Letters to the Editor May 5, 2021: Another Mother’s Day

I read “What to talk about on Mother’s Day” (May 9) with much interest. As an Orthodox Jew, a couple of points came to mind:

1) The fifth of the Ten Commandments is: “Honor thy father and thy mother.” As such, it appears on the same tablet as all the Commandments pertaining to our relationship with God. A strong message regarding how we treat our parents.

 2) As such, honoring our parents is a 365-day-per-year priority. There is no way to “get off the hook” by celebrating Mother’s Day only one day a year!

Regarding “Mansour Abbas’s anger over clashes puts unity government in jeopardy” (May 9), the idea initiated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and now taken up by the Lapid-Bennett proposed “Change Government” that an Israeli government could properly function while under the threat of a Ra’am veto is already being revealed as short-sighted and mistaken. The ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood necessarily compels it to reject any defensive measures the Israel military or police might take against violence initiated by Palestinians, whether in Gaza or in Jerusalem. 

It is regrettable that the present political stalemate may require a fifth election that brings with it no guarantee of breaking the stalemate. But the desperate embrace of Ra’am is certainly not the answer.

In “Down with Deri” (May 7), the usual even-keeled David Weinberg’s venomous tirade against Shas leader Arye Deri positively makes former prime minister Ehud Olmert appear as the president of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Fan Club. All that’s missing is a positive declaration that Deri should be indicted as an accomplice for the tragic deaths of the Meron 45. On the other hand, that may very well be what Weinberg is suggesting.

Deri does not deny that he forcefully petitioned to remove from the Meron festivities corona-related restrictions and limitations, arguing that those celebrating Lag Ba’omer should enjoy the same unconstrained freedom as those who celebrated at beaches, parks and nature reserves during Israel Independence Day several weeks earlier. The absurdity of the comparison need not be dwelled on; instead the focus should be on the fact that Deri and his cohorts ignored the safety thresholds which ultimately led to the disaster. That the warnings of certified experts and the specifications of engineers are seen as nothing more than suggestions is par for the course. Until, alas, a bridge turns into a pile of metal beams, an event hall floor collapses, or innocent men and boys are trampled during a panicky stampede. And while Deri certainly participated in twisting arms and forcing eyes to look away, Weinberg must surely be aware that others are no less culpable.

I hope that the soon-to-be-established commission of inquiry will provide us with objective and unbiased conclusions regarding this tragedy and how to ensure that what happened at Meron will not be repeated. I have my doubts, though. It won’t be long before this event will be shrugged off and reappraised as a mere fluke.

Deri, of course, cannot be faulted for aggressively supporting the community that elected him into office and proved to be more than forgiving of his past and current transgressions. I would like to think, however, that he is kicking himself to no end for failing to heed the warnings that flashed before him and others, and prevented the enforcement of sane and well-reasoned precautions. Sometimes, you see, the bleat of a lamb is louder that the roar of a lion. 

When David Weinberg laments the influence of Arye Deri in Israel politics and secular-religious relations, he leaves out (perhaps) the most important reason Deri should shoulder the blame for the Meron tragedy.

The next day, Deri claimed that he was not to blame – as he had only worked diligently to soften the “decree” of the health ministry professionals, enabling open access to the site.

Yet, it is the same mindset that allowed him and others to ignore the advice of other professionals who had warned about the dangers of overcrowding.

By claiming that his decision to ignore professional advice was the right one, Deri shows that he suffers from an acute case of gaiva (a lack of humility). For that reason, he is guilty, even if the means to the tragic end were not what he expected. 

Regarding “Arab world condemns Israeli police for violent Temple Mount clashes” (jpost.com, May 8) I am sure that we all agree with Turkey’s communications director, Fehrett Altun, that “Attacking innocent people praying is clearly terror.” However, Israel’s police were not attacking innocent people at prayer. They were trying to contain a riot, as Arabs hurled chairs, shoes, rocks and fireworks at the officers.

The Temple Mount has long been a flashpoint for violence. The 2000 intifada wave of terror attacks targeting Israeli civilians was orchestrated from that holy site. More recently, Palestinians have used their vantage point to harass Jews worshiping at the Western Wall. In 2017, Haiel Stawi and Kamil Shnaan, Israeli border policemen, were killed with weapons that had been smuggled onto the Temple Mount. Palestinians rioted when Israel attempted to install metal detectors to prevent further weapons being brought onto the Mount.

Do any Arab leaders speak out against the Palestinians’ violating the sanctity of the Noble Sanctuary through their acts of violence? Did any Arab leaders say that two Palestinians had committed an act of terror when they murdered Avraham Goldberg, Moshe Twersky, Aryeh Kopinsky and Kalman Levine as those Jewish men were, in fact, worshiping peacefully in the B’nei Torah Synagogue in Har Nof in 2014?

I am appalled by the false, misleading headline “Kanievsky: Meron tragedy due to women’s immodesty” (May 5). Rav Kanievsky absolutely did not say that!

Jeremy Sharon himself quotes the Rav answering questions of why this disaster occurred: “It is a decree from Heaven, and we cannot know the considerations of Heaven.” 

So why put words in his mouth as though the Rav claims it was caused by women’s immodesty?

In the article, when asked what should be rectified, Kanievsky answered, “We must strengthen ourselves in Torah and women should strengthen themselves in modesty.” That is a far cry from saying that these are the causes of the tragedy. And definitely, the Rav placed far more importance on men’s Torah study, with women’s modesty coming second.

The headline was an utter distortion of the Rabbi’s remarks, giving entirely the opposite impression of what he so carefully expressed. Using this tragedy as a platform to incite the public against Kanievsky is yellow journalism at best. Now should be a time of healing, not incitement.

What in the world could women’s modest dress have to do with the tragedy in Meron?

First of all, I don’t believe that the revered rabbi actually said anything like this. Recent videos of him show that he is unfortunately quite frail and unable to seriously speak, so I must assume that these are instead the opinions of his children or disciples, exploiting his good name and reputation to disseminate their own primitive and foolish beliefs. He probably has over the years lauded Torah study as a remedy for everything that goes wrong, but the additional line about women’s modesty just comes completely out of left field. 

What do women or women’s behavior have to do with the terrible calamity that struck on Lag Ba’omer? From the many facts that have come out in just these past few days, it seems that the cause of the disaster was the inability to fix the obviously dangerous site because of so many entities having authority over it that are hindering the required repairs. Contrary to Aryeh Deri’s juvenile comments, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai cannot protect us when our own actions reek of stupidity, carelessness, and laziness. God requires hishtadlut on our part! 

In any case, publicizing this statement supposedly made by Rabbi Kanievky is really a chilul hashem, as any thinking person would read this and think that Torah and Torah-following Jews are truly stupid. Let’s all allow the grieving families to at least finish their week of shiva before throwing around insane comments like this.

“Settlers to sue B’Tselem for alleging they set Palestinian fields ablaze” (May 5) reports “30 acts of physical violence against Palestinians as of April 26th of this year. Last year there were... 63 physical attacks, according to OCHA.” This is anti-Israel propaganda plain and simple promoted by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which misrepresents itself, as UN agencies often do, as an objective source of facts. 

Our pro-Israel NGO, Mattot Arim, urges that this propaganda, which our anti-Israel counterparts are so fond of, be deleted from the online version. Surely Israeli media should beware parroting anti-Israel propaganda, otherwise how can Camera, Honest Reporting, BBCWatch and others (cc’ed) make justified demands of foreign media? Also, your subscribers want facts, not propaganda. We certainly do not want to pay for propaganda that is targeting us (Israel).

Equally, we must protest the continued publishing of Gershon Baskin’s articles. This is because on the same day (May 5) he wrote, “The ongoing tragedy of the Palestinian people... provides sufficient reasons for wanting to resort to violence.” 

What? This was mere days after a Palestinian gunmen seriously injured three Israeli teenagers. As the Post reported, also on the same day, the Palestinian gunman is still at large – and one of the victims was paralyzed by the Palestinian gunman’s bullet and remains “in very serious condition.” Baskin, like his lamentable predecessor Larry Derfner, should be removed today. This is not the first time that his columns have included incendiary/dangerous materials – under Post auspices.

Spokesperson, Mattot Arim

 

To answer Douglas Bloomfield, yes I do remember the tragic Kent State University killing (“Remembering Kent State,” May 6). 

Bloomfield’s comments on the ill-training of troops and his personal experiences are of interest. Having said that, it is not clear why the piece needs to be in The Jerusalem Post more than half a century later. 

Of course the looting, demonstrations, peaceful or otherwise, and the demonization of others (the governor described the students as the worst type of people that we harbor in America) are still prevalent in the US.

Of course, Bloomfield cannot pass up the opportunity to make the connection to what he incorrectly calls “the Trump insurrection of January.” At Kent State, approximately 28 national guards fired 67 rounds, killing four and injuring nine. At the Capitol this year, as bad as the incursion was, one unarmed demonstrator was shot and killed by an as-yet unnamed security person. Reports of a fatal attack with a fire extinguisher on a police officer later proved to be not true.

Douglas Bloomfield (“Remembering Kent State,” May 6) asserts that the 1970 tragedy in which four students were killed and nine others wounded when National Guardsmen opened fire on Vietnam War protesters, was due largely to poor training. He ends by stating incongruously that better training is critical “particularly in light of the Trump insurrection of January 6.” The relationship between those two events is unclear. 

It would have been more appropriate to recall the recent riots in American cities resulting in 30 deaths, 2,000 injured police and billions of dollars in damage. Bloomfield describes a riot in Cleveland in 1968 during which “police and Guardsmen just stood around watching looters help themselves at a furniture store.” That is a sadly accurate description of the riots this past summer when police stations and federal courthouses were firebombed and thousands of businesses were looted and destroyed. Several mayors refused National Guard assistance to quell the violence because of the supposed negative optics of militarization, and apparently told their police to let the riots run their course without strong intervention. 

Bloomfield should be concerned about another area where improved US military training is called for. 

Bishop Garrison, senior adviser to the Secretary of Defense, has been appointed to head the Counterterrorism Working Group. This body is empowered to revise the definition of prohibited extremist activities and amend the military justice system in order to address extremism. 

Garrison has written that, “Support [for President Trump], a racist, is support for all his beliefs.” He also wrote that anyone supporting Trump supports misogynists, racists and extremists, and concluded, “There is no room for nuance with this.” 

Thus, Garrison believes that Trump supporters are “extremists” by definition. The obvious next step is to purge the offenders from the military. This would be entirely consistent with woke silencing of any political views with which the Left disagrees. 

The improved training recommended by Bloomfield should include emphasis on bedrock American values including freedoms of expression, association, press and thought. Garrison would do well to attend the training himself. 

The Chinese Embassy in Israel noticed that in “Italy likely to allow Israeli tourists into the country in mid-May” (May 5), Hong Kong appeared in a list of “countries.”

The Embassy wishes to clarify that Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China and a sub-national administrative region directly under the Central People’s Government of China.

The Embassy strongly requests the Jerusalem Post to avoid such mistakes in the future.

“Only in Jerusalem: The secret recipe for coexistence” (May 4) displays a large picture and reports on the project of Bezalel art students with participating Arab women as an example of coexistence. 

This project was conceived, initiated and run by Maayan Ernst and Noa Cohen-Bodenheimer, fine art students in Bezalel, and as no public funding was readily available, I personally totally funded this project, of several city art stations two years running. 

We saw art as an expressive medium, unlimited by borders of race or ethnicity. In the informal street noncommittal atmosphere, people of different backgrounds easily mingled, sat together, interacted, had fun and created art. 

Ernst who was accepted to Bezalel without exams, had her works previously shown in the Israel Museum youth wing in her pre-teen and teen years, and Cohen-Bodenheimer, whose art is a mixture of Israeli and Korean influences, studied art in Korea as an exchange student. The project met its goals, showing this type of activity builds bridges, creating a first step for coexistence.