Letters to Editor
printAwed
November 14, 2008The citizens of the 11th District waited in lines, stood in the rain, and still came out in huge numbers to make our voices heard in the best possible way: by voting.
This was a historic election, and as we moved about the district on election day from precinct to precinct, we were awed and humbled by this exercise in democracy.
It is an honor to represent the wonderful people of this district in the state legislature, and we look forward to hearing from everyone on all issues.
Sen. Bobby Zirkin
Del. Jon Cardin
Del. Dan Morhaim
Del. Dana Stein
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Proud Veteran
November 14, 2008I especially enjoyed the Nov.7 article “‘God Was With Me,’” on Bernard Hanover’s experience as a prisoner of war.
It is hard to believe that come Thanksgiving Day it will be 64 years since I was, likewise, captured in Germany. My prison camp was known as 11B and was located between Hanover and Hamburg. I only know of two other Jewish soldiers from the Baltimore area that were prisoners of war, but I am sure that there were a number of others.
Alleck A. Resnick
Baltimore
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GOP Response
November 14, 2008Congratulations to Barack Obama. As he said in his victory speech, his election confirms America’s greatness. This is the land of infinite opportunity. He campaigned on the need for change but a careful review of the election shows that the voters don’t want to change America, they want to change Washington. Americans are angry that members of both parties have put personal advancement ahead of the national interest.
Results of many state referendums and exit polls clearly show that a significant majority support the Judeo/Christian values as written in our Constitution. It favors liberty, freedom and personal responsibility as opposed to a large powerful government that redistributes wealth and limits our choices. In referendums on school choice, taxes, the definition of marriage and many others conservative values were supported by the same voters who supported Barack Obama and his change mandate.
Yes, Americans want change but they want to change the elected, not the electorate and certainly not the values that brought us to this wonderful moment in history. On January 21, 2009, Barack Obama will be our 44th President and I will be a proud member of the loyal opposition. Jewish Republicans will support him when we agree with his policies and respectfully question him when we feel he is failing to provide the change that is needed in Washington.
God Bless America and God Bless Barack Obama.
Dr. Gary Applebaum
Chair, Republican Jewish Coalition Baltimore Chapter
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Jerusalem Not For Sale
Contrary to the claim that Israeli Foreign Minister and Kadimah leader Tzippy Livni was unable to form a governing coalition because of “outrageous” budgetary claims by the Shas Party, the root cause for the breakdown of negotiations was her obvious desire to bargain away part of Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority.
Certainly this will be the key to the forthcoming election as the coalition of parties asking for peace at any price will be slated against those who will not yield on Jerusalem nor on the major population blocs outside of the temporary pre-1967 armistice lines with Jordan, Egypt and Syria.
For many, the trauma of the expulsion of Israelis from Gaza and the resultant rule of that territory by Hamas are not forgotten. The election of February 2009 in Israel will be a critical turning point in the history of the Jewish nation, with one side presenting a realistic program for dealing with the Palestinian Authority while the other Peace Now faction is willing to risk the future of Israel on verbal promises from a still militant and terrorist entity.
Nelson Marans
Silver Spring
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Bad Policy
November 14, 2008While I agree with Del. Sandy Rosenberg that slots in Maryland should be passed, I find it interesting that he bemoans the fact that the majority of the legislature opposed changing our already bloated tax code (“Slots: Pro,” Oct. 31).
Making the state income tax more progressive is code for increasing taxes on those who the politicians feel best can afford it. We are likely to get a good dose of this on a federal level very soon.
Bottom line is that like his Democrat colleagues, Mr. Rosenberg is a proponent of class warfare. And while the new President-elect may think this is “fair,” economically speaking it is foolish.
Finally Rabbi Jerry Seidler points out that Mr. Obama’s positions are in harmony with Jewish values of compassion, justice and kindness and not hatefulness, injustice or cruelty (“Right Call,” Oct. 31).
Since Mr. Obama refuses to be pinned down on many of his positions, I’m not really sure what he believes. However, I am sure that his pastor Rev. Wright espouses hatefulness and Rashid Khalidi who is Mr. Obama’s PLO connection espouses injustice and cruelty.
Be that as it may, the American public tends to get what it deserves on Election Day. It is my fervent prayer that it does not come at the expense of our brothers and sisters in Israel and the country that has done so much for us over the last 100 years.
Dr. Edward K. Leventhal
Baltimore
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Slim Victory
November 14, 2008All the noise and hoopla that has been made about the recent election might lead one to believe that some people are looking at different election results and circumstances from the ones that most of us see and interpret.
According to the figures in the Baltimore Sun, 48 percent of the voters did not vote for our newly elected President. With all the help Mr. Obama had from the media from day one, with the tremendous amount of money he spent, with the poor condition of the economy, with the demonizing of Sarah Palin by Mr. Obama’s cohorts and the media, with the use of questionable and nefarious efforts by ACORN, it seems very clear that the election results suggest the Mr. Obama could barely eke out a victory.
The media jammed Mr. Obama down our throats 24/7 and now we are supposed to celebrate? It is understandable that the media wishes to celebrate its victory, but think about the other 48 percent and all those who did not vote — together a huge majority of Americans. All the celebrating and patting each other on the back will not change the fact that a bare majority placed a slick, silver-tongued orator of questionable character in the White House.
Frank Ford
Baltimore
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Not Funny
November 14, 2008I would like to express my outrage about the Nov. 7 article “Night On The Town” about the Fells Point Election Night Party for Jewish Groups and Del. Jon Cardin’s outrageous and unacceptable behavior of attempting to pin on a paper cutout of Sen. John McCain an Obama button.
There are other ways in expressing one’s personal joy in his candidate winning and not degrading a great American leader and a war hero. This shows lack of professionalism and childlike behavior. Once you are elected to a political office you are not any more a party official but a representative of the entire constituency. This action should be condemned by all reasonable people. He needs to apologize to his constituency for unprofessional behavior and the JEWISH TIMES needs to apologize for printing this article and picture.
Dr. Alfred and Barbara Katz
Baltimore
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B’nai Mazel
Kudos to Neil Rubin on his column about the bat mitzvah of his mother, Phyllis Rubin. (“Never Too Late,” Oct. 24) To quote him, “How many Shabbat dinner have I heard my mother discuss what she learned in class that week?”
Kudos to Beth Israel for its outstanding undertaking. As Mr. Rubin also wrote, “Watching Beth Israel’s experience… the question becomes how to spread the enthusiasm.” Mazel Tov to all who participated.
Sydney Miller Bass
Baltimore
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Flamms Reach Out
As a Towson University alumnus, I am surprised that your article on Jewish campus life neglected to mention the phenomenal outreach work of Efy and Penina Flamm, co-directors’ of the Jewish Collegiate Network (JCN). (“The College Issue,” Oct. 24)
Every semester the Flamms host hundreds of Towson, Goucher, Hopkins, and UMBC students in their home for lively Shabbat dinners. Additionally, Efy can usually be found around the Towson campus, learning with students one-on-one, or with a larger group at one of his Torah Cafés. He also has motivated over 100 students to participate in in-depth Jewish learning via the highly successful kollel program. Efy’s dynamic personality and affable demeanor enable him to reach out and help engage those students who otherwise would not participate in Jewish activities.
Chaim Lazarus
Baltimore
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Appalled
I am appalled at the Oct. 31 letter from Rabbi Gustav Buchdahl. (“My Home”)Oct. 31)
How can a German Jewish refugee be so blinded by what he perceives as what was once referred to as the goldene Medina? One needs to look back and see the historical parallels to understand Dr. Adler’s view, which is shared by many others. Pre-war Germany was the perfect country for the Jews. While our Russian parents and grandparents were suffering the pogroms of Czarist Russia, followed by the genocide of communism, our German ancestors were living a glorious life.
We were deeply embedded in the banking industry, political machine, and the sciences and media. Then our great German homeland suffered the disgrace and humiliation of post-World War I treaties, followed by a total economic landslide and the rise of der Fuhrer. And what was their reaction? “Oh no, not us. We are good German citizens. This is our country!”
“Our country?” Of course it was, and it remained our country through the Nurmeburg Laws, the “resettlements, the “work camps”, Kristallnacht, the stripping of every fundamental human right, all the way to the dropping of the pellets of Zyklon-B. The starving, walking corpses muttered to themselves, “How can this be? We are good Germans!” Who ever would have believed that the great German nation would spit us out, after all we had contributed to them? The only ones who believed it were the ones smart enough to get out before the hammer fell.
And now, Rabbi Buchdahl would have us believe that everything is just perfect for Jews here in America? We have nothing to fear now? This is where G-d wants us to be? Did He give the Land of Israel to us, only to change His mind later and decide that America is better? As a Rabbi, he should know that he need look no further than our own Torah to see the warning. I paraphrase, “If you assimilate yourselves with the other nations and worship their false gods, they will spit you out.” We have been ousted with vigor from every single country we have settled in since the beginning of time. Even in the story of the Exodus, we didn’t leave on our own at the end of the 10 plagues. Pharaoh had to throw us out! And still we complained that we wanted to go back once we were in the desert. The Nazis went back 10 generations to find a single drop of Jewish blood, and it they were successful, being “spit out” would have been a god-send.
I recall a story I once heard from Rabbi Shlomo Porter of Etz Chaim. I still retell this story every year at the seder. It goes like this: Two men were in a single jail cell. One of them digs a hole and eventually a tunnel in the floor, and escapes. When the jailer comes by, he sees only one prisoner remaining, and proceeds to beat him senseless. The beaten man cries out, “Why are you beating me? I am still here! I didn’t run away!” The jailer tells him, “I am beating you because you stayed! At least the other man had the sense to realize he was in jail, and wanted out. You, on the other hand, chose to stay because you think life is good here! You don’t even think you’re in prison!”
We American Jews have it so good that we have a slave mentality. Life is beautiful here, so why should we even think of leaving?! Perhaps we need a good klop to set us straight. I think we have gotten a taste of it already. We now have nearly perfect assimilation, intermarriage is at an all time high, we have gay and lesbian Rabbis, an entire faction of Jews that want circumcision eliminated because it’s a barbaric act, we have attacks from outsiders, Jews are in positions of power in the media, banking, politics, medicine, the sciences, and the stock market, the same market that is crashing now, causing millions to lose millions, and now, the same Jews who fled their old Jewish neighborhoods because a black family moved in next door, are now writing letters to the BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES lambasting anyone who doesn’t want a black person in the White House! Oh yes, my friend, we are excellent Americans.
Yes, we have a litany of freedoms and rights. So did my grandparents in Germany, before a righteous Gentile family knocked on their door in the middle of the night and told them they should leave now or face death. Don’t fool yourself into thinking it can’t happen here. Am I proud to be an American? Absolutely. Would I fight for this country? Absolutely. I am also thankful that G-d chose to have me born here rather than in a blatantly anti-Semitic country. We are not Jewish Americans. We are American Jews. I will never forget that I am a Jew first, and will never delude myself into thinking that even if I or my fellow Americans try to assimilate themselves into forgetting that fact, our hosts will never let us forget it. Pre-war Germany was only one election away from spitting us out. How far away are we?
Michael Caplan
Baltimore
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Flat Tax
Alan Blank’s Oct. 31 letter “No Tax Break” misrepresented President-elect Barack Obama’s proposal for reducing federal tax on the salaries of the working poor. Mr. Blank called the proposed tax credit “welfare,” when only people who had paid federal tax on income would receive the credit. He either is ignorant of or ignored the 7.65 percent regressive (i.e. flat) tax on the income of every salaried employee, which is withheld from all paychecks on salaries up to $90,000 per year and matched by another 7.65 percent paid by the employer on orders of the federal government. Most of that tax goes into the Social Security fund; some goes into the Medicare hospitalization fund.
People who do not work for a salary, whose money comes from passive investments, such as capital gains, stock dividends, bond interest and rental income do not pay the FICA tax.
Philip Filner
Lutherville
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Bad Vote
How is it that a people, so brilliant in academics, so superb in business and finance, be so stupid when it comes to saving themselves?
How any Jew could have thought about voting for Obama is beyond comprehension. Obama is a militant, radical, socialist leftist. He is not good for America, Israel, or the Jewish people. I’m not surprised that this liberal magazine endorses him, but your reasons really made no sense. (“A Presidential Choice,” Oct. 24)
I’m sure you believe that he sat in that church for 20 years and didn’t hear the rantings of that anti-American, ant-Israel, anti-white, anti-Semitic preacher. And of course Bill Ayers was just a guy in the neighborhood. Rest assured Obama shares the same feeling as they do.
Who else endorsed Obama? Hamas, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Iran, Syria. Plus his lone vote in the Illinois legislature that promotes infanticide — the selling of a baby born accidentally during an abortion.
The list goes on and on as to why Jews should not have voted for Obama. But my foolish, ignorant brothers don’t have the slightest idea who are their allies and enemies.
Jack Vineberg
Reisterstown
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Smart Cards
The Oct. 31 column by Aaron Meisner, “Slots: Con,” has misinformation. He wrote that gamblers tend to be poorer and less educated then the rest of us. That’s not true and it is insulting. World Poker players have to ante up $10,000 to play Texas Hold ’Em in Las Vegas. These people are very smart, as are other people who play slots. Gamblers may get addicted but it is a small percentage. People will not be leaving their kids in the parking lots. This was a scare tactic to make people vote against the slot bill, which is only a start to keep the money from going to other states, lower our taxes down and stop cutting budgets any more.
Gerald Yamin
Pikesville
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Royal Flush
Anti-slots spokesperson Scott Arceneaux claims that today’s slot machines are “specifically engineered to addict the player.” (“Machine Politics, Oct. 31) On what information does he base this? Slot machine manufacturers? Personal experience? Following this line of thinking, next on the agenda should be closing all the bars and taverns (alcoholism), restaurants (compulsive overeating) and department stores (compulsive shopping). But since I have no children in public schools, I’m perfectly content to make that lovely 75 minute drive to West Virginia whenever the urge to flush away a small fortune comes over me.
Richard Crystal
Baltimore
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Love America
Regarding the Oct. 10 Torah commentary by Rivkah Adler Lambert, “I Have What Moshe Wanted,” I echo the comments of Rabbi Gustav Buchdahl. (“My Country,” Oct. 24)
This is the country to which I fled in 1950, as a youngster that survived the Holocaust. This is the country that for 60 years has been a steadfast supporter of Israel. This is the country that was among the very first to recognize Israel in May 1948.
This is the country whose congress has poured millions and millions of dollars in its economy and defense forces. This is the country in whose army I served in proudly, the same army that liberated us from the German Army only a few years earlier. God help us if the U.S. Army had not defeated Hitler’s army as there would be no Israel today.
Dr. Adler visits Israel frequently, yet she comes back after each visit. What brings her back? The comfort of Jewish neighbors, the safety of movement around the city/county, the safe environment of her work, the comfort of buying whatever her heart desires?
I support Israel and I, too, have visited (three times). But when those big airplane wheels hit the runway back at Kennedy or BWI, not only am I happy and thankful, but very, very proud to be back in my country.
Benzion (Nick) Attias
Baltimore
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Strange Fact
November 7, 2008I have a question about something in the Oct. 24 story by Maayan Jaffe called “Battling Back,” which is about confronting anti-Israel rhetoric on college campuses. There are a series of bullets in the story, defining and giving examples of anti-Israel rhetoric. The last one says:
”...claiming the occupation of Israel is factual when the country pulled out of Gaza in 2005 and is helping to maintain order in the West Bank.”
What the heck does that mean?
Elise Saltzberg
Baltimore
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Truly Appalled
October 31, 2008In response to a letter last week from Rabbi Buchdahl (“My Home,” Oct. 24), I must say that I am appalled at the very least.
How can a man who is the child of Holocaust victims be so blinded by what he perceives as what was once referred to as “The Goldene Medina”? All one needs to do is look back and see the historical parallels to that period to understand Dr. Adler’s point of view, which is shared by many others.
Rabbi Buchdahl would have us believe that everything is just perfect for Jews here in America? As a rabbi, he should know that he need look no further than our own Torah to see the warning.
We American Jews have it so good that we have a slave mentality. Life is beautiful here, so why should we even think of leaving?!
Yes, we have a litany of freedoms and rights. So did my grandparents in Germany before a righteous Gentile family knocked on their door in the middle of the night and told them they should leave now or face death. Don’t fool yourself into thinking it can’t happen here.
Am I proud to be an American? Absolutely. Would I fight for this country? Absolutely. I am also thankful that G-d chose to have me born here rather than in a blatantly anti-Semitic country.
We are not Jewish Americans. We are American Jews. I will never forget that I am a Jew first, and will never delude myself into thinking that even if I or my fellow Americans try to assimilate themselves into forgetting that fact, our hosts will never let us forget it.
Pre-war Germany was only one election away from spitting us out. How far away are we?
Michael and Michelle Kaplan
Pikesville
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Don’t Forget The Flamms
October 31, 2008As an alumnus of Towson University, I am surprised that your article on Jewish campus life (“The College Issue,” Oct. 24) neglected to mention the phenomenal outreach work of Efy and Penina Flamm, co-directors of the Jewish Collegiate Network (JCN).
Every semester, the Flamms host hundreds of Towson, Goucher College, Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland-Baltimore County students in their home for lively Shabbat dinners.
Additionally, Efy can usually be found around the Towson campus, learning with students one-on-one, or with a larger group at one of his “Torah Cafés.” He also has motivated more than 100 students to participate in Jewish learning, via the highly successful “kollel” program.
Efy’s dynamic personality and affable demeanor enables him to reach out and help engage those students who otherwise would not participate in any other Jewish activities. The tireless work of the Flamms offers many of the unaffiliated students on our local college campuses a positive Jewish experience.
Chaim Lazarus
Baltimore
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Hopkins Shines
October 31, 2008I read with interest the Oct. 24 article “Battling Back,” about Israel on campus. It notes that “propaganda has become the accepted norm in the field of Middle Eastern Studies” and that “students are taught an a-historical, one-sided interpretation of the Arab-Israeli conflict.”
A survey a few years back investigated the top American research centers for Middle Eastern Studies. It found that the only top research centers not receiving funding from Arab foundations were Princeton and Johns Hopkins. These two universities stood out for publishing impartial research. Professor Bernard Lewis of Princeton, a Jewish native of London, has had his impartial and much-admired Middle Eastern research translated into 25 languages, but for every Albright, Rosenblatt or Lewis there are dozens of academics who make their mark by bashing Israel. Perhaps Jewish foundations should also endow chairs in Middle Eastern Studies to balance the present dominance of Arab input.
Joseph Feld
London
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On Domestic Violence
October 31, 2008CHANA thanks Meredith Jacobs for including domestic violence in the list of important issues to look at when preparing to vote in the upcoming election (“Jewish Votes,” BJT, Oct. 17).
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and CHANA celebrates our 13th anniversary (Oct. 30), and our history of meeting the needs of the Jewish community. Those needs continue to increase at an alarming rate, which reinforces what our staff knows — that being Jewish does not protect you from abuse. Statistics show that one in five women will experience relationship abuse in her lifetime. Studies in Jewish communities show similar results. Domestic violence does not discriminate. It is a problem in Maryland, in Baltimore, in our backyards.
Before entering the voting booth, please consider and review the candidates’ platforms on domestic violence.
Naomi Taffet,
Assistant Director,
CHANA: A Jewish Response To Domestic Violence
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Clearer Picture
October 31, 2008I thank the JEWISH TIMES for shedding light on the little known connective tissue disorder, Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome. Until I was diagnosed several years ago, I had undergone numerous medical tests in an effort to diagnose the cause of my unstable balance and joints. These tests would have been unnecessary if my physicians had a clearer understanding of EDS. Many thanks to Shayna Levine-Hefetz for bringing this disorder to the forefront and initiating a plan to fund research through her organization “Future.”
Dawn Schulman.
Arnold
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Good Message
October 31, 2008We commend Andrew Buerger’s Oct. 17 column “Good Returns.” It correctly points out that Israel cannot remain free and independent without a strong economy.
As poignantly noted, Israel’s brainpower is the principal resource that has allowed it and the Jewish people to survive. The country is now translating that into high-tech and biomedical products that are successful in the global marketplace, bringing profits, jobs and a strong economy to Israel.
More importantly, Israel exports worldwide the tools to help humankind, save lives and raise the standard of living for most people. In doing so, Israeli scientists and entrepreneurs enter the U.S. market in this state with the help of the Maryland/Israel Development Center’s MarketReach America program, which provides an obvious economic benefit to our state’s economy by giving the platform for compatible Israeli and Maryland companies and scientists to meet and negotiate trade, investment and joint ventures.
Gov. Martin O’Malley has recognized this and increased the state’s MIDC grant $50,000 last year and another $25,000 this year, bringing it to $175,000. (The $116,000 state grant in the article actually was $100,000.) We are grateful to have the committed leadership and vision of Gov. O’Malley and the partnership of the Associated.
Abba David Poliakoff,
Chairman
Barry Bogage,
Executive Director,
Maryland/Israel Development Center
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Fool’s Talk
October 31, 2008The Oct. 24 article “Battling Back” about pro-Israel activities on campuses includes Middle East scholar Daniel Pipes’ summary of points made by people who express anti-Israel sentiments. I agree with all but the last one mentioned, “claiming the occupation of Israel is factual.” He cites Israel’s pullout from Gaza and maintains that Israel is “helping to maintain order in the West Bank.”
Dr. Pipes, please. Even former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called Israel’s presence in the West Bank an occupation. If you want to engage in fantasy, fine. But don’t set up for failure those college students who want to speak on behalf of Israel. If they maintain that Israel’s presence in the West Bank is not an occupation they will come off like fools.
Bob Jacobson
Pikesville
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Oily Facts
October 31, 2008I am compelled to respond to Bernard Siegel’s Oct. 24 letter in which he writes: “... more than 90 percent of Alaskan oil is exported to Japan and other Far East countries.” In fact, no Alaskan oil has been exported anywhere (other than the Lower 48) since 2004, and very little has been exported since 2000. This information is regularly published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which is part of DOE. It should be noted that Gov. Sarah Palin was generally unaware of this fact when she responded to a question with similar claims to Mr. Siegel’s at a Town Hall meeting in Wisconsin earlier this month. She indicated that Congress regulates Alaskan oil exports. In fact, this has not been the case since 1996 when Congress lifted the ban on exports of crude through the Alaskan pipeline.
Daniel Neuman
Owings Mills
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Israeli View Clear
October 31, 2008Regarding recent letters, perhaps American Jewry would find edifying the results of a recent Tel Aviv University poll that reveals that Israelis prefer John McCain over Barack Obama by the extraordinary margin of 3-to-1 (75 percent to 25 percent, Toronto Star, Oct. 1. 2008).
One imagines the imminent acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran is an issue of profound concern to Israelis, though apparently much less so to American Jews, who are poised as usual to support the Democrat (any Democrat!) by a huge margin. Or, perhaps, Israelis, who face daily existential issues, are simply much better informed people than we American Jews. They are keenly aware that McCain has pledged to not allow Iran to acquire these weapons while, despite numerous invitations, Obama has made no such pledge.
Judge Jeffrey S. Gulin
Baltimore
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Right Call
October 31, 2008Thank you for endorsing Barack Obama for president of the United States. While I would have preferred reading a more whole-hearted editorial supporting his candidacy, yours was fine.
You were correct to point out that Jewish leaders in Chicago are overwhelmingly comfortable with him, and that his political record is extremely friendly toward Israel. I would add that his positions also are very much in harmony with the Jewish value that the Godly work of community leadership is to foster compassion, justice and kindness, not hatefulness, injustice or cruelty.
Rabbi Jerry Seidler
Baltimore
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No Tax Break
October 31, 2008Your Oct. 24 editorial endorsing Barack Obama, “A Presidential Choice,” had an inaccuracy. He claims to want to reduce taxes for 95 percent of Americans. However, 40 percent pay no taxes, so he wants to give them a “rebate,” which is nothing more than welfare — spreading the wealth, to use his term.
If he’s elected and gets a liberal Congress, this country will cease to be the capitalistic democracy that we have been since our inception and will become a socialistic country. Maybe that’s what you want.
Alan Blank
Baltimore
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Full Access
October 31, 2008In response to Mr. Benjamin Dubin’s accusation of Moses Montefiore’s insensitivity to the handicapped (“Insensitive,” BJT Letters, Oct. 24), we wish he would see our newly renovated building, with new handicapped accessible bathrooms, curbs and a fully accessible bimah for those with wheelchairs.
Regarding the sukkah, we place it temporarily where mobility-challenged people can access it unimpeded from our building. Putting the sukkah in our parking lot would severely restrict its use by handicapped people. Ironically, the spaces we’ve made available for the handicapped while the sukkah is standing are closer to the building.
We commend Mr. Dubin on being the conscience for those he represents, and invite him to join us for a service to experience our warmth and sensitivity firsthand.
Rabbi Elan Adler
Bob Meyerson,
President MMAE
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Surprised!
October 24, 2008I was surprised that Alfred. L. Singer extrapolated from my statement that Sen. Obama had a number of foreign policy advisors who were hostile toward Israel — specifically Zbigniew Brzezinski and Robert Malley — claiming at the same time that neither was officially linked to Mr. Obama’s campaign. (“Not The Facts,” Oct. 3)
Unfortunately I was not referring to these individuals alone but to a number of others who have made statements detrimental to the State of Israel’s security.
Sen. Obama initially recruited as his top advisor Samantha Powell until it was noted that she had made not only anti-Israel remarks but statements that verged on anti-Semitic. The same was true of a dismissed Robert Malley, again for political expediency.
On June 18, 2008, Sen. Obama issued his list of foreign policy advisors that included his top 13 and 32 others. Obviously most were not involved in Middle East policy, but those who were for the most part were anti-Israel. Susan Rice, for example, a possible choice for Secretary of State, recommended in 2004 that Jimmy Carter and James Baker be sent to Israel to impose a settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, certainly not two who would be considered to be pro-Israel.
Among the other top 13, those expressing pro-Arab and anti-Israel views are Sam Nunn, Anthony Lake and Warren Christopher. Contrary to the writer, both Brzezinski and his son are on the list of other advisors, along with Gen. Merrill McPeak, whose comments about Israel can not be mentioned in a family newspaper.
Nelson Marans
Silver Spring
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Heaven Help Us!
October 24, 2008Halloween is not even here yet, but I’m already scared. I’m scared that Sen. John McCain might win the election. I’m afraid that if he won and couldn’t serve his term, Gov. Sarah Palin could then become president of our country and run it as President Georger W. Bush has — with no interest in stem cell research to cure disease, no consideration for the future of our planet, and no real understanding of basic issues.
I used to have great respect for Sen. McCain, but in this race, his devious tactics have changed my mind completely. His whole campaign has focused not on addressing issues, but rather on changing the subject and trying to discredit Sen. Obama.
The war in Iraq has cost us the tragic loss of so many young lives as well as an unfathomable loss of money. It has also increased the Middle East’s hatred of our country and Israel. Barack Obama has intelligence and foresight. He and Senator Biden understand the importance of supporting Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. Though he opposed the war in Iraq from the start, he knows we can’t pull out abruptly. He favors attempts at some form of negotiation, and he has the strong support of European countries already.
McCain and Palin seem to make snap decisions without considering future outcomes. Would the Middle East be more likely to discuss peace with Obama or McCain (or––Heaven help us––Sarah Palin)?
Ellen Spak
Baltimore