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February 19, 1999/3 Adar 5759, Vol. 51, No. 21
Letters to the Editor2/19/1999
Toward Tradition unfairly labeled by book reviewer
Editor:The purpose of this letter is two-fold. First, I want to thank the greater-Phoenix Jewish community for helping to make the Jan. 24 Jewish Policy Center forum such a success. It was our largest ever, with over 400 in attendance and C-Span will be rebroadcasting it in full. The hospitality Phoenix showed us, and me, in my hometown, was truly touching. Second, I want to clarify a couple of misperceptions in the book review of Daniel Lapin's "America's Real War" by Dimitri Drobatschewsky (Jewish News, Feb. 5). Lapin is a fellow at the Jewish Policy Center in Washington and spoke at our forum. He also heads an organization dedicated to finding common-ground between Jewish and Christian communities known as Toward Tradition. Still, with no evidence or citations, Drobatschewsky writes that Lapin's organization is an "ultra conservative group." I just don't know what that means and figure most others don't either. While Lapin may work with others Drobatschewsky doesn't agree with politically, I find it sad that he would dismiss an entire view point as "ultra" anything, as if beyond the pale of legitimate political debate. That Drobatschewsky goes on to write that Lapin's book contains "a mountain of erroneous theories" and a "selective manipulation of data" and then refuses to cite a single example, speaks for itself! Readers will make their own judgments. As for Drobatschewsky's parenthetical slight of the Jewish Policy Center's forum, calling it "nonsense" (again with no examples), and questioning that we are a "think tank" because we "proliferate a religious-conservative viewpoint," I respectufully dissent. To clarify, we are indeed a "think tank," as is the Brookings Institution, the B'nai B'rith Center for Public Policy, and the American Enterprise Institute. All of us come to the fore of ideological debate with a view point because that's what think-tanks do. We are privilieged to work with our esteemed fellows such as Norman Podhoretz, Michael Medved, Ruth Wisse and others. We enter the fray just as others of opposing view points do. We are not monolithically religious; our fellows are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. We do view matters political through an ideological lens - one that sees, for example, the "peace process" (starting with President Clinton's hosting of Yasser Arafat on the White House lawn) as not in the Jewish community's best interest. But we recognize others think differently on these matters too. That's why our forum had a question and answer period. Israel, after all, has more than 40 political parties. Why can't the Jewish community in America have some diversity? Lastly, I am saddened by the rush to judgment by a few letter writers in the past few editions of the Jewish News. Some of them left me a voice mail to discuss our forum immediately after the forum. I called them back immediately and gave them my direct-dial phone number. The next I heard from them was in the letters section of your paper. Again, we appreciate the community's support of our efforts and thank them for hosting us. We can't, like Tikkun or Commentary can't, please everyone, but we thought we'd attempt to provide an interesting and entertaining forum from a different point of view. Diversity, which we all support, should accept nothing less. Again, thank you. Seth Leibsohn Director of Policy Jewish Policy Center Washington (Via the Internet) We need dialogue, not diatribe presented by right
Editor:I would like to add my opinion to the debate regarding the Jewish Policy Center Forum. My disappointment in the event was not because of the content of the panelists' ideas but because they were presented, for the most part, as a diatribe that utilized sarcasm and ridicule to put down opposing points of view. From the publicity, I expected to hear a reasoned, well-thought-out and responsible articulation of Conservative Jewish thought. With the exception of Ruth Wisse, this did not happen. I was also concerned with the dishonesty of one panelist when he said the people who criticized Jerry Falwell's comment about the Antichrist were attacking his freedom of speech. None of the critics I know of were suggesting he go to jail for what he said. These critics were using their own freedom of speech to express concern over what he said and how it might affect Christian-Jewish relations. That is not an "assault and an insult to Christians," as Rabbi Daniel Lapin would have us believe. It is part of a dialogue between people with different points of view on a highly sensitive subject. Some of the Jewish News readers who wrote in support of the forum made much of the fact that admission was free and dessert was served. I would like to suggest that the free admission was self-serving in that the forum was going to be aired on C-Span and it would certainly lend a greater aura of influence and power to have a large audience. One final comment: Rabbi Lapin and others referred a number of times in a disparaging way to "the Jewish community" and its alleged liberal wrongheadedness, as if they are not part of the Jewish community. They, as supposed intellectual Jewish leaders, should know that the Jewish community is not monolithic. There are many different beliefs, both religiously and politically, among Jewish people. This diversity is at once both our weakness and our strength. To Rabbi Lapin I would suggest: express your views within our diverse and dynamic Jewish community instead of distancing yourself. We need dialogue, not diatribe. Bunny L. Shuch Phoenix Thanks, Barbara, for all your hard work at school
Editor:Our grandchildren are students at the Solomon Schechter Day School. The director of the school, Barbara Gereboff, resigned effective Feb.12. We want to thank her for all that she has done for our grandchildren and all the other students at the school. The children's attitude toward school is positive. They are learning English and Hebrew. They are encouraged to think. Their creativity has been valued and nourished. More importantly, the whole concept of treating others as you would have others treat you was clearly practiced and understood by the children and their teachers. Barbara set the tone. We want to thank her for her enormous contribution. We will miss her. Bobbie and Arnold Serbin Phoenix (Via the Internet) Long life? Pump iron
Editor:Being well into the senior group, I was naturally attracted to the notice "Senior Fitness 2000" (Jewish News, Jan. 29) which I hope to be a part of. When one is already 90, the year 2000 is a mark to shoot at. Due to a blocked artery in one of my legs, I was advised to go to a local gym and use the stationary bicycle and treadmill. While there, I decided to do weights and found that I still have the strength to work out with various machines and equipment. The following incident happened the other day, and it brought home the way our younger people look at the older ones like myself. I'll describe the incident verbatim. Watching a young man lifting a bar with weights on both ends, I was curious to know how much weight was on it and asked. He replied, "Sixty pounds." "Do you mind if I try it?" I asked. "Sure, go ahead," he replied. When I lifted the 60 pounds as he did, he asked, "How old are you?" "Ninety," I replied. Stunned, he remarked in awe, "And you are still standing?" Where do young people get the idea that people of my age are ready to go out pricing burial plots. Many of us, by occupying our minds and keeping our bodies active, reach my age and beyond. I'm often asked if I'm retired. My answer is, "No. Just tired." I'm far from retired. I have many rewarding pursuits that bring benefit to others as well as myself. Age is no barrier. Murray Shaw Phoenix Writing on the wall
Editor:Last Saturday, my family was at home when one of our neighbors came to ask us if we had seen or noticed the graffiti written on the frame of our door. We checked our door and found some very nasty anti-Semitic remarks written on the frame. These were not personal accusations, they were written by people who obviously knew nothing about us. The derogatory statements stemmed from the fact that we had a mezuzah hanging on our frame, which was apparently noticed by the vandals. After noticing the ugly words, I turned to the other side of the wall and noticed that the mezuzah was missing. The symbolic meaning of this wrenched my heartstrings. I felt violated, denigrated, and most of all, sad. For being who I am, a proud Jewish person, I was attacked in a base and cowardly way. It hurts me deeply that there is still such ignorance and hatred in the world today. I don't know at this point who tried to hurt my family in such a senseless way. The sad thing is, these people did not even know my family and me. They probably don't know much about Judaism either. In situations like this I believe that we have to make these incidents known both to the Jewish community and to all other groups of people. Yes, incidents like this still happen, and no, we will not ignore them. We will talk about it in every possible situation. This time it was against a mezuzah and being Jewish; next time it could be against a Black or Hispanic or just anybody who is different. This time it was my house; tomorrow it could be yours. To teach tolerance and respect is a job that we all have to share, using every opportunity to share our values and beliefs, through word and action, hoping that tomorrow will be a brighter day. Ana Arbel Scottsdale |
