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January 25, 2002/12 Shevat 5762, Vol. 54, No. 19
Letters to the EditorJanuary 25, 2002
Mother's message poignantEditor:Terry Ratner has guts. I am unable to find the words to tell her how proud of her I am - for her courage, for her fortitude, for her ability to distill the essence of her beloved son's life and turn that love in the direction of saving other people's lives. And then to take her story, his story, public to encourage others to contemplate in a positive manner,the contribution to another's life, a stranger's life. ("What would my son have wanted?" Jewish News, Jan. 18). Yes, she is strong, perhaps beyond her own recognition of her strength. I hope others will have the courage to read and reread Ratner's article. And then the important decision, the courageous decision, to create a Living Will and a Durable Power of Attorney. To put in place the tools to ease a family's way to deal with what they hope the will never have to deal with. Thank you, Terry, for writing your article. Bob Rosenberg Phoenix Intolerance unacceptableEditor:In response to "Jews support effort for Valley mosque," (Jewish News, Jan. 18) hooray for Bill Straus, regional director of the ADL, for stating publicly that "there are some ... in the (Jewish) community who are bigoted." Some of our fellow Jews are bigoted and are in fact practicing intolerance. As Jews, we must never be intolerant and prejudice. It is OK to dislike somebody for what they do, but not for what they are. Hooray also for Rabbi B. Charles Herring and other members of our Jewish community for supporting the building of a mosque in Scottsdale. Meyer Turken Phoenix Straus should watch his wordsEditor:Arab terrorists who commit atrocities on Jewish civilians are called militants and not terrorists by the American media. The Arab press blackens the character of all Jews in an effort to destroy Israel. Bill Straus, the regional director of the ADL, says at a public meeting that Jews who do not agree with him that a Muslim mosque should be built in Scottsdale are bigoted. Does his statement on the front page of Jewish News (Jan. 18) help Jewish survival? Have some people taken leave of their senses? Will it take an anti-Semite quoting Bill Straus in an anti-Jewish tirade to wake them up? Sandor Shuch Phoenix Meeting attendance was to monitorEditor:I just finished reading "Jews support effort for Valley mosque," (Jewish News, Jan. 18). I was listed as "Also present at the DRB meeting in support of the mosque." I did not attend the Development Review Board hearing to support the mosque. I went to the hearing in my capacity as Civil Rights chairwoman of the Anti-Defamation League to monitor the proceedings. The ADL had received a complaint from a member of the community who was concerned after the Nov. 1 hearing that discrimination might deny the Islamic Center of the Northeast Valley their mosque. Our regional board was sufficiently concerned with the charge of discrimination that Bill Straus attended the meeting to determine if the charge might be true. Because my committee would be involved in any response to actual discrimination, I attended the meeting as an observer not as a "supporter." As stated in the article, there was no discrimination. Helen Stern Tempe
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