April 15, 2005/Nisan 6 5765, Volume 57, No. 33
Letters to the EditorApril 15, 2005
Holocaust memorial needs due diligenceEditor:Jewish News' coverage and letters so far regarding the Holocaust Memorial controversy imply that this is mainly about the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors' Association and Arizona Jewish Historical Society ostensibly giving the project to a non-Jew without an opening to greater talent and better ideas within our community. The issue is much larger than that. I very much sympathize with the concerns of local Jewish artists; in fact, my wife is one of them. But the larger concern is that vital steps are apparently being circumvented on the path to this public work. Red flags are already in the air. Greatest of all is the overdue need for a process that informs and encourages input at opportune times. One important reason is people's tendency to mistrust and not support a project if genuine concerns are not being listened to and credibly addressed. Moreover, others' perspectives can spark insights that safeguard against and solve major problems before they strike. Scrutiny prevents missteps, and the most intense scrutiny should be happening before commitments are made rather than after. We all feel compelled by the desire to honor the survivors among us as promptly as possible, but a project that remains incomplete or fails to endure will honor nobody and leave no resources to do over. It is thus all the more important to get it right from the start. Lionel Hummel Scottsdale In search of the Blenkitnis of MlawaEditor:I am the daughter of Gittel Blenkitni, who lives in Massachusetts. I have spent my life looking for information about my mother's family. They came from Mlawa, Poland. In late 1939, her father sent her and her brother Gedalia to escape to the Russian side, and she never saw her family again. Left in Poland were her father Shimon, her mother Sarah, her brothers Zurich, Yitzach and Arie/Aron and her sister Rivka. I have looked in the United States, Israel and Poland, but I can find no record of them. There are a lot of Blenkitnis who came from Krasnosielc, Poland, but they are not the ones I am looking for. I noticed a Blenkitni mentioned in a bat mitzvah announcement (Jewish News, March 12, 2004), and wondered if they might know their family background and if, possibly, they would know anything about my mother's family. Helen Goransson Eliot, Maine heleng@mtghouse.com Legislative day successfulEditor:This year's Jewish Community Relations Council/Jewish Federation Day at the Legislature was a wonderful success. More than 100 people joined us for a kosher lunch with our legislators and other elected officials and to hear our keynote speaker, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne. This day provided the opportunity for becoming more focused on our interaction with our elected officials and government agencies and how we can get more involved with activities that affect all of our lives. We wanted to create awareness and understanding on the part of our community of how to communicate with our state legislators and learn how one person can truly impact the system. It also showed that our community is engaged and willing to educate themselves about various issues. Robert Mautner, JCRC Chairman George Weisz, JCRC Government Relations Chairman
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