Clash Of Emotions (I)
Naomi Klass Mauer’s “Clash of Emotions” (op-ed, May 19) was beautifully written and I appreciate the feelings she described.
Her point about the ridiculous and insulting claim that we are an apartheid state (I live in Israel) was well stated.
Regarding the mixed emotions she feels when Jews and Arabs climb the same podium, whether it be at a nursing school graduation or an Independence Day celebration, I think she should reflect on the nature of inner conflict she feels when she sees Jews and Arabs joining hands in a peaceful, pro-Israel act.
I respectfully suggest that she rethink her statement about how she “hate[s] those Arabs who can so wantonly inflict such carnage and suffering.” A subtler, perhaps more difficult thought would be “I hate my enemies who seek to destroy the state of Israel or my Jewish brethren in Israel and abroad.”
Yes, as a nation the Arabs have not endeared themselves to us, but would we make the same unequivocal statement of antipathy about all Swedes because so many of them – and their government – are very outspoken against Israel, or would their blond hair and blue eyes throw us off?
The point I am making is that in specific circumstances Mrs. Mauer might want to judge individual Arabs by their actions rather than their association by birth with a nation whose “official” doctrine is the destruction of Israel and Jews..
R.J. Schwartz
(Via E-Mail)
Clash Of Emotions (II)
I have tears in my eyes after finishing Naomi Klass Mauer’s “Clash of Emotions.” What can I say? Her clash of emotions is exactly what all of us have experienced so often.
But it’s just not the same unless you’re here, experiencing it with the rest of Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael.
That’s why Mrs. Mauer described it so perfectly – because she was here, experiencing it first hand.
Diaspora Jews can’t really understand this and are easily swayed by the leftists, the liberals, and the anti-Semites disguised as “freedom fighters.”
But Mrs. Mauer felt it and was able to express it all. Yes, a clash of emotions – and what great emotions!
Barbara Gilor
(Via E-Mail)
Clash Of Emotions (III)
Naomi Klass Mauer’s clash of emotions came through perfectly and the examples were filled with sorrow and yet love. Who wouldn’t be conflicted in such circumstances?
Despite her mixed feelings, Mrs. Mauer ended on such an uplifting note. I wish I had her optimism.
I hope she writes more on this subject – of the welcoming attitude toward Arabs on the part of Israeli Jews while, sadly, Jews are not at all welcomed by Arabs.
Please, Mrs. Mauer, write more about the emotions you felt while witnessing examples of Arabs and Israelis coexisting peacefully and about the fears you have as someone whose grandchildren serve in the IDF. Write about the fragrances of hope mixed with the stench of explosives. You can do it.
Lois Greene Stone
(Via E-Mail)
Protecting Our Heritage
I was enraged to read that Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, the oldest Orthodox shul in New York, was burned down in an arson fire (news story, May 19).
As the shul was vacant for many years in a rough neighborhood, and had earlier been victimized by fires and break-ins, why wasn’t the shul protected? There are many wealthy Jews and Jewish organizations who could have funded security.
Over a decade ago, I davened on Shabbat in a shul near Marble Arch in central London, where Jonathan Sacks, then chief rabbi of Britain, attended. The shul had been damaged during the Blitz, when the Nazis in 1940-41 bombed and killed tens of thousands of Londoners, but was repaired. Throughout Europe, people know they have a responsibility to preserve history for posterity, not discard it.
This month, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on the theft of thousands of Jewish antiquities each year and the deliberate destruction of archaeological sites by Palestinians in the West Bank. Only a lone inspector supervises the thousands of sites there. Moreover, over the years the Waqf, the Muslim authority in command of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, has bulldozed and trashed a huge number of ancient relics buried in the Temple Mount. Why is the Israeli government standing by as Jewish history is erased?
We Jews must not allow our heritage to be destroyed by vandals and anti-Semites – and make this a top priority.
Jacob Mendlovic
Toronto, Canada
Sinatra’s Love Of Jews And Israel
Re “Sinatra, Jews, and Israel” (front page essay, May 12):
Another wonderful piece by Saul Jay Singer. Thank you.
I knew Frank Sinatra was a great humanitarian but was unaware of his extensive love and support of Israel and Jews.
I was fascinated to read about how Sinatra as a child was affected by “the kindness of an elderly Jewish neighbor, Mrs. Golden, who occasionally cared for him during his lonely boyhood. She spoke to him only in Yiddish…and she gave him the gift of a small mezuzah, which he wore around his neck for most of his life.”
It made me realize the vital importance of our early childhood interactions and influences, as they shape our character and concomitant beliefs and future endeavors.
And it reaffirms what a Muslim friend told me about his early life in Jordan – his education through college and working in the Jordanian government diplomatic service. In effect (my interpretation), he was brainwashed to hate Jews and Israel. Fortunately, he was able to overcome it.
George Epstein
Los Angeles, CA