Abuse And Change
Kudos to The Jewish Press for publishing Dr. Michael J. Salamon’s brilliant “The Limitations of Rabbinic Oversight” (op-ed, Oct. 31).
Dr. Salamon convincingly argues that the demands by various rabbinic and religious organizations that cases of abuse first be reported to them rather than the appropriate secular authorities have no merit.
With the latest horrific allegations and ongoing investigation into a prominent rabbinic leader centering around conversions and a mikveh, clearly and unfortunately the clergy are incapable of policing themselves, let alone others.
It’s encouraging to see responsible Jewish mental health professionals and others speaking out on this important issue. Change is slowly coming for the better.
Boris Bengenya
(Via E-Mail)
Worse Than Orwellian
It ill becomes an administration that virtually daily exhibits stunning domestic and foreign policy incompetence to so blatantly and profanely badmouth an allied foreign leader.
Much as an athlete unable to distinguish between his left and right shoes, Obama seems incapable of discerning who America’s friends and foes really are. Poised on the cusp of a historic diplomatic disaster, the administration seems particularly proud of all the obstacles it put in place to prevent Israel from acting to derail an Iranian bomb. Now, when it deems it “too late for him to pull the trigger,” the administration sends some anonymous spokesman to tell journalist Jeffrey Goldberg what a coward Netanyahu is. What contemptible chutzpah!
When future historians contemplate the sorry record of this administration, they will undoubtedly conclude that on Middle East analyses, Netanyahu was almost always right and Obama almost always wrong.
In striking contrast to all the pejoratives nastily aimed at Netanyahu are those constant invocations of the PA’s Abbas, and even Iran’s Rouhani, as “moderates.” George Orwell would not be amused. Neither should be the Congress nor the American people.
Richard D. Wilkins
Syracuse, NY
Redividing Jerusalem
The unnamed Obama administration official’s vulgar insult directed toward Israel’s prime minister was troubling. But the policy behind the vulgarity is much worse.
In recent weeks, the White House and State Department have repeatedly condemned Israel for building apartments for Jews (and Arabs) in neighborhoods in Jerusalem that are beyond the 1948 armistice line. The administration is very careful to refrain from saying explicitly that they want to redivide Jerusalem. They don’t say that out loud because they know it would infuriate American Jews (not to mention almost all Israelis).
But “redivide Jerusalem” is exactly what the Obama administration is implying every time it condemns Israel for building apartments in “East Jerusalem” and claims that such construction endangers peace. The only peace it would endanger is one in which that part of Jerusalem is expected to be given to the Palestinians.
There is nothing sacred about the 1948 line (usually called the pre-1967 line). It was never an official border. It was simply the farthest point to which Jordanian troops managed to advance in the 1948 war. The Jordanian aggression in 1948 was illegal. The Jordanian occupation of the eastern part of Jerusalem, including the Old City, from 1948 to 1967 was illegal. The Jordanian destruction of 57 synagogues in the Old City during the 1950s and 1960s was illegal. Jordan’s use of tombstones from the Mount of Olives cemetery as latrines in Jordanian Army barracks was illegal.
When Israel won the 1967 war and reunited Jerusalem, it was correcting an outrageous historical injustice. Decent people everywhere should celebrate that the city has, since 1967, been ruled by a democratic government that respects the rights of all religions and safeguards the holy sites of all faiths.
The Obama administration should be more frank about its aims. It should honestly acknowledge that it regards all construction beyond the 1967 line as illegal because it wants Israel to give those areas to the Palestinians. In other words, it wants to redivide Jerusalem – meaning that the new capital of “Palestine” would include the Temple Mount, the Kotel, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, the Mount of Olives cemetery, and most or all of the following Jerusalem neighborhoods: Ramot, French Hill, Gilo, Neve Yaakov, Ramat Shlomo, Har Homa, and Givat Hamatos.