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Jewish Journal

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Commentary

Beware This Bill

Douglas Mirell November 1, 2001

As one who supported the confirmation of John Ashcroft as attorney general, Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) is certainly no radical. But last week, Feingold, chair of the Constitution subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, cast the lone Senate vote against final approval of the so-called \”USA PATRIOT\” (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act.

The Global Minute

Rob Eshman October 25, 2001

Suddenly, we find that an alternate universe shadows our world. Its inhabitants see our culture as their poison, our politics as their oppression, our freedom as their threat — The question is how we could have been so blind. Only now is most of America learning about fundamentalist Islam. Just one year ago, when then-candidate George W. Bush didn\’t know the name of President George W. Bush\’s best friend, the president of Pakistan, the public\’s response was, \”So what?\” So, this: Our blissful ignorance turned out to be deadly.

The Anti-Semitic Blame Game

Ruth Stroud October 25, 2001

Is anti-Semitism on the rise since Sept. 11? Answers vary, depending on whom you ask.

\”We haven\’t seen a resurgence of anti-Semitism since the Sept. 11 attacks,\” observed Amy Levy, a spokeswoman for the Anti-Defamation League\’s Pacific Southwest Region, which encompasses most of Southern California. Others, such as Rabbi Meyer May, executive director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance, have reported increased verbal assaults.

The Reason We Should Talk

Nazir Khaja October 25, 2001

Though a terrorist attack may demolish tall buildings, it will never succeed in leveling the spirits or the values that America represents.

This country will most certainly keep moving forward. Justice will prevail and healing will take place. Americans — black, white, Chicanos, Orientals, Christians, Jews, Muslims — must speak with one voice that we are 100 percent behind our government in finding and punishing those responsible for this heinous act. The terrorists attack is indeed against the values that America symbolizes (i.e. our freedom and the hope that America offers to those who come to its shores). Our prayers and tears are for those heroic and innocent people and their families who were casualties of this crime.

Why I’m Leaving the Dialogue

Rabbi John L. Rosove October 25, 2001

I believe in dialogue. That is why I have participated in the Muslim-Jewish Dialogue of Los Angeles for close to two years. I entered the dialogue because I know that ignorance of each other\’s faiths, legal traditions, histories, cultural and psychological perceptions can lead to destructive stereotyping and mistrust. Through honest discussions, we Jews and our Muslim partners can understand each other better, which is the central purpose of the dialogue, namely fostering mutual respect while exploring and accepting our differences.

A Place to Call Home

Orit Arfa October 25, 2001

On his first day of work in 1985 as executive director of the Hillel Foundation at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Rabbi Stephen Cohen received a telling welcome.

Cohen, a former New Yorker, stepped off the plane and took a cab straight to the University Religion Center (URC), where the offices of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life are housed. A social worker, prompted by the rabbi\’s forlorn and scruffy look, invited him to take part in that day\’s breakfast program for the homeless.

Cohen, 28 at the time, laughed and explained his position.

17 Years Ago: Assassination

Rob Eshman October 18, 2001

I don\’t know that the assassination of Rechavam Ze\’evi changes the entire Middle East equation, as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced Tuesday. England\’s Prime Minister Tony Blair called for a measured response, which struck many Israelis as laughable, considering the massive military force Britain and the United States have arrayed against the Taliban. It may be unfair that Israel must be constrained while America can pummel Afghanistan at will, but so it goes. There is so far no indication that President George W. Bush or our allies are going to let the Israeli minister\’s murder change their vision of how the war on terror should be waged, or how the post-war world should ultimately look.

Homeland Defense

Rob Eshman October 11, 2001

President George W. Bush warned us this was going to be a long, drawn out war, fought on many fronts. One of the most active fronts, it turns out, is our imaginations.

Israel’s Tightrope

Rob Eshman October 4, 2001

If you want to understand Israel\’s role in America\’s new war on terror, think back to a time when the World Trade Center was still standing. In 1974, the French aerialist Philippe Petit walked on a tightrope suspended between the twin towers. Israel is now Philippe Petit.

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