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March 9, 2001/Adar 14, 5761, Vol. 53, No.23
Letters to the EditorMarch 9, 2001
Where is outrage about Arab violence?Editor:Hasn't the long history of the Jewish people taught us anything? We Jews run to Holocaust museums here and abroad and shed tears over the inhumanity that was perpetrated against us, and wring our hands and vow quite audibly, "Never Again." We attend synagogue services and listen to sermons from our learned rabbis about the myriad defeats Jews have suffered at the hands of many nations and pray they never happen again. But, when Israel is at war, we use euphemistic terms such as "crisis" and "situation" to describe the planned vicious attacks against its people by the Arabs. We are living in a state of delusion if we believe that Eretz Yisrael will continue forever. It is conceivable that the state of Israel will eventually have a majority of Arabs and not Jews. Witness the daily acts of violence committed by the Palestinians, the stated desire to get rid of the Jews. Where is the collective outrage of the American Jewish community? On the local level, there has been very little activity to aggressively educate the community. We have seen most recently how public opinion from all phases of the media has been clearly biased toward the Arab "cause." True, hundreds of individuals have followed the slanted and sometimes slanderous news reporting, written letters in protest and formed groups in a collective effort to combat it. But, they represent only a small minority of the total Jewish population. There have been ads by major Jewish associations in national newspapers stating the true Israeli case, but if a study were conducted, I wager it would show the Arab rhetoric has had much more exposure and therefore more impact. Theodore Herzl, when planning his campaign in the 1800s for a Jewish homeland, went first to the non-Jewish communities to gain their approval. Did he know something that we don't know - that Jewish apathy can be broken only by acceptance of the rest of the world before we wake up to the truth? Are we so self-absorbed that we are willing to let Israel, the very core of Judaism, go down the drain? Is it our secret desire to be always the victim and never the victor? We had better answer these questions quickly, before our frailties put our survival at risk. Honey Levin Scottsdale Parents, students being sought to honor educatorEditor:I am searching for people who attended Beth El Center for Early Childhood Education between 1981 and 2000 to attend a luncheon in honor of Karen Ringel on April 22. We want to include parents, students and friends of Karen as we honor her for her 20 years of dedication to education, including 15 years as center director. If you are interested in receiving an invitation and/or volunteering to help with this event, please contact the Beth El preschool office at 602-944-2462. Sue Cohen Beth El kindergarten teacher and event chair |
