Forgotten Victim (I)
Stephen Flatow’s “Remembering a Forgotten Victim of Palestinian Terror” (op-ed, Dec. 1) was an excellent reminder that we should always think of those whose names are not mentioned – the survivors. Their road and that of their families is a difficult one. The emotional trauma is incalculable. I do not know why names of the injured are not mentioned. Perhaps they and their families prefer to maintain their privacy.
Nevertheless, there are several organizations that reach out and help these families. Among them are Ohr Meir U’Bracha, which can be reached at 718-705-7444; NAVAH ([email protected]); and All 4 Israel in Staten Island (877-812-7162).
These are just three organizations I am aware of. There are probably many more. By giving generously to them we let the injured know they are not forgotten. Thank you, Stephen Flatow, for reminding us.
Roberta Redfern
Silver Spring, MD
Forgotten Victim (II)
In yet another of his mind-shaking columns, Stephen Flatow write of a young female victim of a terrorist bus bombing in 2011 who recently died of her injuries after spending six and a half years in a coma. (One other person had been killed in the attack and 68 others were wounded.)
The response to this act of terrorism from J Street and a few other organizations of its ilk was that an independent Palestinian state needs to be created. (Presumably, the terrorists would then no longer attack innocent people.)
The terrorist who committed that particular outrage was educated in Palestinian Authority (PA) schools his whole life, according to Flatow. “Evidently something he learned there helped persuade him that it would be right and proper to inflict as much pain as possible on any Jew who walked by.”
Flatow adds, “That’s what passes for morality in the PA’s educational system.”
(Years ago, a poker friend, a Muslim who was born and educated in Jordan, told me that he and his schoolmates were taught to hate Jews, and that all the land on which Israel sits belongs to the Arabs.)
As for J Street, I totally disagree with the presumed solution it (along too many others) has proposed; namely, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be resolved if Israel were to concede to the PA’s demands. The facts and experience over the years readily demonstrate the ridiculousness of this notion.
Children’s minds and concomitant future behavior are formed in their early years. When the PA stops teaching its young people to hate, and stops treating terrorists as heroes, it may become possible for Israel and the Palestinians to form a peace treaty. Certainly, young people are not born haters; they have to learn that from the adults around them.
George Epstein
Los Angeles, CA
Tzitzis In Or Out?
Elliot Resnick, in “Tzitzis: In or Out?” (op-ed, Nov. 24) opines that tzitzis should be concealed (although he acknowledges that “minhagim are precious and shouldn’t be taken lightly”). He bases his statement upon opinions expressed by Lithuanian rabbis.
He failed to quote the opinion of the Mishnah Berurah, the author of which was probably the most revered Lithuanian posek of his day. In Mishnah Berurah Orech Chaim, the Chofetz Chaim rebukes those who hide their tzitzis underneath their pants. He quotes the Magen Avraham that although the tallis katan is worn underneath the outer clothing, the tzitzis should be displayed outside.
The Chofetz Chaim continues that a person should be proud to display them no less than a person would be proud to display an adornment of royalty.
We should be proud of a mitzvah and keep it on display. Tzitzis should be out –not in.
Rabbi Pinchas A. Weberman
Miami Beach, FL
Editor’s Note: The writer is rav of Ohev Shalom Congregation and president of the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of South Florida.
Jabotinsky’s Importance
In his Dec. 1 front-page essay “The Centenary of Allenby’s Entering Jerusalem,” Saul Jay Singer quotes from Lone Wolf, Shmuel Katz’s two-volume biography of Vladimir (Ze’ev) Jabotinsky.
Jabotinsky was one of the great men of modern history and one of the greatest figures in Jewish history. He was, together with Joseph Trumpeldor, a founder of the Jewish Legion. He also founded Betar and created the ethical code of Betar which included pride and honesty. He called upon Jews to leave Eastern Europe because “a fire is burning.” He was a significant translator and writer.
But his finest hour was his attempt to create a Jewish fighting force to fight on behalf of the allies during World War Two. He hoped to create a “fully mechanized Jewish army.” You can read about this and so much more in Katz’s magisterial biography.
Reuven Solomon
Forest Hills, NY