July 3, 2026 Categories: Letters To The Editor
Letters To The Editor - March 6, 2026
Just Say It
I very much appreciated Rabbi Andrew Markowitz’s article about “The First Baruch Hashem” (www.JewishPress.com, Feb. 6).
He managed to offer excellent food for thought – a.k.a. musar – without being preachy. We could all do well to be freer with our expressions of gratitude to Hashem as well as to our parents, children, and the other people in our lives. And I’ve learned that it’s important not to wait to thank someone or wish them well because you never know whether something will happen to take away that opportunity.
Mali Horowitz Chicago, Ill.
Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism Is Jew Hatred Saul Singer in his Perspective, "Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism" (Feb. 20) is fine as far as it goes. But I submit that it doesn't go far enough. For antisemitism (officially spelled with a small 's' because, after all, it is not that big a deal, right?) is itself only a genteel way of saying Jew-hatred. Singer in his detailed essay describes anti-Zionism in various contexts, including global historical, sociological, and political. He does at one point claim that "hostility toward Israel invariably bleeds into hostility toward Jews as Jews," but then returns to his main contention that anti-Zionisn is really antisemitism. I humbly submit that that formulation it completely backwards. It is Jew-hatred, first and foremost, that leads to antisemitism and anti-Zionism, not the other way around. The major impetus to classical, historical hostility toward Jews is strictly, and only, pure hatred of Jews. Starting from this basic premise, all the other manifestation of Jew hatred are derived – like anti-Zionism, blood libels, and charges of genocide, Christ-killer, being too rich, being too poor, being too smart, being too assertive, being too subservient, being too dirty, controlling the world, being oppressors and manipulators, being too cheap, etc. The list goes on and on. Jews have to understand that simple Jew-hatred is the root cause of our problems, not anything else that others slander us with.Max Wisotsky Highland Park, N.J.
Invest in the Youth I read and enjoyed Alan Zeitlin's article in The Jewish Press (“Invest in These Things If You Care about Jewish Survival,” Feb. 20). I have taught history in high school, college, public school and yeshiva for sixty years. Nothing is more important to the Jewish people than a proper Jewish education. Rabbi P. M. Teitz, for whom I had worked, made a point that no Jewish child should be denied a Jewish education, and money should not become an issue for any Jewish parent. We Jews today are so blessed in that we not only have our own country, Israel, but we also have enough influential Jews in America to see to it that Jewish children have a strong foundation in knowing what it means to be a Jew today, whether it is in Israel or America. Let us not forget that Hitler was not elected to be the head of Germany but took over a democratic country that had a structure of checks and balances that were overcome by the Nazis. We must make sure that the checks and balances in America are preserved; elections can help in the preservation of those rights we are entitled to have in America. Whatever you do, do not rely on Jewish politicians. Their primary goal is to get elected. To protect Jews is to protect America. Do not rely on museums. Do not rely on the media. What we must do is make sure every Jewish child is made aware of his/her heritage. The survival of the Jewish people is in the hands of 15 million Jews in a planet of over 8 billion people. Rav Avraham Kook, of blessed memory, was instrumental in the establishment of the modern state of Israel. He did it by embracing all Jews. Every Jew today is a part of the Jewish family of 15 million. Every Jew has a responsibility to every other Jew. We have survived by preserving our values. What is it about a Jew that makes us so special? It is the belief that we are so special. Hitler was once asked why he hated the Jews. He said that it is the Jews that gave the world a conscience. We gave the world so much, but most importantly, we gave them a belief in G-d. Moshe Rabbeinu emphasized that children come first. Like the most beautiful flower. a Jewish child must be nurtured from birth. That child must be taught that he was chosen by Hashem to make the world live up to the best standards for humanity. We have a big job. There are so few of us and so many of them. Remember, David was so small, but Goliath was so big.Joel M. Glazer Elizabeth, N.J.
