Tisha B’Av At The UN
Jewish Press readers are terrific! They participated in our annual Tisha B’Av outdoor Minchah service – which focused on Israel and Jewish communities in danger – at the UN’s Isaiah Wall.
We showed our love and passionate concern for Eretz Yisrael to hundreds of diplomats, to television crews, and to a huge number of passersby.
May next Tisha B’Av be changed from a day of darkness to one of light.
Glenn Richter
Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concerns
Perpetuating Our Legacy
Last week while reading the special kinnos dedicated to the Holocaust, my mind flashed back to my experience as a 17-year-old woman on Tisha B’Av 1944 in Auschwitz. All the women were forced to disrobe and stand with their hands up in the hair, holding their clothes while SS soldiers made their selections.
At the conclusion of the selections, Jewish kapos ordered the selected women into the shower room and while turning off the lights informed them they would be gassed. One can imagine the panic that ensued.
Baruch Hashem, after what seemed like an eternity it wasn’t gas that came out but water.
It’s still hard to fathom, some 70 years afterward, that I along with my husband Yitzchok, a”h, established a family here in New York with three generations of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, all shomrei Torah umitzvos.
I am a strong believer that survivors should relate to the next generations their stories of mesiras nefesh, of how they survived and were zocheh to perpetuate the legacy that is so dear to us.
(Mrs.) Vera Kohn
Forest Hills, NY
Gaza’s Future (I)
Israel must not consider any concessions to Gaza beyond allowing for humanitarian relief.
It is not sufficient that the rocket attacks cease. Gaza must be demilitarized. Hamas leaders must be removed from power and exiled. As long as Hamas remains in power, there will be continuous war.
For Hamas, this is a religious rather than a political struggle. Members of Hamas will never be swayed from their pursuit of jihad. A new responsible authority must be installed in Gaza.
Jerrold Terdiman, MD
Woodcliff Lake, NJ
Gaza’s Future (II)
While I grieve for the victims of this newest Hamas aggression, I am proud of the great accomplishments of the IDF in undermining Hamas’s ability to challenge Israel (“Battle Over Cease-Fire Terms Underway As IDF Redeploys Around Gaza,” front page news story, August 8).
Unfortunately, I fear Israel will not be so successful in winning the peace. With the world arrayed against it for having the temerity to successfully defend itself, it won’t be long before Israel is again faced with an immediate threat from Gaza.
In sum, Israel’s military gains will not be long-lasting and the Palestinians will enjoy international support in escaping the consequences of their own aggression. The widespread support for Hamas’s demands in the cease-fire negotiations is proof positive of that.
Morris Hollander
(Via E-Mail)
Gaza’s Future (III)
Whether it’s Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, or any other faction or combination of factions that holds sway, there is no hope for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Defeat in war with Israel or in internal battling among themselves will never diminish their abiding hatred for Jews.
The mufti was an ally of Hitler during World War II and encouraged his genocide against the Jews. The Palestinian Arabs simply will not accept the legitimacy of any connection between Jews and the land of Israel.
David Goldstein
(Via E-Mail)
Straight-Talking Bolton
I applaud The Jewish Press for its interview with John Bolton (front page essay, Aug. 8.)
Bolton’s matter-of-fact, no-nonsense take on issues facing Israel is both educational and refreshing. The current threat to Israel is bad enough, he says, but the long-range prospect of a Hamas with improved, more accurate rockets is a greater problem.