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January 2, 2004/Tevet 8 5764, Vol. 56, No. 15
Letters to the EditorJanuary 2, 2004
Men who made a differenceEditor:The letter published by Rafael Medoff was an excellent expos‚ of the heroes of the 1940s who were courageous Jews - Peter Bergson and Ben Hecht. ("Christmas without Jews?" Jewish News. Dec. 26) Medoff was self-effacing in not revealing his background as author of seven books on Jewish history. His latest is "A Race Against Death," written with David Wyman. It is about Peter Bergson, a best friend and ally of abandoned Jews in wartime America. Bergson initiated a series of political action efforts to bring about U.S. intervention on behalf of Hitler's Jewish victims. It is the story of one man's appeal to the conscience of a generation. Ben Hecht's classic book, "A Guide for the Bedeviled," reprinted recently, is another must read to remind us of efforts to awaken the consciousness of the public and the Roosevelt administration to the need to rescue European Jews. Dedicated men can make a difference. Irma Epstein Sun City West Where's the real Jewish candidate?Editor:Today it appears voguish for presidential candidates to tout their Jewish links, however tenuous. In a quest for dependable Democrat Jewish votes, John Kerry has suddenly "discovered" his Jewish grandfather. Howard Dean's Jewish wife and children are now assets when reaching out to his Jewish constituency, even as he recently proclaimed his own Christian roots with a new fervor. Best of all is Wesley Clark. His whispered admission, "My father was Jewish," to an adoring Jewish woman, was recently picked up by a reporter's microphone. If this was a fact in which the Baptist-turned-Catholic Clark found so much pride, why did it need to be whispered? Poor Joe Lieberman. The only observant Jew in the pack will trail with his own co-religionists for being too conservative in his political views. Well, there's always Hillary in 2008. She lays claim to a Jewish step-grandfather. Laurence Daniels Scottsdale
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