Letters to the Editor: “Inglourious Basterds,” UC Irvine, Purim Cover, Dennis Prager

Revenge Fantasy

Re: “Ultimate Revenge: Jews Get the Last Word as Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds’  Rewrites History” (March 5): A great article about a great film. I saw it the moment it came out, I bought the DVD the moment it came out, and, frankly, I’ve already seen the film way too many times. I have become captivated by it, and I am glad that you have chosen to do such an in-depth piece on it—especially with Academy voting at its close. I would like “Inglourious Basterds” to win the award for best picture, among other things, because I think it is absolutely ingenious and inspired filmmaking. Indeed, as its Oscar campaign boasts, “It’s the movie that reminds me why I love movies.” For the price of a mere movie ticket, I can now feel what till now I could only imagine (or is it wish)? It’s the best (and, ironically, the most worthwhile) 2 1/2 hours I’ve spent in a theater in a long time.

Joel R. Maliniak
Via e-mail

I identified with the theme of Danielle Berrin’s “Ultimate Revenge” (March 5). In particular, I have always fantasized about extracting revenge for the murder of my grandfather at the hands of the Nazis.

My grandfather was an American officer during the invasion of Normandy. Once, on the battlefield, he was requested to accept the surrender of a German [who] was waving the white flag. It was a false surrender and my grandfather was shot in the face and killed. Needless to say, my grandfather’s unit no longer accepted surrenders of any kind, and Nazis who they came across were summarily executed.

Last year, I took my video camera with me to Normandy for the D-Day commemorations. I was surprised to see the German cemetery full of visitors. I drove in to find German war veterans and their families laying wreaths at the graves of the Nazi fallen. As I approached one of the German veterans, he took off his glasses as I videotaped him, as if saying, look into my eyes, I am not a monster. I spoke with him and told him what had befallen my grandfather. He did not seem surprised at all and he even had the nerve to shrug his shoulders and dismiss me. As you can imagine, my blood was boiling inside, but the war is over, and to attack this man would have been a crime.

Watching the film “Inglourious Basterds,” I must admit relishing the image of the degraded Nazi—after all, they killed my grandfather and altered the course of our family destiny. I think a little virtual vengeance is in order.

Abraham Raphael
Agoura Hills

Jews as Anti-Semites?

I wish to compliment Tom Tugend on his recent piece in The Jewish Journal, “Realism or Anti-Semitism?” (Jan. 29). In my experience, I have found that the most virulent of anti-Semites can be found among us Jews. That is certainly true in academia. Take, for example, the writings of Noam Chomsky, or the pro-Palestinian sentiment of a myriad of Jewish professors at Columbia University, if not the university itself. Or how about the fact that the local teachers union, UTLA (of which I am a member) was set to sponsor Palestinian activists to rail against Israel in a public rally until Jewish teachers rose up against Jewish UTLA president A.J. Duffy and his decision to allow it to go on?

Speaking of Israel, and with the above comments in mind, since I believe that the line between being anti-Israel and being anti-Semitic (the first a bad attempt at disguising the second) is very pronounced and not blurred at all, it should come as no surprise that in an industry begun and maintained largely by Jews, anti-Semitism in its product becomes a no-brainer. How else would it be possible for the PLO in the film “Munich” to be portrayed as regular people with regular emotions? Again, kudos to Mr. Tugend.

Marc Yablonka
Burbank

Creation by Design … or Not

In response to Dennis Prager’s article “Jews and the Afterlife” (Feb. 26), one wonders if our universe was created by chance, or is there originality in creation, i.e. is there a creator who formed our world, such as a God?

If our world was created by chance, being part of that system, everything that happens in our life is obviously by random. We were born by chance, and there is no further existence for us in the future (whatever that is in a world of chance).

On the other hand, if there is a creator, or a God, then one wonders why everything, including atoms, ends up in death. What’s the purpose of creating something that doesn’t last? In such a scenario, one can assume that we are only a segment of a larger plan that we don’t fully understand. Therefore, living in our third-dimensional universe is only part and parcel of our total existence, which probably began in a lower dimension and continuous into the higher ones toward infinity. There is no death.

Danny Bental
Tarzana

Politics, but Not as Usual

What a disrespectful picture of Sen. Lieberman on the cover of your Feb. 26 issue. He does not deserve that treatment. You gave Obama a full-cover, decent photo several weeks ago. Sen. Lieberman is far more deserving of that respect than Obama.

Marilyn Segel
Torrance

Anti-Semitic Rhetoric at UC Irvine

Re: “The Reality at University of California, Irvine” (Feb. 26), I was struck by Chemerinsky’s concern for UCI’s reputation for tolerance in reaction to complaints of anti-Semitism: “Any accusations, even false ones, that are repeated enough begin to be believed.” What about the repeated effect on sensitive Jewish students feeling the lash of “anti-Jewish” statements on a continual basis — especially on behalf of annihilation-oriented countries?

And shouldn’t UCI take an aggressive and moral stand by vigorously pressing for prosecuting conspiring criminal trespassers of free speech? Furthermore, UCI should condemn behavior that serves the annihilative goal of terrorist-supporting regimes, whose agenda emanates from World War II.

Charles S. Berdiansky
Los Angeles

Erwin Chemerinsky’s article brought to mind “Monty Python’s Life of Brian.” He wrote that those who claim that UCI “is inhospitable to Jews … ignore the many efforts by the university’s administration … including the beautiful new facilities for the campus Hillel.” This is like the scene in the movie where the Judean Liberation Front was urgently discussing the inhospitality of Rome to the Jews until one member interjects, “Well, the Romans did build us the aqueduct.”

Kenny Laitin
Los Angeles