Your Letters

Rabbi Cunin

“You can either like him or not like him, but you cannot dismiss him” (“How the West Was Won,” Aug. 16). Yes, I can. I not only can, I do. To me, the one and only outstanding characteristic of Judaism (besides the belief in only one God) is that there is no proselytizing.

This Jew in Broadway clothing not only proselytizes, he does it shamelessly. No guilt in his veins. Funny how that works. In the year 2002, his game has brought him wealth and fame and he has “conquered” Los Angeles. This is one Angeleno he’ll never conquer.

Libi Warren, Santa Monica

Peace Now Ad

Sue Mischel may be surprised to learn that the Peace Now survey, independently administered, holds up to the highest standards of social scientific research (Letters, Aug. 16). As anybody trained in statistics knows, a 3,200-person sampling out of 200,000 residents is a huge sampling. But the fact that Mischel questionins whether or not the survey occurred — even the Settler’s Council didn’t stoop so low — is an indication of where she is coming from.

Why deny that Israeli soldiers are in the settlements to protect the settlers? Rabbi Michael Melchior, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, recently told a group from The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles that the number of soldiers guarding the settlement of Netzarim exceeds the number of residents.

What is there to gain by stating that building “Jewish-only” bypass roads in the territories are benign when they dissect the West Bank and eat up Palestinian land by forbidding them to build within several hundred meters? And during this period of severe economic crisis in Israel, what purpose does it serve to pretend that settlers did not, or do not still, receive unique financial incentives to move to settlements and stay there?

Indeed, the survey confirmed that a large proportion of settlers are motivated not by ideology, but by quality-of-life/financial factors. These people say they would readily move back to Israel-proper if they could afford it. Mischel ignores the ever-increasing security and economic price that Israel pays by retaining and expanding the settlements and continuing to hold onto the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

According to the Peace Now survey, the national security assessments of virtually all of Israel’s top military thinkers and the attitudes of the Israeli public, it is in Israel’s best interest to separate from the Occupied Territories, unilaterally if necessary, in order to create a more defensible border and better prospects for a more secure and prosperous future.

Elaine Hoffman and Arthur Stern Regional Co-Chairs Americans for Peace Now

The Ethics of Revenge

Many thanks for printing the important and courageous words of Yitzhak Frankenthal, founder of Parent’s Circle (“The Ethics of Revenge,” Aug. 16). His words lend support to those of us who refuse to walk away from difficult dialogue between Arab and Jewish leaders here in Los Angeles. We will not walk away precisely because the dialogue is sometimes difficult, contentious, infuriating, frustrating, even acidic. At that table is exactly the place we must be.

As Frankenthal also said, quoted by Rob Eshman’s column on June 29, 2001, regarding positions that would discourage dialogue with Arabs and/or Muslims with whom we disagree: “Go the opposite way. Don’t let Hamas win. You need to fight against terrorism and talk. That’s what Rabin said.”

Those who support Frankenthal’s stance, which finds both Palestinian violence and Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory to be unethical, are invited to a weekly vigil for peace that I launched with members of my synagogue this past spring.

Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels, Beth Shir Sholom

L.A. Museums

There are three Jewish museums in Los Angeles, not two, as Gene Lichtenstein writes (“L.A. Museums: Saved by the Jews” Aug. 16). How could you not mention the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust on Wilshire, diagonally across from LACMA?

It was the nation’s first memorial to victims of the Shoah and as it struggles to survive with the prospect of losing funding from The Jewish Federation, hopefully the Jewish community will not also forget it.

John Glass, Studio City

Ed. Note: The essay also neglected to mention the Zimmer Children’s Museum.

Why I Stopped Hating France

I take issue with David Suissa’s general assessment and conclusions (“Why I Stopped Hating France,” Aug. 9). First, he minimizes the French media’s role in facilitating anti-Semitism. The fact is that the public reads headlines, and when they are consistently slanted in one direction, one has to surmise that there is endemic anti-Semitic media bias.

Then Suissa suggests we “analyze, understand and react by being smarter, not louder.” That is precisely what the Jews should not do. Jews should have learned their lesson 60 years ago when muted protests and general malaise were the standard of the day and led to the wholesale slaughter of European Jews.

Barry Mizrahi, Los Angeles

Jewish ‘Life’ Comes to Simi

I was happy to read your article about the Jewish Life Center proposed for Simi Valley (“Jewish ‘Life’ Comes to Simi,” Aug. 9). Simi Valley has for too long been the “forgotten” valley in Jewish circles, and I hope that’s about to change. But your choice of a headline serves the same stigma that this project is trying to change.

Jewish “life” exists and has existed in Simi Valley for years. In addition to the B’nai Emet congregation that is leading this project, there is also a vibrant and growing Chabad center which has been operating here since 1999. As members of a Conservative temple, which is somewhat more traditional than B’nai Emet is, our family has benefited greatly from Chabad’s various programs, which are always open to the entire community.

I hope the B’nai Emet people find a way to include Chabad, as well as other potential congregations, in their much-needed project. Meanwhile, thanks for spreading the word: Simi Valley is a lovely town, and its Jewish community is alive and well. Come join us!

Name Withheld by Request, Simi Valley

Strange BRU

The recent ruling on overcrowding on buses by Special Master Donald Bliss, has prompted me to point out some things about the Bus Riders Union (BRU) that many may not be aware of (“Strange BRU,” Aug. 9). The BRU purports to be dedicated to advocating for the rights of bus riders. However, recently the BRU has begun to pursue political goals that are beyond the scope of and unrelated to its stated goal. Specifically, I refer to the BRU’s support for the Palestinian people in their conflict with Israel.

As a nonprofit organization, the BRU enjoys support from many charitable foundations, as well as politicians. However, this support and the BRU’s credibility, have been eroded due to its position and actions in support of the Palestinians. These actions go beyond mere statements of support.

The BRU clearly has an agenda far beyond that which it claims to. As the BRU moves farther from its original, stated goal, it will continue to alienate people and lose support.

Michael Barack, Sherman Oaks

Budget Danger Ahead

The analysis presented by James D. Besser is typical of the Chicken Little rhetoric hawked by out-of-control liberals (“Budget Danger Ahead,” Aug. 9). Besser presents not a single scintilla of evidence to back up his absurd dual contentions that budget deficits are huge and that deficits will wreak economic and social havoc.

Data from an Office of Management and Budget graph presented in Investors Business Daily on Aug. 14, 2002, shows that the average budget deficit as a percent of the gross domestic product since 1950 was 1.7 percent. The budget was in surplus in only four years between 1950 and 1999, and in only one year between 1960 and 1999. Additionally, the budget deficit is projected to be 1 percent in 2002, and to continue well below the historical average for at least the next two years.

Most economists accept deficits as a trade-off for economic growth. What is needed at this time, on the cusp of a recession, is accommodative fiscal policy (i.e., tax cuts) and reduced government spending. Besser would perhaps serve the cause of Jewish activism better by encouraging his readers to review their notes from econ 101.

Dr. Stephen Levinson, Burbank

Correction

The last paragraph of “How the West Was Won” (Aug. 16) should have read:

Hanging up, Cunin sighs and looks at the picture of Schneerson hanging on the wall behind his desk. “When the Rebbe left us, he gave us a phenomenal yearning that doesn’t let us stop for a second,” he says. “Another building, another human being, another good deed. The Rebbe said, ‘Do what you can to bring Moshiach,’ so you do more and more. A girls’ school in the morning. A drug facility. Poor people. Do what you can to bring Moshiach. Not think what you can. Not verbiage of what you can. Do what you can.”

Cunin then picks up the phone, and dials another number, noting, “It’s just a question of jumping over the obstacles. Of seizing the moment.”