April 1, 2005/Adar II 21 5765, Volume 57, No. 31
Letters to the EditorApril 1, 2005
Wishing rest and peace to Terri SchiavoEditor:Many years ago, with my mother in a coma after years of bravely battling multiple illnesses, constant pain, and even about to undergo a leg amputation in that coma, I withdrew all assistance but pain relief, with my heart breaking to pieces. A few days later she died peacefully and with her dignity, and our love for her, intact and profound. My mother had told me that she was prepared to die, but she certainly never wrote that down for me or for the record - she never thought she had a reason to do so. There is nothing about the Terri Schiavo case that does not break all our hearts to pieces: her family's understandable grief and understandable anger; her 15 years of life without life; her husband's wish to let her go. I share the halachic view that a compromised life is still a life. I share Rabbi Joel Roth's view that every life matters even when there is little of it left ("For Jews, halacha sheds light on Schiavo case," Jewish News, March 25). Of course every life matters. But if someone I love spent 15 years unable to enjoy living, loving, laughter, the company of family and friends, and with no improvement reasonably expected, I think I would no longer be able to believe that person was living in a way that she or he would choose to continue. Cases like Ms. Schiavo's tear us all apart, and bankrupt families, emotionally and financially. I wish Terri Schiavo rest, at long last, and peace. I cannot fathom that this wish angers God. Elaine Owles Scottsdale Death by starvation inhumaneEditor:My Bubbe is 82 years old, a survivor of the concentration camps in Poland, and is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease. My family has been providing her the best care we can to make her remaining years as painless and comfortable as possible. My grandmother, this vibrant and strong woman, is now sadly unable to feed herself on her own. This makes the struggle over Terri Schiavo hit much closer to home. I am scared for all the other people in this country with debilitating diseases that makes it impossible to feed themselves. Earlier in my Bubbe's life, she almost died of starvation at the hands of the Nazis. She used to share with my sister and me the excruciating pain of starving. If death by starvation is something too inhumane to do against our worst criminals, then it must be even more so against our weak and incapacitated like Terri Schiavo. We would not do this to murderers on death row because of its inhumanity. By the time this letter is printed, Terri Schiavo's fate will have been sealed, but as Jews we must make sure that not one more debilitated person is ever allowed to die like this. Avi Beliak Scottsdale Summers owes no apologiesEditor:Barbara J. Grosz and Lizabeth Cohen, professors at Harvard, criticized Alan Dershowitz ("Harvard presidential flap" [Divestment] [Anger] Jewish News, March 25) for suggesting that anti-Semitism played a large part in the criticism of Harvard's president, Lawrence Summers. But they are apparently unaware of efforts by many teachers on university campuses across the U.S., as indicated by AIPAC and other Jewish organizations, to equate Israel with Nazi Germany. Those of our older generation remain painfully aware of the anti-Semitism they experienced here in the United States throughout the period before and during the Holocaust. And although there has been some improvement, Professors Grosz and Cohen should remove the blinkers. Comments by Summers, in the form of a question, that fewer women than men in science and math might be related to (genetic) differences in aptitude, were called "knowingly incorrect" by Grosz and Cohen. But Lawrence Summers should not apologize for his question, since there are definite anatomical and physiological differences in the brains of females compared to males. For one, the commissure, a bundle of nerves that connects the left and right brain, is larger in women, and because of this, women are able to utilize both brain halves more easily; this is thought to explain the fact that women recover more quickly and with less residual following strokes. Perhaps these differences explain the fact that women seem to be superior to men in languages and men seem superior to women in math and science. In any event, it was certainly appropriate for President Summers to raise the question of gender effect on certain areas of knowledge. And Dershowitz has more than enough information to indicate that anti-Semitism is playing a part in the criticism of Larry Summers by some of Harvard's faculty. M. Herbert Nathan Phoenix If it ain't broke, don't fix itEditor:It is going on two years that I have been working with the Arizona Jewish Historical Society and the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors' Association in trying to move their rehabilitation and memorial projects along. Contrary to the editorial ("Collective conscience," Jewish News, March 18), we need to move forward with these projects as planned and not reinvent the wheel by appointing a committee to initiate an international competition for a design, which would add an extra year or two to the process. The activities cited in the editorial in Boston and Tucson occurred during the early 1990s. In 2005, the Holocaust survivors in Phoenix are unfortunately passing away at an increasing rate. It would be nice to have their memorial completed as expeditiously as possible so that they could see it. Is it really the intent of your editorial to now wrest control of the memorial project away from the survivors' association, who have approved the project and obtained the appropriate outside approvals, and turn it over to some non-survivors committee? If so, I suggest you need to search your own collective consciences. It is a "schande" to even contemplate doing such a thing to the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors' Association at this late date. The plans that I have seen for the projects look very well thought out, and I cannot understand why the tenor of both the editorial and article ("Phoenix may get Holocaust memorial," Jewish News, March 11) imply that many issues remain to be settled, that community dialogue needs to occur on a broad scale, and that strife, resistance and controversy lie just beneath the surface of the agreements that have already been made. There will be more than enough room for all interested parties to participate in the fund-raising aspects of these two worthwhile projects and have input into the final details. For heaven's sake let's not spend another two years "khrotzing around" and remember Hillel's dictum, "Eem lo achshav, amahtai" (if not now, when?). Gordon M. Weiner Tempe What does the memorial seek to do?Editor:I was curious as to how the Jewish community would respond to the recent criticisms of the Holocaust memorial's choice of architect and design in the Phoenix New Times of March 18. In my eyes, the community is just now at a point of growth where we're large enough to receive criticism from the outside. I'm troubled by the choice of design for the Holocaust memorial ("Phoenix may get Holocaust memorial," Jewish News, March 11). The visualization of the six million is not as important as the viewer being able to identify with being one of the six million. I cannot identify with a peg, and I worry that the enormous wall of pegs will be overwhelming rather than communicative. The Holocaust's legacy is not a number. Rather it is the idea that we must eliminate intolerance of anyone who is different from us to prevent a mass tragedy from occurring again. Ella Adler taught me that. The memorial presents a vital opportunity to inspire as well as remind; I don't feel that a mausoleum is the ideal way to inspire. As a public relations professional, I am deeply troubled by where this mess has left the survivors and the AJHS, and by what lies ahead. I wish AJHS would respond to the community by opening up a competition that considers the essential question: "What does this memorial seek to do?" I'd encourage them to give special consideration to entries that emphasize children and the community to facilitate learning from this experience. Much has been made of the time that it would take to reopen the design process and that the survivors don't deserve to wait. The claim doesn't give the survivors enough credit. Those I've spoken to don't want a memorial for their own benefit, but to remind us once they're gone. They don't mind waiting. Amanda Blum Phoenix Great senior center, shame about the foodEditor:I am writing to provide more to the story about what has happened to the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Senior Center. It has moved to Beth El Congregation, which has enough room for all of the senior center activities. My complaint is the food, which is cooked at the JCC in Scottsdale and brought to Beth El daily. At times it gets to the table cold and not fully cooked, and it is too small a portion. Some seniors depend on this for their only hot meal of the day, and the problems make it hard for them to eat. My wife and I have been coming to the senior center for five years and we enjoy it. I hope in time we can get everything running smoothly because this is the only Jewish senior center in Phoenix with kosher food. Harry Sternberg Phoenix
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