Isaac Levinson
(Via E-Mail)
The Fight Over The Chief Rabbinate (II)
The institution of the Chief Rabbinate was invented by the British and imposed in Israel during the Mandate. It is long past time to reexamine whether this institution benefits or harms the Jews in Israel.
Stephen Asbe
(Posted at JewishPress.com)
U.S. Hypocrisy
In April 1979, Hamid Aboutalebi was part of the group that seized the U.S. Embassy in Iran and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Now, Iran wants Aboutalebi to be the Islamic Republic’s representative to the UN. Because the UN headquarters is located in New York, Aboutalebi has requested that the State Department grant him a visa to enter our country. And of course, most in the United States government are rightfully upset about this, and are seeking to prevent him from getting a visa to enter the USA.
However, our same U.S. government didn’t have any problem pressuring the Israeli government to release terrorist prisoners, many of whom had murdered Israeli civilians. Many of these terrorists committed their crimes less than a quarter of a century ago. Seventy-eight of them have been released to a hero’s welcome by the Palestinian Authority, along with good paying jobs and a pension. Past history shows that many of them might return to terrorism. They are also considered role models for Palestinian youth, who may also be encouraged to become terrorists.
Hamid Aboutalebi committed his crime 35 years ago, and no Americans were murdered. He also isn’t likely to murder any Americans while on our soil. The hypocrisy of the U.S. government is appalling. Why is it considered proper for the U.S. to pressure Israel to release terrorist murderers and yet we won’t give a visa to a man who merely facilitated the kidnapping of Americans 35 years ago?
To compound the sin, our American government has been pressuring Israel to release an additional 400 terrorists. Is this government really concerned about the security of Israel?
Richard Chaimberlin
Rochester, NY