By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)Kids in hot carsIt’s that time of the year again, when totally irresponsible parents leave their children in boiling hot cars. I am incensed as we continue to read of little children dying (“2 toddlers die after being left in car,” News in Brief, June 23).How on earth can this happen? Where are the minds of these people? Certainly not on the care of their children! This should be treated as manslaughter, and this parent should be imprisoned as punishment for such cruelty to little children, and as a deterrent to any other parents who might just “forget” they are in charge of a child.I ask myself over and over again: How can anyone just “forget” children in a car on a boiling hot day?LINDA SILVERSTONEHerzliya PituahAnti-Barak, Ya’alonRegarding reader A. Remini’s June 23 letter (“Pro-Barak, Ya’alon”), as prime minister, Ehud Barak was willing to give back 90 percent of the West Bank and half of Jerusalem.Barak wasn’t satisfied that we gave back the Gaza Strip and received in return over 6,000 missiles into southern Israel, but he wanted Hamas to be so close that it could hit Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and the rest of the country.Moshe Ya’alon was a good defense minister, but he should have kept his speeches to military matters. To encourage officers to speak their minds, even to compare Israel to Nazi Germany, is outrageous.BOB SIMON Jerusalem Onus on PA I think the articles about the unintended killing of a Palestinian Arab youth, including your “IDF mistakenly kills Palestinian teen” and “A really good, happy kid” (June 22) are overblown.This unfortunate incident happened by accident. There was nothing written about the deceit of the Palestinian Authority in using the youth’s death to castigate Israel, especially when the PA continuously exhorts its public to kill Jews and then glorifies the ensuing terrorism and the “martyrs.”Yes, Mahmoud Bardan’s death is newsworthy, but the onus is on the PA, not Israel.STEVE KRAMERAlfei MenashePredictably, the Palestinian Authority served up a disgusting, dishonest and blatantly politicized response to the tragic death of one of its own. Execution? Really? Accidents happen in the fog of war. It is the Palestinians who defy every effort that Israel makes to achieve peace.Does the PA bear any responsibility for the death of this West Bank teen and others it allegedly represents? Well yes, if one considers that it does nothing to discourage – and in fact encourages and supports – rock throwing, knife attacks, bombings and all crimes committed against innocent Israelis that can lead to death or injury for anyone in the vicinity.Sadly, the cold and calculating PA uses the teen’s unfortunate death to attempt to further its agenda to demonize and ostracize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and all Israelis.Worse, blindly righteous fools at the UN and in some churches and the entertainment industry lap up and embrace the deceit the PA spews – that Israel is racist and Palestinians are persecuted.I wouldn’t be surprised if the IDF soldier who fired the deadly bullets feels more grief over this accidental death than the whole PA combined.LINDA SLOBODIANDeloraine, ManitobaGet a grip! Although the Religious Services Ministry has since reversed its decision to dismiss Rabbi Shlomo Hadane, the only Ethiopian rabbi it employs (“Chief rabbi of Ethiopian community to get six-month extension from ministry,” June 22), word of his dismissal was the most astonishing, heartbreaking news I had ever heard in my life.The ministry refused to renew Hadane’s contract because he used his trusted authority to speak out against its discriminatory policies that prohibit Ethiopian Jews from marrying without first being approved by a non-Ethiopian body of rabbis.How dare it try to bring to an end the long, respected and heartfelt tenure of any rabbi, let alone this resplendent and great rabbi. What an outrage, especially when everyone knows that according to both historical and present day rabbinic rulings, there is no doubt that the Ethiopian Jews are Jewish, and as such should be allowed to marry according to their will, without the approval of the ministry.As recently as 1973, Ovadia Yosef, Israel’s then-chief Sephardic rabbi, cited the 16th-century chief rabbi of Egypt, David B.Zimra, who wrote that “those who come from the land Cush [Ethiopia] are without a doubt the Tribe of Dan” in reconfirming the Jewish identity of the Beta Israel community.Rabbi Yosef’s determination was affirmed by his esteemed colleague, then-Ashkenazi chief rabbi Shlomo Goren. Today, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, Ovadia’s son, stood by his father’s claim and against the decision by the ministry.C’mon guys, get a grip! If the ministry can castigate Rabbi Hadane for defending the halachic dignity of his people, surely it will stop at nothing.JOAN ROTHNew YorkUNRWA’S claimsWith regard to “US congressmen to investigate UNRWA schools for inciting terrorism, Rep. Lamborn tells ‘Post’” (June 21), there is a quote from UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness, who claims that textbooks in UNRWA schools “have been subjected to close examination...and found to be largely free of incitement.”However, when I checked the schoolbooks used by UNRWA that the Center for Near East Policy Research reviewed and examined, I found this claim to be less than accurate. The following quotes are pulled from various texts: • National Education, a 5th-grade textbook, describes Israel as an “occupation” established “at the hands of the Zionist Organizations” (p. 30) rather than a land given to the Jewish people by the 1947 UN partition resolution.• Faith, an 11th-grade textbook, says that the End of Days “will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims will kill them to a point that a Jew will hide behind a rock or a tree” (p. 94).• In Reading and Texts, an 8th-grade textbook, it is written: “O brother, the oppressors [Israelis] have exceeded all bounds, and jihad and sacrifice are necessary” (p. 44).• Our Beautiful Language, another 5th-grade text, contains a poem saying: “Under the flag of glory, jihad and struggle/With blood, sacrifice, fraternity and loyalty/We are returning” (p. 50).Gunness assures us that “UNWRA has in place a system of checks and balances to ensure that no incitement is taught,” yet the text suggests that the Jewish people are squatters and oppressors who must be removed with jihad and struggle, through fighting and killing.MAX MILLER-GOLUBWynnewood, PennsylvaniaThey’d be horrifiedI would like to acknowledge and compliment Reuven Hammer for an excellent piece (“‘These evil people...,’” Comment & Features, June 21).I am from the Diaspora, a good traditional Jew who has maintained and upheld Jewish values, traditions and practices, as well as being an ardent Zionist. Now I’ve made aliya, and I am appalled to find here that the ultra-Orthodox have such great power and deem me to be one of “these evil people.”They are completely alienating all non-Orthodox Jews, many of whom are being lost forever. It is a tragedy, indeed, for our nation.I think Herzl, Ben-Gurion and all those who sacrificed so much to build a homeland for all Jews would be horrified.May the government have the courage and strength to reverse the situation for the good of us all.SHIRNA OSPOVATAshkelon
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