In the Mail - Letters to the Editor

Editor:
My experiences at the Jewish Museum in Berlin were quite different from those of Mr. Liberman ("My Berlin diary," Jewish News, Nov. 26). On a trip to Prague last May, my wife and I decided to visit Berlin for a few days. Our main goal was to visit the Jewish Museum, which we did on the first full day in the city. We were terribly disappointed.

The museum seemed cold and uninviting, and it seemed to concentrate more on daily German Jewish life, complete with Jews celebrating Christmas rather than Jews celebrating Jewish holidays. The architecture was absurd. We were so disappointed that we decided to visit the museum again on the second day of our trip, thinking that perhaps we had missed something.

The second day was even worse.

On the trip back to Prague,we sat in a railroad car with a German man and his daughter. They were talking in German, and I was talking to my wife about the museum. The man suddenly said, in English, "Mister, apparently you didn't understand the true meaning of the museum." The man introduced himself and said that the real meaning of the museum was to inform Germans about the life achievements of Jews in Berlin, Germany and Europe. The Hapag Lloyd shipping lines were owned by Jews, the five major department stores in Berlin were owned by Jews, so many Nobel Prizes were awarded to Jews: chemists, doctors, lawyers, and the list went on and on. But in the end, what had happened? Hitler came, the man said, and like a wisp of air your people disappeared. All of the achievements, all of the inventions, all of the scientists, all of the doctors meant nothing. Jews were stripped of their citizenship and reduced to being a people without a country.

I thought about the man's words, and I began to think about my Austrian and German family that had everything taken away from them and to realize that the same fate that befell the Jews in Germany just might happen (God forbid) in the United States. I began to realize that it was a good idea after all to visit the museum.

Cody Flecker
Yuma

Don't ask me, I just work here

Editor:
I was recently reminded of the degree of disconnect that exists between the Jewish world and the non-Jewish world.

About a month ago I was shopping in the Safeway grocery store at Seventh Street and Glendale Avenue in Phoenix. It was just after Halloween and I noticed new food displays in the front of the store that featured holiday foods. There was a display of ingredients for baking pies, cranberry sauce, making turkey stuffing and assorted other items.

There was a separate Jewish food display. It featured vast quantities of matzo, matzo meal and other foods traditionally associated with Passover. I politely spoke to the store's assistant manager and advised him he had mismatched the foods with the holidays. I told him that if he wanted to create a Chanukah display, it should probably include oil, potatoes and menorah candles, but not matzo.

I expected an educated response. Instead, the polite response I received from the assistant manager was the same response that has ominously echoed and haunted Jews for decades. Effectively, he said, "I was just following orders." He said he would pass my input on to his superiors; a month later, the matzo display is still there.

The degree of ignorance sometimes gets a little scary.

Drew S. Barkley
Phoenix

Thanks from Ramat-Gan

Editor:
Thank you for the interesting cover story of our visit in Phoenix ("High Tech, High Hopes," Jewish News, Oct. 15). We want to thank so much Mayor Phil Gordon and Councilman Greg Stanton and all the people in the municipality of Phoenix, and especially to Rabbi Bob Kravitz and Sam Campana for their kind hospitality. We hope that together we will succeed to lead and promote educational, cultural, economic, community and workforce development in Phoenix and in Ramat-Gan. Warm regards to all the wonderful people who took care of us and gave us a wonderful time.

Mully Dor
Ramat-Gan

Faith not a peace plan

Editor:
There will be no peace in this world until mankind accepts the fact that the Torah, the Bible, the Koran and the Book of Mormon are all works of faith. Faith is belief in something for which there is no proof. When mankind accepts that and starts to work to make things better without the help of some supernatural God, we may find peace.

Larry J. Kluth
Mesa

Letters to the editor must be 200 words or less; include the writer's first and last names; city of residence; and a phone number or e-mail address. All letters may be edited by Jewish News for content, style and space allowance.

Home