November 18: Fighting for rights

We must conclude they are fighting for the right not to ride the bus, but to blow it up!

By JERUSALEM POST READERS
Sir, – In a wretched attempt by the Palestinians to compare riding an Egged bus to Jerusalem with the bravery and nobility of the freedom riders from the 1960s US civil rights movement, they add insult to injury (“Six Palestinians activists arrested after ‘freedom ride,’” November 16).
What they choose to ignore is that during the struggle in America, the protesters did not resort to acts of terror. Under the guidance of great men of vision like the Rev.Martin Luther King, Jr., they chose and remained committed to the path of nonviolence.
In the reality of the Palestinian history of continued incitement toward terror via classrooms and imams, we must conclude they are fighting for the right not to ride the bus, but to blow it up!
ZEV CHAMUDOT Petah Tikva
Vey ist mir!
Sir, – Regarding “Ver is di mezuzah?” (Comment & Features, November 16), the Yiddish word ver means who. The word you want in this particular context is voo, meaning where.
It really is a shame that an otherwise excellent newspaper like The Jerusalem Post should, again and again, allow its pages to be sullied by mistakes of this kind.
MOSHE AUMANN Jerusalem
Sir, – Really, if you’re going to use Yiddish for one reason or another, let it at least be correct! There are still a lot of us around who use Yiddish in everyday language and I don’t feel very good about its misuse.
LEONARD ZURAKOV Netanya
Brain-washing
Sir, – As a recent immigrant to Israel, I have been made to feel embarrassed while traveling on one of the bus routes running through an ultra- Orthodox area of Jerusalem. A young girl of about 12 was sitting next to the only vacant seat on the bus. When I sat down she immediately jumped off her seat and went to stand in the rear. What a tragedy that we are seeing a generation of brainwashed Taliban-like children in our holy city! “Segregated buses, censored billboards remain part of capital’s life” (November 15) stated one very important fact, namely, “There is no basis for this in Jewish law.” I suggest that those who claim to be members of the haredi community refer to the Shulhan Aruch, in particular the laws of yihud, i.e., being secluded in a private area with a woman who is not part of the permitted family. Those who are in fear of temptation by glancing at women should seek help elsewhere.
E. BOOK Jerusalem
Meaning of ‘all’...
Sir, – What a wonderful headline: “Bill will ensure all rabbis can perform weddings” (November 15). But on further reading, it turns out it’s not really true. “All rabbis” refers, of course, to all Orthodox rabbis.
The Post’s headline writer, like the Israeli religious establishment and most Israelis, assume all those thousands of Reform and Conservative and Reconstructionist rabbis in Israel and all over the world simply don’t count and aren’t part of the concept.
The rabbis of some of the largest, most influential and well-attended synagogues in the United States are non-entities in Israel. How sad, how backward, and how shortsighted for the future of the Jewish people.
NORMAN LOBERANT
Nahariya
...and other words
Sir, – Before Gustavo D.
Perednik (“Needed: A law against Judeophobia,” Comment & Features, November 15) gets too far, he should be aware that “Judeophobia” means “fear” of Jews, not hatred.
If a new term is needed, let’s get it right, not like the misconceived abomination “homophobia,” which etymologically means either “fear of men” or “fear of the same,” depending on whether it is sourced from Latin or Greek.
MERVYN DOOBOV
Jerusalem