SNAIL MAIL Smartphones, smart cars and smart cities are on the horizon. It appears there is an app for everything to make our lives more efficient. However, where is the mail? Jerusalem's delivery appeared to be down to twice a week and now that it is already midweek and my box is empty, are we to assume that we are to receive letters just once a week or not at all? Perhaps we need an app for mail or a flock of passenger pigeons. Note to the Israel Postal Company: Whatever your grievances are, after two months of this slowdown... the public is paying the price. Please, solve this problem. Ruby Ray Karzen Jerusalem UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICE Emek Refaim is about to get a new branch of the Superpharm chain, which I for one will be boycotting. Had Superpharm decided to open a new branch in Talpiot near Lev Talpiot, with its big stores, and close to Rami Levy, I would have welcomed it. However, Superpharm is opening directly opposite a family-run pharmacy that has been on the street for more than the 25 years I have lived in Jerusalem. This seems a blatant attempt by big business to take away the livelihood of a small business. Frankly, this is in my opinion unethical, a dirty trick and not in keeping with Jewish precepts. Yehudit Collins Jerusalem TOLERANCE IN BEIT HAKEREM I was very upset by your article about Beit Hakerem and its classification as a “secular” neighborhood (“Getting their house in order,” May 1). What does that entail? For your information, there are several synagogues that have more than one minyan on Shabbat. There is Torah learning many nights of the week in several centers. Have you visited the Darche Noam yeshiva (Shapell's) recently? During the snowstorms, the Shapell boys from Beit Hakerem were instrumental in assisting the neighborhood's senior citizens – and were commended by the mayor for their actions. “The Lord spreads a canopy of peace over us, over the entire Nation of Israel and Jerusalem.” We certainly need this canopy, since the article shows how much latent anti-Semitism we're dealing with. What harm will the entourage of Rav Moshe Yosef cause to the neighborhood? In actuality, he will bring with him an improvement to an old structure, and will spread Torah. Storekeepers will benefit from greater demand for certain products. We will have fewer problems with pets whose owners let them run loose and dirty the streets. If, at some point, there is a need for a haredi kindergarten, why is that such a problem? The more children Am Yisrael has, the better! Having learned the lessons of World War II and the Holocaust, it is time we showed more love and affection for all our fellow Jews, especially those who are holding onto our roots. T. Mendlowitz Beit Hakerem, Jerusalem Editor's Note: The article classified Beit Hakerem as “one of the neighborhoods most widely identified with the secular residents of the city” and did not call it exclusively secular.
