighbor" that count. S. KROLL Ma'ayan Baruch Watch the birdie! Sir, - Ann Goldberg's "A better way to fly safely" (Sept 4) reminded me of the experience of my son and his partner on their visit to Israel recently. Whilst he was briefly questioned, she, as a non-Jew, was asked many more questions. When she explained that they had been on a bird-watching trip, the security officer began asking her all sorts of ornithological questions. "And what," he asked, "was your favourite bird that you saw?" She thought for a moment, and replied, "The hoopoe." The officer looked puzzled, having obviously never heard of it, and it took a detailed description before he was convinced that such a bird exists. My son's partner was unworried by all this, but was amused when, back in Wales, we read that the hoopoe had been declared the national bird of Israel! As the famous Dr. Spooner remarked when asked by a student whether he was a keen orthinologist: "No sir, I am just a word botcher." PHILIPPA SELIGMAN W. Cardiff, Wales Desecration, this is Sir, - Further to "Stop the music! Haredi functionaries move to eradicate 'foreign' pop, disco" (September 3): Would the esteemed rabbis of the Guardians of Sanctity and Education explain whether their ban will also apply to the food suppliers of those caterers who may feature treif music in their halls, to supermarkets who use these suppliers, and to housewives who buy there? Will the kashrut of thousands of households be jeopardized? Will these proposed edicts apply to Diaspora weddings as well? Might these laws be retroactive - in which case many of us would have been living in sin for years? How would this affect the legitimacy of our children, many of whom, despite growing up in a treif music environment, have become haredi? Would these esteemed guardians point out any differences between their proposals and McCarthyism or George Orwell's "Big Brother"? Most importantly, how would they justify the effect of their blatant mockery of a beautiful religion on an already fragmented nation? This is not religious preservation. It is religious desecration. SARA SMITH Jerusalem Singing lines & drawing them Sir, - You featured Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton prominently in your September 5 edition and advertised their show in Tel Aviv because they wrote a song about the Six Day War. But they also have a song about the Third Reich which contains the lyrics "Start the Holocaust / The Reich will rise!" Where does one draw the line? DANIEL RATNER Rehovot