July 15: Cemetery latecomers

I was not aware that Muslims are also buried in this ancient Jewish cemetery.

By JERUSALEM POST READERS
Understanding needed
Sir, – While I personally do not condone embarrassing anyone on the bus, I think Sharon Shenhav exaggerates a bit (“Scream, insult, embarrass and harass ‘uppity’ women,” Comment & Features, July 14).
We do not know all the facts. Was the woman on the bus taking a direct stand against Mehadrin buses? How did she answer the yeshiva student? According to the article, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv seemed to think she was doing it on purpose, and not because she was disabled or unwell, or could not physically sit in back.
But his proof must be learned in the Gemara, and not just cited without background or context.
I don’t think one can extrapolate from this, as Shenhav does, that it is okay to embarrass any woman who does not follow Halacha. This was on a specific point in a specific circumstance, and not a general call.
Has Shenhav tried to speak with Rabbi Elyashiv and elucidate the reasoning behind this ruling? If she truly wants to help women, perhaps she should. (And when she goes, she should dress modestly.)
BATYA BERLINGER Jerusalem
American hero
Sir, – Regarding “Credit due others” (Letters, July 14), which was written in light of Shmuley Boteach’s “Knee-deep in bloodsoaked battlefields of Europe” (No Hold Barred, July 12), my brother, Brig.- Gen. Alvin D. Ungerleider, as a young lieutenant led his men onto Omaha Beach and up the draw. He told them, “Follow me, step in my footsteps and I will get you in,” and he did.
On the 50th anniversary, Al escorted President Bill Clinton to lay a wreath at the monument at Colleville-su-Mer cemetery.
The theme of Clinton’s speech was that these men saved the world.
For the 60th anniversary, my brother was awarded the French Legion of Honor. Though wounded twice, he fought on until the end of the war.
Alvin also served in Korea and Vietnam. He retired after serving for 36 years and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on March 25, 2011.
He was a great American hero and never forgot his Jewish roots.
ANNETTE UNGERLEIDER MARTIN Kfar Shmaryahu
Cemetery latecomers
Sir, – In her article “Extensions to mosque inside Mount of Olives cemetery illegal, says city” (July 13), Melanie Lidman reports that the area has “been used as a Jewish and Muslim cemetery for more than 3,000 years.”
I was not aware that Muslims are also buried in this ancient Jewish cemetery.
However, this certainly could not have been a practice for 3,000 years, i.e., even before the advent of Islam.
The only connection I have heard between the Mount of Olives and Muslims is from the 1948-1967 period, when the Jordanian army reportedly used Jewish tombstones to pave the area of their latrines.
DONYA MEIJER Jerusalem
Melanie Lidman responds: My reporting was incorrect. The area has been a Jewish cemetery for 3,000 years. Newer parts are Muslim.
Deals require value
Sir, – The flaw in letter writer Peter Redstone’s suggestion (“UFOs and BG,” July 12) that the “flightilla” participants taken into police custody be placed under house arrest until Gilad Schalit is released, is that these people mean less to Hamas than even the Hamas terrorists in Israeli jails.
No value, no deal!
MICHAEL BRUNERT Modi’in
CORRECTIONS
“Nothing new under the son” (Arts & Entertainment, July 14), as well as the frontpage promotion for the article, should have stated that the play All My Sons was written by Arthur Miller. We regret the error.
Also, a dated version of “Genuine solidarity vs. stale promises” by Eitan Grossman was inadvertently run in the Comment & Features section on July 14. To read the updated version, visit www.jpostcom.