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July 25, 2003/Tamuz 25 5763, Vol. 55, No. 48
Letters to the EditorJuly 25, 2003
Falling off pedestalsEditor:As a youngster growing up during the Depression years of the 1930s, I was led to believe that the Democrats were pro-Jewish and Republicans were not. Franklin D. Roosevelt was, in my mother's eyes, the greatest friend the Jews ever had. And when he passed away, Harry Truman inherited the mantle. Years later, when revelations of FDR's wartime anti-Semitic decisions became public, this icon lost quite a bit of its luster. And recently, with the release of Truman's diaries, we learned Truman's opinions and feelings about Jews. On July 21, 1947, Truman had a conversation with Henry Morgenthau, the former Treasury Secretary in Roosevelt's cabinet and a Jew. After the conversation, Truman wrote in his diary: "He had no business, whatever to call me. ... The Jews, I find, are very, very selfish. They cared not how many Estonians, Finns, Latvians, Poles, Yugoslavs or Greeks get murdered ... as long as the Jews get special treatment. Yet when they have power, physical, financial or political, neither Hitler nor Stalin has anything on them for cruelty or mistreatment to the underdog." It's too bad that it takes more than a half-century to find the true character of those we had put on a pedestal. One has to wonder - who's next? Hy Rosenfeld Phoenix Mazel Tov for Magen David AdomEditor:For more than 70 years, Israel's ambulance, emergency and blood services organization, Magen David Adom (MDA) has been saving lives in Israel, as well as responding to disasters around the world. However, during all those years MDA was never recognized or assisted in any manner by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Through pressure by the American Red Cross and Jews from around the world, on June 9, MDA secured the first cooperative agreement from the ICRC. The purpose of this agreement is for the ICRC to recognize and assist MDA in its tireless efforts to save lives and alleviate human suffering. This signing, combined with the granting of international accreditation of MDA's Blood Center labs at Ramat Gan, shows the world the importance of the humanitarian work done by MDA. To all those who support MDA and American Red Magen David for Israel throughout the world and here in Arizona, we all can take pride in the life-saving work done by MDA. But our work is not done. We all need to support and stay involved in MDA's lifesaving activities. Barbara Zemel and Jay Bycer ARMDI Coordinators Paradise Valley Singles life rough all overEditor:"Might as well live on a cornfield in Iowa" (Jewish News, July 11) was a cool article and it is very true. How do you meet a soul mate? How do you know that the person you are dating is really "him/her?" Does a soul mate really exist? Wouldn't it be easier if there was a matchmaker? The questions can go on and on and drive you nuts. Lately I have been watching three dating programs almost on a daily basis. They are on consecutively: "Blind Date," "Extreme Dating" and "The Fifth Wheel." I like the entertainment and watch it out of curiosity to see how far people would go to impress complete strangers for dating's sake. Are humans nowadays that desperate? The one thing I came to realize is people connect by having things in common: similar interests, activities, music, books, etc. Chemistry seems to be of importance, too. Thanks for the article. It made me feel I'm not the only one on this planet going through this. Inge Dijkhoff Aruba
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