So be itSir, – In “The good fence?” (Comment & Features, June 19), Nachman Shai says that “fences by definition separate and divide.” So be it, given our neighbors.Robert Frost once said, “Good fences make good neighbors,” and he didn’t live in the Middle East.YOEL TAMARI Tel MondFaith and adoptionSir, – As an adoptive mother I find it crucial for the adopted children to have as much as possible in common with their parents (“Adoption and faith,” Editorial, June 18). This makes their search for identity, already complicated, easier.Therefore, I would like to see the possibility of converting adoptees to Judaism without the imposition of raising them in a religious environment. Throwing one’s fate with Israel and the Jewish people is quite enough!NAME WITHHELDSir, – You conclude your editorial by saying, “The time has come to separate religion from the adoption process.”We Jews have survived for thousands of years because of tradition more than religion.Religion has brought wars all over the world. Religion should be a private option.We are running out of time on separating religion from state in every facet of life, not only adoption.OLGA P. WIND HolonAnimals, environmentSir, – Kol hakavod to Israel for its many positive efforts toward a more sustainable future (Solving the world’s environmental problems,” Environmental Affairs, June 15). However, I want to stress what many generally overlook: the major negative impact that animal-based agriculture has on the environment.The production of meat and animal products is a major contributor to climate change due to the large amounts of methane emitted by farmed animals. Animal- based agriculture is also a major contributor to deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, rapid species extinction, air and water pollution, and other environmental problems, and uses massive amounts of water, energy and other increasingly scarce resources.I urge my fellow Jews to help fulfill our role as a “light unto the nations” by increasing awareness and activism in order to help shift our imperiled planet to a sustainable path.RICHARD H. SCHWARTZ New YorkThe writer is president of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America Sake of heaven Sir, – A not inconsiderable number of our brethren, many of whom are Holocaust survivors, feel that the public playing of Wagner is intolerable (“Who’s afraid of Richard Wagner?,” Comment & Features, June 11). Why cannot we respect this, if just for the sake of heaven? Lovingkindness, respect and desisting from our own wishes is not derisory, weak or surrendering.Just for once, cannot we put the feelings of others first? Wagner can be played in many situations in Israel, just not publicly.ANGELA REUBEN JerusalemRing of fireSir, – Well, it’s happening a lot quicker than I thought it would when this inexperienced rookie somehow was elected president of the United States.In Egypt, Barack Obama caused Hosni Mubarak to fall by not supporting him. Now we have to face the Muslim Brotherhood along our very long and porous border.In Turkey, Obama just can’t imagine that the present regime is no longer a friend of the West.Its prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has even prevented Israel from taking part in NATO exercises. Every Turkish act is calculated to draw that country away from the West and toward Iran.In Syria, for over a year President Bashar Assad has been brutally slaughtering his own citizens.The world yawns. The UN pulls out its “peace-keeping force” because it is too dangerous for them to be there.Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton misjudged Assad right from the start and thought he was a Western-educated reformer! The Iranians, of course, are working flat out to get an atom bomb with which to blow us all to smithereens. Obama still thinks he can negotiate with them and that they will keep their promises.Iraq is still exploding. Pakistan and Afghanistan are furious with the Americans for repeated mistaken drone attacks on their civilians. The Russians, through all this, are stirring the broth like the USSR of old.Of course, Obama didn’t create this awful situation all by himself. But he has failed over and over to differentiate between friend and foe.Look at the map. This failure has created all around us a ring of fire.THELMA JACOBSONPetah Tikva
June 21: Let gays serve
As a religious Jewish IDF veteran I was saddened to read the remarks deprecating homosexual Jewish IDF soldiers.
So be itSir, – In “The good fence?” (Comment & Features, June 19), Nachman Shai says that “fences by definition separate and divide.” So be it, given our neighbors.Robert Frost once said, “Good fences make good neighbors,” and he didn’t live in the Middle East.YOEL TAMARI Tel MondFaith and adoptionSir, – As an adoptive mother I find it crucial for the adopted children to have as much as possible in common with their parents (“Adoption and faith,” Editorial, June 18). This makes their search for identity, already complicated, easier.Therefore, I would like to see the possibility of converting adoptees to Judaism without the imposition of raising them in a religious environment. Throwing one’s fate with Israel and the Jewish people is quite enough!NAME WITHHELDSir, – You conclude your editorial by saying, “The time has come to separate religion from the adoption process.”We Jews have survived for thousands of years because of tradition more than religion.Religion has brought wars all over the world. Religion should be a private option.We are running out of time on separating religion from state in every facet of life, not only adoption.OLGA P. WIND HolonAnimals, environmentSir, – Kol hakavod to Israel for its many positive efforts toward a more sustainable future (Solving the world’s environmental problems,” Environmental Affairs, June 15). However, I want to stress what many generally overlook: the major negative impact that animal-based agriculture has on the environment.The production of meat and animal products is a major contributor to climate change due to the large amounts of methane emitted by farmed animals. Animal- based agriculture is also a major contributor to deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, rapid species extinction, air and water pollution, and other environmental problems, and uses massive amounts of water, energy and other increasingly scarce resources.I urge my fellow Jews to help fulfill our role as a “light unto the nations” by increasing awareness and activism in order to help shift our imperiled planet to a sustainable path.RICHARD H. SCHWARTZ New YorkThe writer is president of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America Sake of heaven Sir, – A not inconsiderable number of our brethren, many of whom are Holocaust survivors, feel that the public playing of Wagner is intolerable (“Who’s afraid of Richard Wagner?,” Comment & Features, June 11). Why cannot we respect this, if just for the sake of heaven? Lovingkindness, respect and desisting from our own wishes is not derisory, weak or surrendering.Just for once, cannot we put the feelings of others first? Wagner can be played in many situations in Israel, just not publicly.ANGELA REUBEN JerusalemRing of fireSir, – Well, it’s happening a lot quicker than I thought it would when this inexperienced rookie somehow was elected president of the United States.In Egypt, Barack Obama caused Hosni Mubarak to fall by not supporting him. Now we have to face the Muslim Brotherhood along our very long and porous border.In Turkey, Obama just can’t imagine that the present regime is no longer a friend of the West.Its prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has even prevented Israel from taking part in NATO exercises. Every Turkish act is calculated to draw that country away from the West and toward Iran.In Syria, for over a year President Bashar Assad has been brutally slaughtering his own citizens.The world yawns. The UN pulls out its “peace-keeping force” because it is too dangerous for them to be there.Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton misjudged Assad right from the start and thought he was a Western-educated reformer! The Iranians, of course, are working flat out to get an atom bomb with which to blow us all to smithereens. Obama still thinks he can negotiate with them and that they will keep their promises.Iraq is still exploding. Pakistan and Afghanistan are furious with the Americans for repeated mistaken drone attacks on their civilians. The Russians, through all this, are stirring the broth like the USSR of old.Of course, Obama didn’t create this awful situation all by himself. But he has failed over and over to differentiate between friend and foe.Look at the map. This failure has created all around us a ring of fire.THELMA JACOBSONPetah Tikva