Terror in America
It is incomprehensible that Joel Kotkin would use his article in The Jewish Journal (“A New World View,” Sept. 21) to blame former President Clinton for the World Trade Center tragedy. In using the conservative Republican line that Clinton is to blame, he conveniently forgets that it was former President Reagan who financed the current Afghan regime and that it was former President Bush who started and then did not finish off the war against Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
Martin Brower, Corona del Mar
Teresa Strasser
Every Friday, my wife picks up two copies of The Journal for our Shabbat afternoon reading. It is one of many ways we keep abreast of what is happening in the community. Invariably, every few weeks, I find a letter from someone scolding The Jewish Journal for allowing Teresa Strasser to share her life with us and each time I ask myself, “What is the big deal?”
At a time when we as a nation are facing such virulent hatred and violence that has, unfortunately, resulted in many of us canceling visits to Israel, beating up on our own is worse than shameful. Personally, my wife and I find Strasser’s articles a refreshing break from the continuous barrage of bad news surrounding the events in our homeland. It’s nice that in the midst of all the violence, some of us can still find things to smile about.
Gary Hall, Los Angeles
Cantorial Music
I see great beauty and value in much of the contemporary, popular music being sung in synagogues throughout the country, but not all of it successfully sets our sacred texts to music of quality (“Sing a New Song,” Sept. 14).
While we seek out and utilize the more powerful of these modern works, we are also bound by our commitment to those who came before us to expose our congregants to the tremendous beauty of our cantorial heritage.
We all share the same goal — to bring the beauty of Judaism to as many Jews as possible. But we disagree, perhaps, on how to achieve this goal and what constitutes success.
Cantor Lisa Sharlin, Huntington Beach
Frank Gehry
In an issue that highlights the work of the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, The Journal’s cover features Frank Gehry, who is working to destroy natural spaces right here in Los Angeles (Aug. 31).
Gehry is currently designing the cornerstone buildings for the Playa Vista development (between Marina del Rey and Westchester), which will decimate 1,087 acres of wetlands. Wetlands are second only to rainforests in biodiversity and ability to extract man-made toxins from our environment. Only 5 percent of Southern California’s natural wetlands remain as open area available for restoration.
The story about boyhood Gehry playing with a carp in the bathtub is a sad forecast. As an adult, Frank Gehry (with Playa Capital) is slating the entire aquatic population of the Santa Monica Bay for eventual destruction, by destroying their breeding grounds, or the breeding grounds of their foodstock. This time, there’ll be far more than one fish killed.
Name withheld by request
Corrections
In the Sept. 14 Circuit’s “Spielberg’s Real Legacy,” the name of the synagogue to which Leah Adler belongs was incorrect. Adler is a member of Congregation Bais Bezalel.
In the Sept. 14 article “How Wexner Came Back to L.A.,” the Nathan Cummings Foundation was responsible for the contribution, not James Cummings. Also, Cummings is the Nathan Cummings Foundation’s board of trustees chair, not the president. The president of the Nathan Cummings Foundation is Lance Lindblom.
The cover photo for the Aug. 31 Orange County section was taken by Wendy Leberman at Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School in Irvine.
