Your Letters

L.A. Housing Crisis

Thank you for printing the “Q&A With David Grunwald,”(Dec. 5) about the housing crisis in Los Angeles. The current housing crisisdemands a multiplicity of responses, including advocacy, grants, loans andservices. Our city desperately needs individuals and organizations such as Grunwaldand L.A. Family Housing, who are on the front lines of the battlefield everyday providing critical services to thousands of homeless and low-income Angelenos.The article implies that while his endeavor is not seen as “Jewish” per se, hiswork has a profound impact on all of us.

As members of the Shefa Fund’s Los Angeles Tzedec AdvisoryCommittee, we welcome Grunwald’s “agitation” and “frustration,” along with hispassion and expertise in our shared endeavor. Tzedec, Shefa’s lending program,provides a venue for Jews and Jewish institutions in cities across the countryto respond to the tremendous need for more affordable housing and communityservices.

The loans that we are currently raising from our localJewish community will be used for home ownership, affordable housingdevelopment and job creation in Los Angeles’ low-income communities. Tzedec isa way for Jews to move from NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) to WASTSBY (We All ShareThe Same Backyard).

Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, Chair Los Angeles Tzedec AdvisoryCommittee The Shefa Fund

Apologize to Seidler-Feller

Now that Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller has agreed to anofficial recommendation that he participate in an anger management program andwrite a letter of apology to his alleged victim, our community must demandsimilar forms of teshuvah (repentance) from other sources.

Rachel Neuwirth and her supporters owe Seidler-Feller andthe entire Jewish community an apology for their repeated, incendiaryreferences to Seidler-Feller as a “kapo” (a Jew who collaborated with Nazis inexterminating other Jews). Neuwirth’s own “worse than a kapo” epithetreportedly instigated this unfortunate incident.

 During the last two months, this same reprehensible labelhas been attached to Seidler-Feller (whose grandparents perished in the Holocaust)by Neuwirth’s supporters on various inflammatory Web sites and anonymousanswering machine messages. Finally, apologies must also be demanded from thosewho have cynically used this incident as a pretext for castigating Seidler-Fellerbecause of their ideological disagreement with his avowed and principled”pro-Israel/pro-peace” stance. 

It’s time to put this sorry episode behind us and to demandcivility — in word and deed — from all sectors of our community.

Douglas Mirell, Executive Committee Chair

Daniel Sokatch, Executive Director

Aryeh Cohen, President Progressive Jewish Alliance, Los Angeles

Love the Do!

Jewfro is a fabulous column (“Hair Club for Jews,” Dec. 19)!I always enjoy reading Carin Davis’ humorous and insightful words and usuallywind up nodding in agreement. Kudos, kudos, kudos.

Judy Wolfberg, via e-mail

Armenian Tragedy

I was eager to read your paper’s coverage of the Istanbulbombings as I hoped your article would give some insights into the currentsituation. As an Armenian living in the Diaspora, I have close ties with peopleliving in Istanbul and was concerned about their welfare, the state and psycheof its citizenry, as well as the overall geopolitical shifts happening in thenear/middle east.  After reading Engin Ansay’s [Turkish consul general in Los Angeles] opinion article, I was disturbed by his blanket statement, “Forcenturies, Turkey has enjoyed a richness of diverse cultures and religionsliving side by side, a testimony of peaceful coexistence and tolerance.”(“Attacks Bolster Turks’ Will To Fight Evil,” Nov. 21). Not wanting toovershadow the tragedies that have inflicted Istanbul, this statement isproblematic, especially to the Armenians, Kurds, Assyrians, Greeks and Alleviswho have suffered unjust and inhumane treatment presently and in the past 100years.

Perhaps The Jewish Journal can educate readers by running anarticle on Turkey’s current track record on human rights and the complexpolitics of denial of the Armenian/Greek genocides, and how the Israeligovernment has given in to pressure from the Turkish government to be complicitin the denial the Armenian genocide.

Gabriel Azizian, Los Angeles

Two Roads One Path

I read with interest your Dec. 19 cover story on interfaithmarriage, “Married to It?” Julie Gruenbaum Fax covered the issue in a verybalanced way, culling information across denominational lines. Although shewrote that “outreach-oriented groups are more likely than in the past to acceptnon-Jewish partners who want to learn about Judaism,” unfortunately, a goodlocal resource for interfaith couples was overlooked.

Two Roads One Path (www.tworoadsonepath.com), supported bythe Los Angeles Jewish Community Foundation, reaches out to such couples in apositive and nonjudgmental fashion. We have counseled couples from all over the United States, particularly in child-rearing issues. These individuals accessour welcoming Web site and respond through our online chat service. We justwant to make the Jewish community aware of its existence.

Rabbi Aaron Parry, Director Two Roads One Path  EducationDirector Jews for Judaism

Reality of Right

In “Republican Redux: Jews Going Right?” (Dec. 12) James Besseradvances a couple of misconceptions about Jews and the GOP.

First, he attributes the potential shift of the Jewish voteto the GOP as confined only to the top Jewish leadership strata and, even then,only swathed in support for Bush’s pro-Israel positions.

The reality is that the Bush administration’s unparalleledsupport for the Jewish state may be pulling some top Jewish donors and voters –as it should. But Jewish support for the Republican Party has been a growing,grass-roots affair, and it has emerged from every economic echelon and for avariety of reasons.

But the biggest myth perpetrated by Besser is that Bush’s”aggressively conservative domestic policies” may be “hardening” the liberalfury of some Jews. The question that needs to be asked is: Which aggressivelyconservative domestic policies?

There are numerous recent examples of the president’smoderate domestic policy positions. The president co-sponsored the educationbill with [Massachusetts] Sen. Ted Kennedy and recently signed a comprehensivenew Medicare bill that enacts the largest transformation in Medicare since itscreation in 1965. The historically liberal AARP, the nation’s most influentialretiree lobby with more than 35 million members, called the passing of the billa “historic day for seniors.”

Of course, polls guarantee nothing for the Republican Party,but these trends are not “perceived,” they are concrete indicators that a shiftamong Jews is taking place.

Matthew Brooks, Executive Director Republican JewishCoalition

Beautiful Melodies

In November, you had a review of the CD, “Abayudaya, Music Fromthe Jewish People of Uganda” (“An Afro Judeo Beat” Nov. 14). The staff reviewersaid, “But the harmonies remained African, and this collection celebrates themelding of the songs and prayers you know with music you can only dream about.Give it to a cantor today.”

This music is so beautiful, I think that it should not bereserved for cantors. It’s like “Lion King” meets Jewish prayers. One of thesongs has a musical sound in the background, and the liner notes tell you thatis crickets in the background as the sun sets on the village. The liner notesare extensive, and describe this community’s conversion to Judaism and theirstruggles to maintain their Judaism despite Christian and Muslim attempts toconvert them. When I read that all royalties are sent to the Abayudancommunity, I decided to give this as a gift to my friends as their Chanukahgift. I am sure this CD would be appreciated by many, many people.

Judy Lederich-Mayer, via-e-mail

Painting Through Pain

With regards to Leora Alhadeff’s “Painting Through the Pain”(Dec. 26) article: Orville Wright Middle School is located in Westchester, amiddle-upper class suburb in Los Angeles.  Although many students from nearbyunderprivileged areas attend, it is incorrect to refer to this ocean-proximateschool as “inner-city.”

Sonya Neweissman, Former Westchester resident OrvilleWright Junior High School alum  Culver City

Pointing Fingers

It is so refreshing to hear another point of view about theIsraeli/Palestinian conflict (“Who’s To Blame for Palestinian Despair?” Dec.26). I sometimes wonder if our nascent Jewish guilt makes some of us believethat Israel is responsible for this crisis. We consider ourselves acompassionate people, wanting justice for the Palestinians even to the pointthat we often forget how this whole problem began. I only hope and pray thatour Arab cousins will one day see the light for they have so muchmore to gain by peaceful coexistence than by animosity.

Gila Shabanow, Oceanside