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May 7, 2004/Iyar 16 5764, Vol. 56, No. 33
Letters to the EditorMay 7, 2004
Rally's impact questionedEditor:I don't consider the presence of 250 people, mostly non-Muslim, to be a success ("Rally condemns terrorism," Jewish News, April 30). Rather, it suggests to me that the Muslim community does not support the agenda of its physician-founder. The worldwide anti-Semitism of Muslim madrasses, imams, sheikhs, muftis and ayatollahs is well documented. These groups pay lip service to getting Muslims to be tolerant of infidels but also has the chutzpah to dictate terms for Israel's borders. I would like to get a feel-good message from this local group but I suspect they have little influence with the vast majority of radicalized Muslims. Thank you for the tribute to Pat Tillman, who is an example we need to see more of, representing people who are willing to put their lives on the line for our great country ("Pat Tillman: a Talmudic perspective," Jewish News, April 30). The generation of WWII was the best example of Jews volunteering for military service, while the Vietnam era was the worst. (In Vietnam, I served in the Army on active duty and in the reserves.) Please remember to honor Russell Crowe for his generous help to the Montreal Jewish School that had been firebombed. Howard Weinstein Mesa Editor: While I commend Dr. Zuhdi Jasser for organizing a rally against terrorism, I have one question and comment. From what I can tell from your story and the AP story that I heard on National Public Radio, no imam was at the rally or spoke at the rally. If I am in error, I apologize. But if this is truly the case, then I have serious concerns as to the significance of this event. Until Muslim religious leaders speak out against jihad and homicide bombings, and tell other Muslims that the Koran does not justify these actions, Islamic terrorism will never be stopped. Warren Breisblatt Scottsdale Editor: Your big front-page article about the Muslim rally condemning terrorism exaggerates the significance of the event. First, other estimates of the size of the crowd are much less, say 150-200 instead of 400. Second, at least half of those present were not Muslims. So giving the impression that there was a big Muslim rally is really quite incorrect. In fact, the rally was a dismal failure. Morrie Feller Phoenix We all can learn from Tillman's exampleEditor:Rabbi Laibel Blotner's "Voices" column regarding the death of Pat Tillman deserves the attention of the entire Jewish community ("Pat Tillman: a Talmudic perspective," Jewish News, April 30). Blotner, citing traditional sources, reflects that we can all learn from the example that Tillman provided for us. Tillman exhibited courage, selflessness, loyalty to country and modesty in measures we do not often see. He lost his life in the service to these values. Blotner teaches us even more in his article. Too often the Jewish community divides itself into two groups: One sees an obligation to be concerned with social justice and the needs of the outside world, and the other has concerns that rest inside the Jewish community and finds little of value outside its boundaries. Blotner, an energetic and committed Chabad teacher in our community, helps us to understand that we can all find values and lessons both inside and outside the Jewish world. The Torah portion of last Shabbat instructs: "you shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Leviticus, 19:18) Blotner has reminded us that we can love and learn from our neighbors. We can also do better in loving and learning from each other. Sherman Minkoff Scottsdale Back to kindergartenEditor:Carol Kamin's commentary, "The kids are waiting" (Jewish News, April 23), about Gov. Janet Napolitano's bold Healthy Families program, reminded me of another effort to help Arizona's children. The late Sen. David Kret, a Scottsdale Republican and a friend of mine, once told me how the current mandate for part-day public school kindergarten became law. A bill he supported to mandate public kindergarten was going nowhere. Then he received a phone call from a woman in Sun City. He was startled when she said, "We need this bill for my grandchildren." She asked how she could help, and he suggested that she bring some of her neighbors to a committee hearing. At 9 a.m. the day of the hearing, three buses pulled up in front of the Capitol. People paraded at the mall with hand-lettered signs saying, "We need the kindergarten bill for MY grandchildren." At 10 a.m. the committee moved the bill with a "do pass" recommendation. It then sailed through the Senate, the House and the governor's office. Dave died 25 years ago, in May 1979, at age 51. I can think of no more fitting tribute to this valiant fighter for public education than passage of Gov. Napolitano's recommendations for all-day kindergarten and her Healthy Families program. Bob Rosenberg Phoenix 'Reproductive freedom' is absurdEditor:I read the article, "Women rally for choice" (Jewish News, April 30), detailing the "thousands of Jewish women" who joined others rallying in favor of abortion on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. One of the demonstrators, Marsha Atkind, president of the National Council of Jewish Women, was quoted as saying, "As Jews, we know what it means to have fundamental rights and liberties stripped away." I certainly agree with that. However, I'd go a step further: As Jews, we have had our very existence as a people threatened and our lives dispassionately taken away. The Nazis thought of six million Jews as less than human, just as the abortion proponents regard pre-born life today. The references to abortion "rights" and "reproductive freedom" are absurd. Contraceptives are widely available and effective. Using them constitutes reproductive freedom. Marching for the "right" to kill the inconvenient pre-born should be viewed as the shameful act it is. Jews of all people should know this. How short are our memories? Laura Kantor Scottsdale
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