In the Mail - Letters to the Editor

Editor:
All too often we let events take place without taking a stand or rising to a level of indignation. First it was Protestant divestment from Israel. Now it is the action of the Association of University Teachers in Great Britain. What do they have in common? At the minimum they are anti-Israeli, but more likely they reflect anti-Semitism.

According to The New York Times, the Association of University Teachers, in a misguided action, has decided to boycott academic interactions with Israelis, particularly at Haifa and Bar-Ilan universities. This is not the first time that British academicians have taken a blatantly anti-Israel stand. In the past, Israelis have been fired from British journals, and Israeli students (particularly if they served in the Israeli military) have not been allowed to study or do research in certain British institutions.

How reminiscent are these actions of what took place in prewar Nazi Germany? When will we say enough is enough? The Anti-Defamation League is talking about instituting a counter-boycott of British academic institutions. This is a positive step we should endorse. The British attack on academic freedom and the Protestant divestment in Israel are not the methods to bring peace to the Middle East or to enhance the lives of Palestinians. I would like to see Jewish News rally this community and our representatives in Washington to stop this injustice. It is time that we speak with one voice and it is time to act now.

Warren Breisblatt
Scottsdale

Shande at the shul

Editor:
We were invited to a bat mitzvah this past Saturday and were appalled at the behavior of the bat mitzvah girl's friends and classmates. Instead of sitting quietly and respecting her while she read from the Torah, these kids were outside in the lobby playing and laughing. Not only was the rabbi disgusted, but the parents and the bat mitzvah girl were quite annoyed and embarrassed.

Do these kids want this kind of behavior at their own simcha? Do the parents of these kids even know how they behave when they drop their kids off at the temple? And to top it off, most of this girl's classmates are from a Jewish day school.

I think that the synagogues, Jewish day schools and parents should give their children a lesson in shul etiquette.

Kathy Weltman
Scottsdale

Harold Giss: a true bipartisan leader

Editor:
Ira Morton wrote a "Time Capsule" remembering Sen. Harold Giss as "an 'institution in his time'" (Jewish News, May 6).

There's more to the Harold Giss story that I am compelled to narrate, because it is instructive for the current political times - both in Arizona and nationally.

In the early 1970s, Giss, from Yuma, was the Democratic leader in the Arizona Senate. Across the aisle, David Kret, from Scottsdale, was the Republican Senate leader. No one was more partisan than each of them in working passionately for the principles in which he believed.

Frequently, they disagreed about matters of public policy. They argued in committees, in their offices, in the hallways and on the floor of the Senate.

Yet their disagreements were inevitably agreeable. Throughout, they remained extremely close friends. As a matter of fact, Sen. Kret, who was younger both in years and in terms of senatorial service, looked up to the leader of the other party as a mentor. Think about that for a moment: The leader of the Democrats mentored the leader of the Republicans. Now, imagine that in today's environment.

Each of them died too young and too early for the good of Arizona - they both had more to contribute, more work to do. And each died of a massive heart attack.

And, oh, by the way, both of them were Jews.

I am one of the very lucky Arizonans - I knew them both.

Bob Rosenberg
Phoenix

Hate's hard lesson not always learned

Editor:
I appreciated the editorial "Hate's hard lesson" (Jewish News, May 6), and its message. I would also like to add that there is discrimination among some Jews toward other races. I don't understand this, since we, as Jews, have experienced so much anti-Semitism. It seems that we would have empathy for people of color.

Marcy Goldsmith
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.

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