Letters: Black Nationalist Hate, Saying Goodbye to Free Speech

Black Nationalist Hate
Powerful story, Daniel Greenfield (“Did Covering Up Black Nationalist Hate Lead to Kosher Market Shooting?” Dec. 20). The day before the Jersey City shootings, my husband and I got back from a beautiful Orthodox family wedding in Lakewood, N.J., a nearby city, to a WhatsApp family chat video, sent by my sister-in-law, Tzippy, of my brother-in-law, Rabbi Shumuli Friedler, telling the local news media, just after the shooting, how great the relationship is between Jews and the local community. How this mishap was an attack against all of us. That was before we knew that a black nationalist group targeted Jews and police.  We didn’t see it coming, but we could have.

Recently, Bari Weiss of The New York Times gave an interview on NPR where she stated that more than 68% of attacks against Chasidic Jews in Washington Heights are perpetrated by young black males. What will it take for us understand that there is no politically correct hate? That the Louis Farrakhans and other virulent anti-Semites are just as destructive and murderous as white supremacists?  Truth and hate have no color.
Mina Friedler, Venice

Anti-Semitism at Columbia
While reading Rabbi Erez Sherman’s column about his silence against anti-Israel sentiment at Columbia University (“Silence on Israel Results in Fear on Campus,” Dec. 13), I immediately felt gratitude for the experiences my own three children are having and will have when they are at their respective universities. They attend Los Angeles Hebrew High School and my oldest is a graduate.

They have been taught extensively about Israel, its history and its people. Moreover, they are taught how to respond to “the haters” and what to say to those who wish to destroy us. Furthermore, they are equipped to connect with other Jewish students, sharing the message of unity. They possess a confidence in who they are and have a modicum of confidence when confronted with boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement protesters and the like. While I wish they would never have to defend Israel’s right to exist, I am grateful to Los Angeles Hebrew High School for providing them with the tools to do so should they so choose.
Stacy Stark, West Hills

Having a Say on Free Speech
What with the BDS movement and other progressive ideas gaining traction, especially on university campuses, free speech is much in the news these days (“Is Inclusiveness Eroding Free Speech?” Dec. 20). “Our world is changing,” as Jewish Journal Editor-in-Chief David Suissa observes. “As an evolving society, we are becoming more inclusive and sensitive to people’s feelings of alienation.  Inclusivity is giving free speech a run for its money.”

Suissa comments on his discussion with eminent Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber.  “Public debate and … scholarly commentary have unnecessarily pitted free speech and inclusivity against one another. … Both are essential aspects of the university’s mission.”

In conclusion, Suissa states that “the serious problems facing our country today deserve the ideal described by Eisgruber: Free speech that seeks the truth, embraces dissent and honors dignity.”

In response, while I fully agree with Eisgruber’s ideal, and that everyone has a right to express personal opinions, as they are crucial to deciding the truth in controversial matters, more important is to realize that rumor, bias, prejudice and hatred are the antithesis of free speech and should never be allowed to poison the minds of others.
George Epstein, Los Angeles

Gains in Sephardic Studies
Regardless of politics, Tabby Refael’s recent call for greater representation of Sephardic and Mizrahi experiences in Jewish studies courses at American universities is timely and should be heeded (“It’s Time for Mizrahi Studies on Campus,” Dec. 6). In addition to UCLA and Brandeis, which Refael highlights as centers of Sephardic and Mizrahi studies, noteworthy initiatives in the burgeoning field are also underway on other campuses across the country, including at the University of Washington (UW).

The Sephardic Studies Program housed within the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies and the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at UW uniquely seeks to make accessible the history of Ladino-speaking Sephardic Jews through teaching and research, public programming, and the development of the world’s largest digital Ladino library. In recent years, we have also hosted events that highlight Mizrahi perspectives, including Syrian Jewish liturgy, Persian Jewish music and, most recently, a book talk by Ayelet Tsabari, an award-winning Yemeni-Israeli-Canadian author.

At the national level, the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS), the most important learned society in the field, hosts the Sephardic/Mizrahi Studies Division that, in December 2019, brought together an interdisciplinary group of more than 50 faculty and graduate students from across the country who research and teach on the subject. Like our initiative at UW, the Sephardi/Mizrahi Division of the AJS hopes to increase the profile and visibility of Sephardic/Mizrahi studies and to provide much-needed resources and expertise for students and the general public.
Devin E. Naar, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, History and International Studies Chair of the Sephardic Studies Program, University of Washington

Maccabees and Refuseniks
The Maccabees of Hanukkah were heroes. The dictionary definition of hero is a) a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability; b) an illustrious warrior; c) a person admired for achievements and noble qualities; d) one who shows great courage. The last three definitions clearly applied to the Maccabees.

Young Jews today may look for more recent heroes. The Jewish refuseniks from the former Soviet Union were heroes. They were not intimidated by the infamous KGB. They withstood arrests, beatings, show  trials and prison sentences in Siberia. In the anti-Semitic Soviet Union, they wanted to keep their Judaism alive while trying to immigrate to Israel. They found the courage to embrace a sense of Jewish peoplehood in the face of assimilation and pressure.

It took a great deal of effort and faith by the refuseniks to keep the flame of Jewish civilization alive. But they did, and ultimately 2 million of them were able to immigrate to Israel.

Keep the inspiring story of the Soviet Jewry struggle alive by teaching your children and grandchildren about the brave refuseniks.
Morey Schapira, Sunnyvale, Calif. 

DOJ Inspector General Horowitz’s Report
Let’s do a little math. Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz reported that the FBI made 17 “significant errors or omissions” in FISA applications against Donald Trump campaign aide Carter Page. All 17 “mistakes” were in the direction that increased the possibility of Carter’s guilt. But the inspector general maintains he did not find any political bias.

So, for comparison, let us look at the probabilities when flipping a “fair” i.e., unbiased, coin. What is the probability of flipping a coin so that heads appears 17 times in a row? The probability is 2 to the power of 17, which is 1 chance in 131,072 flips. So for the 17 errors, there is, equivalently, 131,071 chances of bias and 1 chance of no bias. With these odds, it takes a Harvard-trained government lawyer to find no bias.
Joseph Ruder, Los Angeles

CORRECTION
In the City Guide published in December, Sinai Akiba Academy in Los Angeles mistakenly was listed under its former name, Alice and Nahum Lainer School.

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