In the Mail - August 28, 1998

INDEX OF THIS ISSUE

FEATURES
     Long-distance house call
     Good sport Former athlete now on team at chamber
SPECIAL:
ELECTION '98
     GOP gubernatorial candidates discuss ways to strengthen families
     Budget issues separate Republican attorney general hopefuls
     'Who's the real Democrat?' key issue in District 4 primary race
VALLEY
     Backers seek Arizona trade office in Israel
     Two Valley women to help with conversions
     Shofar Factory makes several Valley visits
     Sisterhood wraps holiday honey jars
NATION
     U.S. adopts Israeli stance against terror
WORLD
     European insurers agree to pay Holocaust claims
     Recent upheavals in Russia heighten concerns among Jews
ISRAEL
     Holocaust restitution deals fail to engross Jewish state
     Tensions in Hebron escalate after murder of rabbi
OPINION
     Editorial - Comrades at arms
     Letters to the Editor - In the Mail - August 28, 1998
     Marty Latz - In one week, faith shines after trust fades
ARTS
     AJTC holds auditions, wins nominations, meets with JCCA in New York
BUSINESS
     Local summit to focus on multicultural tourism
SPEAKING VOLUMES
     Author attempts to understand, explain 'why'
TORAH STUDY
     God is master of all

Letters to the Editor

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Readers sound off on Clinton-Lewinsky scandal

Editor:
The front-page article in the Aug. 21 Jewish News quotes a local rabbi's reaction to President Clinton's speech after the grand jury appearance regarding his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. The rabbi thinks it is time to put this issue behind us as this episode does not impact on the institution of the presidency.

The juxtaposition of events recently gives rise to the faulty logic of this opinion. Truth is the foundation for trust. It is the basic bond between a president and the American people. There can be no separation between the private and the public man. The president is always on duty, always under oath.

The Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey recently remarked that Clinton is "an unusually good liar." The president's career and life have been constructed on lies and misrepresentations. He has proven to be a user, abuser and manipulator. He has betrayed members of his Cabinet and his administration.

The president has direct responsibility for national security decisions which require moral judgment, standards and principles. When the American people were told on Aug. 20 that a military decision was necessary and morally justified on that particular day, many were justified in questioning the motives for launching the attack. The credibility, moral authority and honor of the president are under a cloud.

Yes, the time has come to move on - to determine if evidence of potential criminal wrongdoing exists and ask if a man with such a flawed character should continue to serve as our president.

Irma Epstein
Sun City West

Editor:
As a supporter of President Clinton, I have been asked how I feel about him now. First, I see a man surrounded by enemies intent on destroying him even at the cost of the presidency itself.

I do not respect his personal actions, but one has to wonder about the media who day after day after day, ad nauseum, kept alive the pictures and the sordid details of this tragic event. I compare this to their deafening silence and unwillingness to write about other presidents and their less-than-noble affairs. Were these "good" men forced to stand before the American people and admit their indiscretions?

I deplore the lies but try to understand that the truth could possibly destroy a marriage and even a presidency. Compare this to the lies told by Presidents Reagan and Bush in the Iran-Contra affair that could have been a threat to our national security. Compare this also to the lies told by President Johnson that drew us deeper into the quagmire of Vietnam. Were these "good" men forced to stand before the American people and admit they misled the entire world?

As a moral and ethical person, I cannot condone what the president has done, but I can look at the whole man and not just his flawed persona. He is passionate about human rights and has compassion for the poor, the sick, the elderly and children in need. He is sickened by the blatant racism that still exists in the minds and hearts of far too many people. These are qualities we haven't seen in many presidents, and this is what the majority of Americans see when they judge President Clinton.

All I say now is this: Let's put this tragedy behind us and let the healing begin.

Fran Waldman
Phoenix

Editor:
While Bill Clinton is being roasted, poverty has become a non-issue. I guess that the late President Lyndon Johnson should be proud that his war on poverty was such a blazing success. I suppose the more than $40 million that independent counsel Kenneth Starr blew on his harassment of Clinton must have been unneeded to help the impoverished?

Poverty has not gone away; our priorities are totally wrong, and the press is a responsible party to this. Since the press gets its revenue from business, and business has never been sympathetic with the plight of the poor, there is a built-in conflict of interest on the part of the news media.

I am suggesting that we open our eyes to the poverty that is all around us - not just on Christmas and Thanksgiving, but that we work on this all-year-round. There is no dignity in being poor.

Republicans have searched for an issue to impeach Clinton. They finally found something on him. Meanwhile, the people's business can go to hell as long as the Republican Party can revisit Watergate.

I'm sure the rest of the world has lost respect for this president, and some people will attempt to take political advantage of this situation. But based on the alleged "crime" and the international consequences that have followed, the actions of this Congress and the special prosecutor are nothing short of treason. They have tossed our country's future and security because settling an old score has been their priority.

This is the legacy of Watergate, that the elephant (the Republican Party) never forgets or forgives. What we need is forgiveness and healing in order to have a positive national agenda. Back-stabbing is not to be permitted.

Meyer Lifschultz
Phoenix

Education stories reveal dichotomy on religious school issues

Editor:

An interesting dichotomy is posed by two articles in the Aug. 14 issue of Jewish News.

One article laments the dearth of qualified teachers and administrators in the nation's Jewish day schools. In Boston, the executive director of the Bureau of Jewish Education warns, "We do face a very serious problem." The most crucial need is in the area of teaching subjects such as Hebrew and Judaic studies.

The second news story deals with the issue of school vouchers. According to Jewish Telegraphic Agency, major Jewish groups are described as urging President Clinton to once again veto a District of Columbia plan to provide tuition subsidies for parents to use at the private or parochial school of their choice. Only the Orthodox Union expressed hope that the program will be sustained.

We often hear the overused and inaccurate phrase, "separation of church and state" when the subject of school vouchers is invoked. Many erroneously believe these words are contained in the U.S. Constitution. They are not. The issues addressed are free exercise of religion and no imposition of a state-established religion.

The major consideration for those of us in the Jewish community should be that we have become a shrinking population. While the overall national population increased 22 percent between 1970 and 1990, Jewish demographic growth was an insignificant 1.8 percent. Intermarriage, assimilation and secularism have been our nemesis. Parochial education most certainly is not. In fact, graduates of Jewish day schools have a high level of observance and community involvement.

Author and commentator Dennis Prager, has written, "At a time when Jews are the only group in America to diminish in numbers, Jewish leaders oppose the single best way to stem Jewish assimilation: providing Jewish parents with the means to send their children to a Jewish day school."

Toward Tradition, a national organization of Jewish conservatives, heartily endorses the concept of vouchers and giving parents the ultimate choices in guiding the education of their own children.

Carol Nichols Turoff
Arizona chairwoman
Toward Tradition

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