fbpx

Your Letters

As introduction to Judaism course director and director of Reform Jewish Outreach for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), Pacific Southwest Council, our observations do not square with the views expressed in a recent Jewish Journal article (\"Opposing Intermarriage,\" March 9).
[additional-authors]
March 15, 2001

Intermarriage

As introduction to Judaism course director and director of Reform Jewish Outreach for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), Pacific Southwest Council, our observations do not square with the views expressed in a recent Jewish Journal article (“Opposing Intermarriage,” March 9). From our experience with hundreds of mixed-married couples, we have found the following to be true:

1) In introduction to Judaism classes and UAHC congregations, it is very frequently the partner who was not born Jewish who insists on a Jewish education for themselves and their children.

2) By making strong statements against intermarriage, the phenomenon will not go away. That was tried for the last hundred years without any success. Contemporary Reform Jewish outreach seeks “to take intermarriage out of the house of mourning and place it in the house of study,” as we were taught by Rabbi Alexander Schindler, z”l.

People who chose Judaism as adults now fill temple leadership positions all over the country. Many of these people were introduced to Judaism by marrying a Jewish person.

We think that it is far more productive to welcome couples who wish to explore Judaism than to shut the door before they have had an opportunity to learn. We do not want the Jewish community to be lulled into a false sense of security by assuming that Jews marrying Jews will in itself guarantee a strong sense of Jewish identity.

Rabbi Jerrold Goldstein, Associate DirectorUAHC Pacific Southwest Council

Arlene Sarah Chernow, Regional Outreach DirectorUAHC Pacific Southwest Council


Teresa Strasser

I just want to write in support of Teresa Strasser’s column. I couldn’t disagree more with Sydell Sigel’s letter (Letters, March 9). I am a 51-year-old teacher, and her column is the one that I never miss. She is witty and amusing, and I often cut out articles for my 24-year-old daughter.

Karen Berrenson, via e-mail


Very rarely are we allowed into people’s private thoughts and feelings. It is a privilege and a rare occurrence.

We should not squash or obliterate such insight. Let’s be open and allow ourselves to contemplate feelings that are somewhat universal.

I am, of course, referring to Teresa Strasser.

Pauline Bennett, Los Angeles


Presidential Pardon

Clinton did exactly what the constitutional framers mandated when they vested the pardoning power exclusively in the president (not the Justice Department, prosecutors, judges, Congress or even the public). Clinton determined that Rich and Green were discriminatorily overprosecuted. Clinton also determined that Vignali’s 15-year sentence for his first drug conviction was another example of excessive federal punishment. It was also completely proper for Clinton to factor in the good works and influential references that were submitted to him on behalf of Rich, Green and Vignali.However unpopular Clinton’s pardons may have been, they were honorable and even courageous presidential actions.

Ben Kagan, Hollywood


Special Needs

Many thanks for Michelle Wolf’s article (“What Do You Say to a Parent of a Disabled Child?,” Feb. 23) Parenting a child with special needs can be a lonely, isolating experience. While the law favors inclusion, the realities of our social and religious lives often promote exclusion. As the parent of a child with autism, I read the ads for Jewish camps and day schools in The Jewish Journal and I weep, knowing that my son may never be able to participate. Most of these programs are not equipped to provide for children with developmental delays. There is a large, ever-growing population of children with special needs in the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles. I sincerely hope that The Jewish Journal will run more articles that will promote understanding and acceptance of this unique part of our community.

Yudi Bennett, Glendale


Palestinian Unrest

I found the letter by Luis Lainer, co-chair of the Southern California Region of Americans for Peace Now, extremely dangerous and objectionable (Letters, Feb. 16).

The Arabs who fled the country of Palestine in 1948, when war broke out because the surrounding Arab countries attacked the Jews without provocation, amounted to the same number of Jews who were forced to flee Arab countries. The Arabs who fled could have taken the place of those Jews and the problem could have been solved. However, Arabs, via the Arab League, announced that they wanted the situation to be an open sore and wanted to use the Arabs who fled as a pawn against Israel.

I would also like to call attention to the fact that King Hussein of Jordan murdered 20,000 Arafat trouble-makers on Black September. Arafat and his hordes then moved to Lebanon where he made a bloody mess that resulted in Syria’s move into the country. After the Gulf War, Kuwait hurriedly expelled 300,000 Palestinians after some had acted as a fifth column for Iraq. Each time we heard no protests from the world.Can you imagine what would happen if Israel took such steps to rid themselves of Arafat and his mobs who have made everyday travel on Israeli roads a hazard?

Open your eyes and ears, Mr. Lainer. Don’t just repeat the false drivel we read in our one-sided newspaper accounts and see on CNN. Our people deserve better than that.

Sylvia Kellerman,Los Angeles


The Messenger

I was overcome with waves of nostalgia while reading Michael Aushenker’s story on the history of Jewish journalism in Los Angeles (“News Machers,” March 2). Kudos to The Journal under new editor Rob Eshman and Aushenker for being “large” enough to view themselves with perspective and in historical context.

I was hired by Joseph Jonah Cummins in 1977, one year out of journalism school. By then the volatile publisher of The Messenger was a sad parody of himself. The feisty nature that most likely served him well as a Hollywood attorney had turned to a bitter vindictiveness toward a Jewish community that he felt never fully appreciated him.

In 1981, I introduced Cummins’ widow, Laurel Cummins, who inherited the paper after Joseph died, to Rabbi Yale Butler, son of a Pittsburgh magazine publisher, who subsequently purchased the paper. In retrospect, this was the beginning of the end of The Messenger. In the 1990s, the paper, which once engendered remarkable reader loyalty, was sold again. It suffered a series of ill-conceived name changes, ownership disputes, periods of nonpublication and general lack of respect for its proud history.

The end of The Messenger is a story that should someday be told. How can a paper which came into thousands of Jewish homes every Friday for over 100 years simply disappear without a word, even in its own pages?

Ron Solomon, Executive DirectorWest Coast Friends of Bar-Ilan University


Fish Is Fish

I am in the eighth grade and attend L.A. Hebrew High School. I am writing to express my opinion in response to Jane Ulman’s article (“Piscatorial Compassion,” Feb. 23).The article struck me because I keep kosher and like fishing. My opinion is that fish is fish and should not be considered meat.

Even if fish is parve and different from meat, I agree with the author that we still have to think about whether we should go fishing. According to the Torah, G-d says we may kill an animal for food, so it would be okay to fish for food. I think catching and releasing fish is fine because your intention is not to kill the fish. I don’t think it is good to catch a fish and mount it on the wall because G-d says you may only kill an animal for food.

Jared Nager, Calabasas


Cover Complaint

I appreciate The Journal’s eagerness to deliver complimentary copies of the newspaper to my congregation on a weekly basis. However, a front-page photo of an immodestly portrayed Queen Esther had no yiddishe ta’am (March 2). At a time when we endeavor to shield our children from inappropriate billboard graphics, The Journal’s decision to send this shmutz into our sanctuary was extremely ill-suited.

Rabbi Yitzchak Sapochkinsky, Chabad of Westlake Village


Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Print Issue: Got College? | Mar 29, 2024

With the alarming rise in antisemitism across many college campuses, choosing where to apply has become more complicated for Jewish high school seniors. Some are even looking at Israel.

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.