Rebbetzin Feinstein’s Picture Inspired Me
Thank you for publishing the picture of Rebbetzin Feinstein (aleha hashalom) in an ad for an upcoming yeshiva dinner. My response to seeing this picture was one of happy surprise since I had seen the very same ad in other publications without it.
It’s special to see a chashuva woman looking dignified, beautiful, and put-together within the realm of tznius. Rebbetzin Feinstein’s sheitel was beautiful and flattering, but her neckline impressed me most. Stylish and classy, yet completely tznius.
The effect it had on me became evident the next day when I put on a shell. I looked at myself in the mirror and said, “Nope, this is not good,” and actually changed to a shell with a higher-cut neckline.
I had seen how regal tznius could look. I actually had felt cheated that I had not had the opportunity to see role models like Rebbetzin Feinstein in my local paper.
Thank you again.
HRL
Have They No Business Sense?
It’s not hard to see why most politicians are not in business: Generating revenue for the MTA and LIRR with congestion pricing makes as much sense as starting a new business to support a failing one. If the MTA and LIRR can’t make ends meet with the money they take in, the first order of business should be figuring out how to make them profitable.
If they’re being mismanaged – which they obviously are – throwing additional funds at them is like tossing money into a bottomless pit.
Josh Greenberger
Just Meet Her
I oppose sending pictures of oneself to get a shidduch. I believe singles should meet through blind dates the old-fashioned way. It’s unfortunate that the new generation insists on seeing pictures.
Raquel Bujo
Ilhan Omar Must Go
It’s intolerable that the long-time loyal Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot Engel, has to put up with newly-elected Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from Minnesota on his committee.
How outrageous that a woman who says supporters of Israel are guilty of “dual loyalty” and accuses Israel of “hypnotizing the world” sits on a prestigious committee, having demonstrated no skills that would qualify her for that seat.
Omar continues to openly proclaim her support for Islam and terrorist organizations, and is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for Islamic Relief, USA, which has documented ties to terrorist organizations. Roseanne Barr is right: “It’s scary that we have Hamas in our Congress.”
In addition to Omar, we also have Rashida Tlaib, who came to office declaring that she would impeach Trump and “corrected” the map in her office, replacing Israel with Palestine. She also joins Omar in denouncing those in Congress who “have allegiance to a foreign country” – meaning, Israel. Is there any doubt about who is guilty of dual loyalty?
Helen Freedman
Co-Executive Director, AFSI
No, Civilians Are Not Fair Game
I had hoped that Joshua Bernstein would ponder my response to his endorsement of the targeted killing of innocent civilians and modify his stance. Instead, in a letter last week, Bernstein doubled down. By doing so, he has adopted the position of such groups as Hamas and ISIS, who also see civilians as fair game.
To the specifics of Bernstein’s follow-up: I argued that even if, as he noted, biblical figures did kill innocent civilians, that was “almost beside the point” given our society’s rejection of such killings as thoroughly immoral.
Bernstein asks how I could value the Geneva Convention over the Bible. But he misunderstood my point. Believing Jews value the Torah above all else. Yet, we may not mimic any and all actions taken by biblical figures. Society’s norms must come into play, and modern society, of which Jews are a part, deems the intentional killing of bystanders to be a crime against humanity.
The impetus for the Fourth Geneva Convention was the Holocaust. Does Bernstein wish to turn the clock back? And if he does, isn’t a Pandora’s box opened? If Jews can kill wantonly, how can we deplore other groups for doing the same?
Bernstein continues by declaring that the deaths of Palestinian Arabs are not tragic because they wish to murder Jews. It is precisely this sort of blanket statement that – with the word “Jew” inserted in place of “Arab” – has led to the deaths of countless numbers of our brothers and sisters.
I find it serendipitous that Bernstein’s views are being aired just as Benjamin Netanyahu has convinced the extreme anti-Arab Otzma Yehudit party to partner with HaBayit HaYehudi. Netanyahu evidently believes such a deal will secure him another term, but the moral cost of absorbing a racist party is one that should not be borne.
Avi Goldstein
Far Rockaway, NY
Ditching Democrats?
Last week, letter-writer Rabbi Dr. Rosenberg proposed that Jews leave the Democratic party because of growing anti-Semitism within its ranks.
A 2018 Pew Research Center study, however, found that only 25 percent of Democrats have greater sympathy for Palestinians than Israelis (27 percent have greater sympathy for Israelis and 48 percent are impartial). It would be a tragedy to reject the 75 percent and dismiss a vital opportunity to educate the misguided – many of whom likely are well-intentioned.
If we truly wish to solve the Middle East conflict and combat anti-Semitism, it is counterproductive to advocate partisan warfare. As Senator Kamala Harris, a Democratic presidential candidate, said, “Israel should never be a partisan issue.”
Alan Weintraub