Any use of Holocaust terms to promote personal or political agendas is a diminishment of the horrors of the Holocaust and a desecration of the memory of the victims.
By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)Interminable Gaza nightmareRegarding “PM’s recurring nightmare” (March 26), it is time to solve the Gaza dilemma. For too long, we have tolerated fires, kite bombs, “low-level” rocket fire, etc. Now we must do what is necessary. This means nonstop saturation bombing from land, sea and air with no ceasefire. The end will be an unconditional surrender only. No need to endanger a single Jewish soldier and no warning pamphlets. This is a Jewish war. We just finished Purim where 73,000 enemies were killed without a single Jewish fatality. We must act with no concern of “world opinion.” Should we continue with half measures, we will continue to suffer from these thorns in our side. May God protect our holy soldiers!TZVI STERNLICHTRehovotThe ongoing riots on the Gaza border have led me to think of ways to find a solution.There has been much criticism of the government for allowing huge sums of money into Gaza and many people are frustrated that most of the money finds its way into terrorist coffers. The “other” protests – for a better standard of living – show how desperate the Gazan population is becoming.So, how to get the money to the people who really need it? Get an empty cargo plane, put the next batch of dollars inside, fly low over Gaza, well inside the border area, and drop the money on the ground. This way the population benefits from money, instead of Hamas, and it might help deter further protests at the fence.ROBERT HICKINBOTHAMTel AvivI never dreamed that The Jerusalem Post would ever join the many news distorters around the world with a headline like today’s:” Rocket barrage on South follows Israeli airstrikes” (March 26). Which came first, the attacks from Gaza or Israel’s response?PAULINE SHOMERHar AdarGender separation mattersRegarding “Haredi rabbi: Even Nazis knew to separate men and women (March 25), not only is the statement citing Nazis who “knew it was proper to separate men and women” totally objectionable, it is also inaccurate. In Auschwitz, men women and children were forced to undress together in preparation for entering the gas chamber.Any use of Holocaust terms to promote personal or political agendas is a diminishment of the horrors of the Holocaust and a desecration of the memory of the victims.MARION REISSBeit ShemeshRegarding “Where is the respect at the Kotel?” (March 22), Leah Aharoni mentions three times that the current status quo at the Kotel sans WOW conforms with millennia-old tradition practiced there.Yet many of the pre-1948 photographs, drawings and paintings of the Kotel evidence mingling of the sexes, no mehitzah and women praying freely among the men. Here are two examples of eyewitness reports:1) Ridley Haim Herschell (1843) – “About 30 men and half as many women were assembled together, all without shoes, the ground whereon they trod being in their estimation holy.”2) George Fisk (c-1845) – “Upon reaching the spot, we found a row of aged Jews sitting in the dust in front of the wall, all of them engaged in reading or reciting certain portions of the Hebrew scriptures... among these men were several Jewesses, enveloped from head to foot in ample white veils.”Without taking sides in the battle between Women of the Wall and Women for the Wall, Aharoni, where is your respect for the facts?RICHARD SHAVEI-TZIONJerusalemPrenuptial prerequisiteRegarding “Halachic prenups are growing in US while Israel lags” (March 20), I am responding as a halachic estate planning attorney. A prenuptial agreement (essentially a contract between two parties) is not only about preventing a potential aguna problem; it also addresses other issues, such as asset preservation for the respective parties. In today’s more affluent economy (where a prospective couple, be it in a first-time or re-marriage situation, enters with existing/potentially existing assets) a halachic prenuptial agreement can and should be a prerequisite for siddur kidushin.TIRTZA JOTKOWITZ, ESQ.Jerusalem Supporting Israel 100%Regarding “Holocaust survivor declares at March of the Living, ‘Hitler did not win!’” (JPost.com, March 24), what a tragically beautiful story! I cannot begin to empathize with what the survivors went through but can feel pain at their horrors.I’m from the USA and not Jewish. I support Israel 100%. My wife is of Jewish heritage. I met survivors from her family and quietly listened when they told their stories. They’ve since died, R.I.P.In the fall of 2018, my wife and I visited Dachau. She could only make it a few meters into that main large courtyard before she broke down into hysterical tears. It saddens me that a man 70+ years ago performed acts so horrendous that they affect innocent kind young humans today, but I’m proud of what human beings have accomplished in the establishment of Israel. Thank you for that.I will continue to do my part in support of Israel and help make sure a holocaust never happens again.GREG LAMBERTIndianapolisThe murder that wasn’tRegarding “Gantz: Netanyahu would have killed me if he could” (March 25), until now I have respected Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, but this time he went too far. We know that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not an angel, but he has never physically injured or killed a political adversary.Shame on you, Gantz.RUTH SCHUELERJerusalemA wing and a prayerRegarding “Keeping 737 MAX issues in perspective,” (March 24), I always enjoy Mark Feldman’s column, as it is informative, and often amusing. This time, however, I was disappointed and a little disturbed.I understand Feldman’s intention, but I fear he over-emphasizes details and statistics. It may be true that this new aircraft has successfully completed almost 41,000 flights, but that is of scant consolation to the relatives of 346 human beings who lost their lives so tragically in the two recent crashes.The information he provides is revealing, particularly that “the engines are placed higher and further forward… than on previous 737s. This placement may lead to destabilization… so Boeing designed a software system to compensate.”If a new automobile had a technical problem that made it unsafe, it would not be allowed on the road until improvements were made to ensure its safety. To think that if something as complicated as an aircraft has a malfunction, that it will hopefully be canceled out by electronics is being over-optimistic at best.A faulty design continues to endanger passengers in the future. Boeing needs to look at the mechanics of the design and work something out to save their reputation.ROBERT HICKINBOTHAMTel AvivGlitch in the systemThe editorial “A judicial revolution” (March 20) focuses on an important issue. The judicial revolution created by Aharon Barak in the late 1990s was the grossest contradiction of democracy possible. It blurred over the separation of powers, enabling the judiciary to interfere with and even overrule the legislature.The latest unbelievable ruling of the Supreme Court was in the case of the rejection of Dr. Michael Ben-Ari and the permitting of the anti-state Arab party for eligibility for election to the Knesset.To Ben-Ari they said, “You can’t be an MK because your views don’t coincide with ours.”To the Arab party they said, “It doesn’t matter that you encourage Israel’s enemies, you can run for the Knesset.”This is the “glitch” that Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has started to redress and hopefully will be allowed to complete the endeavor.LAURENCE BECKERJerusalemPeace industryKudos on producing a Purim page that was almost funny! The best line was of Kim Kardashian canceling her trip to Israel because a nail broke.The only problem was that the editors neglected to include Gershon Baskin’s article “Israel 2019 and the absence of peace” (March 21) in the funny page.When will he understand that there will never be any peace with our Arab cousins, the so-called Palestinians, as long as their leadership continues to pay murderers of Israelis, teach hatred of Jews in their schools and advocate for the destruction of the State of Israel pushing us all – Baskin included – into the Mediterranean.The State of Israel has long had a “peace industry” that includes political and social movements, music, mass rallies, etc. Where are the “peace-niks” among Baskin’s Arab friends?Well, at least he admits that Oslo was a failed peace process. There’s always hope!NORMAN DEROVANMa’aleh AdumimRegarding Gershon Baskin’s unusually moderate article on March 21, I would like to remind him that there is no reason why the “Palestinians” cannot have a democracy now in Areas A and B where they have self-rule. Israel is not stopping them. This democracy would be racist (Jew free), homophobic and lacking basic freedoms (including of speech).A definition of “Palestinian people” would be useful here. Does Gershon include Palestinian Jews from the mandate and their descendants, Arabs from Tunisia and Morocco who arrived in the 1900s or self-identifying Arabs with no language or cultural distinction? Abbas’s map of Palestine has never changed from the “river to the sea.” If such a State were to come into being, where does Baskin imagine he will be living? Does he think that as a Jew, he will be accepted in the Palestinian state, including Gaza?I have never heard Baskin speak of this. How would the society operate realistically? Would Sharia law be enabled, along with its antisemitic rhetoric?KAREN PISKNetanyaHarmful and politically motivatedOphir Falk’s article (“Mandelblit was wrong on two counts,” March 20) says it all. When the announcement came out a few weeks ago I though how odd it was and politically incorrect. Any first year law student knows that shimua is a hearing where most charges go away or are lessened, but the news sensation that it made was with the intent to harm.“Indictment, indictment” is all one could hear, since the average person wouldn’t realize that the shimua comes first and probably will prevent an indictment. Therefore the announcement was intentionally harmful and politically motivated. Shame on Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit, who should have known better! Thank you Ophir Falk for taking the time to explain it better than I could!TERRI GRANOTRamat RazielAlternative strategiesRegarding “PM: Gantz is spreading ‘blood libel’ on Subs Affair,” (March 24), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval of the sale of German submarines to Egypt reminds me of a meeting of the Jewish Students Union in London that I attended in 1957. The guests of honor where a group of Israeli sailors who were in the UK to learn how to operate the new submarines Israel had just bought from Britain. Britain had sold the same class submarines to both Israel and Egypt.We were surprised to learn that the Israeli and Egyptian sailors sat together in the same classrooms for all the lectures. These two groups of sailors were preparing to use their submarines to fight against each other, and yet, here they were learning the same tactics! The Israelis explained that it did not disturb them to learn with the Egyptians. On the contrary, this would enable the Israelis to anticipate the Egyptians’ actions since they would always work “according to the book.” However, the Egyptians would be unlikely to know how the Israelis would react since they were already studying alternative strategies not suggested by the British.CHARLES ORENHerzliyaReligious freedomRegarding “Antisemitism in the Jewish state” (March 15), kudos to Rabbi Reuven Hammer for his excellent and courageous article exposing the fact that religious freedom does indeed not exist for Jews in Israel.The current monopoly of one specific rabbinate over everyone else, (with government support) has caused a major rift amongst Israeli Jews, who are forced to live with this monopoly, which disregards and disrespects Jews of different countries, cultures and traditions. Our population is made up of Jews from all over the world; until this stranglehold and power of the current monopoly is broken, we will continue to have animosity and religious resentment in Israel.This is sad, posing a grave danger for the way forward for all Jews, both locally and abroad.SHIRNA OSPOVATJerusalem
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