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Letters 02/16 – 02/22 2001

It was wonderful to see an article written about my son, but I was pained when it failed to mention he had a father (\"Zachary\'s Legacy,\" Feb. 9). Zachary was not raised by his mother alone.
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February 15, 2001

For Zachary

It was wonderful to see an article written about my son, but I was pained when it failed to mention he had a father (“Zachary’s Legacy,” Feb. 9). Zachary was not raised by his mother alone. I was in the delivery room when he was born and was there every day afterward during the good and bad times.

Lily and I separated in January 1999, and I moved out of the house. However, I was there every night and weekend taking care of my son with Lily. While sitting shiva, Rabbi Mentz spoke to us about the book of Judaica, and Lily and I discussed honoring our son’s memory with this book.

We are going through a divorce now, but I think it is important and only fair to Zachary’s memory to remember his father, too. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about Zachary and how much I miss him. Lily and I went through an ordeal that no two people should have to go through with a child.

Zachary was truly a blessing in my life. I learned so much from him, even though he couldn’t speak, walk or play. I’m such a better person because of him, and he touched so many lives. He was put on this earth for a reason — to change people for the better. He fulfilled his duty a hundred times over.

Mark L. Kaufman, Sherman Oaks


Sharing Blame

There is more than a bit of irony in Jonathan Kellerman’s recent opinion piece (“Grand Denial,” Jan. 26). While painting a picture wherein “ideologues” on the Israeli left have simply ignored the abuses of the Palestinians in the false belief that peace was coming, Kellerman denies a significant part of the reality by not mentioning it.

Yes, the Palestinians have committed serious violations and have tragically damaged the cause of peace. But what about the reality of the expansion of Jewish settlements over the past seven years, as well as the network of “Jewish-only” roads and tunnels that dissect the territories? If there is to be a “demonstration of good will on both sides and predicated upon strict adherence to clearly enunciated criteria” — as the writer suggested — none of us should be in denial about Israel’s contributions to the current situation.

Luis Lainer, Co-Chair, Southern California Region Americans for Peace Now


Kosher Dodger Dogs

There’s about as much a chance of getting kosher hot dogs into Dodger Stadium as there is Ariel Sharon winning the Nobel Peace Prize (“Hot Dog Blues,” Feb. 9). The folks at Farmer John have a virtual lock on the concession which, despite the fact they do not offer a comparable product, the Dodger front office is unwilling to challenge. It’s a shame that Hebrew National won’t be joining the ranks of King Taco, Yoshinoya and Pizza Hut anytime soon, but hats off to those who are leading the effort for culinary inclusion. In the meantime, I, too, can only dream about the day when I can share the hot-dog-at-the-ballgame experience with my kids.

Paul L. Abrams, Encino


L’Chayim Radio’

How disappointing that KCSN doesn’t feel able to continue its Jewish program (“‘L’Chayim Radio’ Silenced,” Feb. 9), just when KGIL pushed its commercial Jewish program, “Israel Today,” back to 8 a.m. Sundays so as not to compete with it.

What a betrayal of the legacy of Frieda B. Hennock, the first female FCC commissioner, whose advocacy led to the setting aside of 20 percent of the FM band for educational use and the reservation of an educational television channel in each major city. Her whole idea was to create places for such “narrowly focused” programming.

Ironically, a later commission rejected an application by the University of Judaism (UJ) for 90.7 FM, the frequency it chose to award to the Pacifica Foundation of Berkeley. Maybe they thought the UJ’s programming might be too “narrowly focused.”

Thomas D. Bratter, Los Angeles


Tay-Sachs Testing

I was pleased to see your Tay-Sachs article (“A Decrease in Vigilance,” Jan. 26). It is imperative that the Jewish community be made strongly aware of the need for genetic testing.

Our first child was born in May 1947, and he had developmental problems within 6 months of birth. We were told that our son was the first Tay-Sachs child diagnosed in Los Angeles. He survived for 2 1/2 years, almost totally helpless and blind.

In the 1960s, we became acquainted with other Tay-Sachs parents and organized the Tay-Sachs Research Associates of the City of Hope. We met regularly for several years and had fundraising events. But these meetings brought back all the trauma, making it even harder to deal with emotionally.

During the early phases of developing the Tay-Sachs testing at UCLA, my wife, a known carrier, was used as a control. Many of our nieces and nephews volunteered to be tested.

Please continue with this work. The possibility of preventing even one more couple from suffering the trauma and anguish of having a Tay-Sachs child will be well worth the effort.

Max Lipshultz, Encino


Jewish-Arab Conflict

I think that Leonard Fein’s article reveals such woeful ignorance of the history of the Jewish-Arab conflict that it misrepresents both “our narrative” and theirs (“Listening,” Dec. 1).

Jews have lived in Hebron with only sporadic interruptions for thousands of years, drawn because it is one of the four holy cities of Judaism. The modern Jewish settlement of Hebron dates back to 1540, when exiles from Spain came to live near the Cave of the Patriarchs, the second holiest site for Jews. On the eve of World War I, 2,000 Jews lived in Hebron beside 5,000 Arabs.

The Jews lived on good terms with their Arab neighbors. So high was the Jewish level of trust in the local Arabs, with whom they had lived side by side for generations, that when the Arab riots of 1929 broke out all over Palestine and the Haganah appeared in Hebron to defend the Jewish population, the Jewish leaders sent them away.

The very next day, the Arabs rose up against their Jewish neighbors and killed 67 of them. And the only difference between the barbarity of the Hebron pogrom of 1929 and the Ramallah lynching of 2000 was that the latter was recorded on video.

Since Fein blames the Arab violence and barbarism on our humiliating them, how does he explain the Hebron riots, which repeated themselves all over Palestine from 1920 until the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, a period when the British ruled and the Jews had no power whatsoever to humiliate anyone?

Before Fein and those who hold similar beliefs again put Jewish lives at the mercy of our Arab neighbors by endorsing an armed Palestinian state within range of every Jewish town, you would do well to study recent history.

Sara Rigler, Jerusalem


I have a dream that Israeli children and adults can and will be able to walk and be passengers in autos and buses in perfect safety from Arab violence all over Israel, which includes the various settlements. After returning from an intensive six-week visit to the Holy Land, I have come to some conclusions based on firsthand experiences.

The Oslo Accords are a dismal failure. I found that the only real peace solution between Arabs and Jews is the permanent separation of the two honorable peoples. For the 22 Arab nations, it would not be a great task to take in their Arab brothers and sisters now living in Israel.

Real borders can then be established and peace between the nations can be based on peace for peace. The United States and the rest of the world must come to realize that this is the only permanent solution possible under the circumstances.

The best way to support Israel is to come to visit as much as possible, and by our show of strength we encourage our brethren in Israel. I was privileged to be everywhere by foot and public transportation without any fear of any danger.

Bernard Nichols, Los Angeles

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