Unelected Leaders
In the aftermath of Israel’s elections, the leader of one well-known American Jewish organization loudly complained that the election results “will make our job tougher.”
The irony, of course, is that this individual, like the leaders of most Jewish organizations, was himself never elected to his position. The members of his organization pay their dues but are denied the right to vote. Some might call this situation taxation without representation.
Israel’s prime minister, by contrast, is democratically elected by his nation’s citizens. Perhaps those in America whose positions of power were secured by virtue of their wealth or connections should show a little more respect for the principles of democracy – both in Israel and in the United States.
Moshe Phillips, President
Benyamin Korn, Chairman
Religious Zionists of America
Philadelphia
Battleground For Our Future
Re “The New York Times Gets It Wrong on JNF and Bedouin Arabs,” op-ed, March 13:
Following the New York Times column “The Two Israels” by Nicholas Kristof, I have been moved by the massive outpouring of support from our donors who know the real truth about JNF’s work with the Bedouin community in Israel and the inclusive work we do for all
Mr. Kristof’s attempt to turn our beloved tree-planting program into a villainous effort is nothing short of hateful and a slander toward world Jewry. Happily, his opinion has backfired as donors have been purchasing trees by the grove to send a message to him and The New York Times that such ruminations are wrong.
Mr. Kristof is part of something larger than going after our tree-planting program. He is part of the battle we’re seeing grow in the media and on college campuses to win over the minds of young Jews and silence their support for Israel:
* In the UK, students voted to support ISIS and reject Israel. They would not condemn ISIS on the grounds that it could be considered Islamophobic.
* A day of action against Israel was organized nationally by America Muslims for Palestine, and professors rallied with them.
* Ward Churchill, a professor at Colorado University, asserts that terrorist violence against America is morally justifiable.
* Christians are being slaughtered in the Middle East and Africa, and Jewish college students across our country have been physically, emotionally, and intellectually harassed, intimated, threatened, and bullied by fellow students and even professors.
Democracy cannot be allowed to be jeopardized. And make no mistake, these attacks on Jews and Israel are attacks on democracy. Our response cannot be silence. We cannot allow professors or anyone on college campuses to divest from Israel. That is the first step to divesting from democracy and then the U.S. We cannot be silent. This is a battleground we cannot lose. This is the battleground for our young people, for our future.
Russell F. Robinson
Chief Executive Officer
Jewish National Fund
Post-Holocaust Jew
Why is Prime Minister Netanyahu so disliked by so many other world leaders? It is because he is not the servile court Jew of European history. He is not the American Jew begging to be accepted as a one hundred percent American. He represents the post-Holocaust Jew who has gone through so much to create and sustain the state of Israel.
Thelma Susswein
Jerusalem
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Learning From My Namesakes
The following beautiful little essay was written by my ten-year-old grandson with his mother’s help. He is a 4G (fourth generation Holocaust survivor) who lives in Marine Park, Brooklyn.
Words cannot express how touched I was when I received it. My prayer for all 2Gs is that we should all have children and grandchildren who will write beautiful statements like the one below.
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg (2G)
Edison, NJ
My name is Akiva Yosef “Hakohen” Merl. My name is very important because it tells me where I come from.
My first name is Akiva, named for my great grandfather, Yaakov Rosenberg. He was a survivor of Auschwitz, a concentration camp. He lost his wife and two children, his parents, and siblings, all because they were Jewish. He was strong, and he survived. He built a new family, and started a new life. From him I can learn strength.
My second name is for my great great-grandfather Yosef Beer. He was an immigrant from Europe, and lived as a frum Jew in America when it was very difficult to do so. He was a talmid chacham, and it is said that whenever anyone on the block had a question regarding halacha, they came to knock on his door. From him I can learn ahavas Torah.
My last name is Merl. My great-grandfather Asher Tzvi “Hakohen” Merl was courageous. Before the Holocaust he decided that Eretz Yisrael was where he needed to be. At a young age, he left Germany all by himself, without any family, and moved to “Palestine.” He built a new life for himself in Eretz Yisrael. He had seven children, and many, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, ka”h. From him I can learn courage.
In just a few years, iy”h, I will be called to the Torah for the first time at my bar mitzvah. I will be called by my full name, because every part of who I am is due to where I come from. I hope that as I begin this next important chapter of Torah learning, Hascholas Gemara, I can live up to my name and make my namesakes proud.