Blow the Kites Back Into Gaza
Instead of shooting the Arab children who launch fire kites that damage Israeli land, why not try this: Simply set up large wind machines near the barrier fences that will blow the kites back into Gaza from whence they were launched.
At the same time, Israel can use the wind power to generate electricity to power its citizens’ homes and workplaces.
George Epstein
Los Angeles
We Need a Fast Day To Commemorate the Holocaust
I wholeheartedly agree with Cantor Ralph Green’s letter to the editor last week. There should definitely be a fast day commemorating the Holocaust. If a poll were taken, I am sure your readers would agree. My husband and I are children of survivors who lost parents, siblings, grandparents, and others.
Judy Brunner
Is a Fast Day Really the Way to Go?
Last week, Cantor Ralph Green called for a special fast for the Holocaust. But is fasting the proper response to one and a half million murdered children?
Perhaps a better idea would be energizing and supporting Jewish organizations that aid those with fertility problems and thus enable the birth of more Jewish children.
Or perhaps improving the get system to enable more marriages and the birth of more children.
Or perhaps instituting a moment of silence at bar and bat mitzvahs.
These ideas – and others – would keep the memory of these children alive throughout the year rather than just one day a year.
Ann Greenfield
No, Abortion Won’t Be Illegal Countrywide
The Democratic Party has been very successful in raising money by scaring people that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe vs. Wade, making abortions illegal across the country. This portrayal is inaccurate for two reasons:
1) Prior to the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973, each state had the right to regulate (or not regulate) abortions. For example, since New York wanted abortions to be legal in its state, it was. In Mississippi, it wasn’t.
2) The Supreme Court generally operates based on stare decisis, or, in simple English, precedent. Since Roe vs. Wade has been American law for 45 years, it is unlikely to be overturned.
In the unlikely event that Roe vs. Wade is overturned, though, each state would have the right to regulate abortion as it sees fit.
Arthur Horn
East Windsor, New Jersey
Nancy Pelosi And George Will Deserve Better
Nancy Pelosi may be a lot more liberal than I am, but Politifact has confirmed that Pelosi simply objected to the president calling people “animals.” She did not mention the MS-13 gang, and for Trump to subsequently call her an “MS-13 lover” was therefore not appropriate.
As for George Will: He was critical of Trump way before he joined MSNBC. He actually was forced to leave FOX because he would not join the Trump bandwagon. MSNBC is the only medium through which he, Bill Kristol, and other anti-Trump conservatives can still be heard.
Finally, if we are going to talk about hakarat hatov, we should remember that years before FOX News was created in 1996, virtually the only person defending Israel on American television was George Will. To dismiss someone like Will as suffering from a disease(?) and other pro-Israel supporters with names like “leftist” and “dense” is inappropriate.
Yosef Tannenbaum
What’s With All The Pro-Trump Material?
I have been a loyal subscriber to the Jewish Press for over a decade, valuing your blend of Torah commentary, halacha, Israel coverage, and your centrist hashkafa that recognizes Zionism and allows for images of women and discussion of controversial matters.
Over the past year, however, I have become disillusioned with the direction taken by the newspaper. It was become cover-to-cover admiration for President Donald Trump and his policies. Just look at the political cartoons, selected tweets, “Prager’s Perspective,” “Reagan’s Ruminations,” and “Dispatch from the Culture War Front,” among others.
When millions of young working Americans cannot make ends meet, how does Dennis Prager have the audacity to attribute their “resistance” to Trump to naiveté and boredom? Concerning Michael Reagan’s column, when did the Orthodox community become so militantly anti-abortion? Historically, the matter was subject to a psak that depended on the health of the mother. A total ban may cause harm to a woman in need of an abortion.
Sergey Kadinsky
Fresh Meadows
Trump Is a Divine Blessing
Mr. Tannenbaum criticizes Trump for “picking fights with” U.S. allies. Well, most Americans are proud of the fact that this president (completely unlike the last) is finally standing up for America! He is putting America’s safety, well-being, and prosperity ahead of political correctness and appeasement!
But like most liberals who irrationally hate Trump, Mr. Tannenbaum can’t see, much less acknowledge, all the tremendous accomplishments this president continues to rack up in behalf of the American people. These liberals focus on inane nonsense they swallow 24/7 from the dishonest media (CNN, MSNBC, etc.).
I myself am unable to understand how any decent and intelligent individual, especially a Jew, cannot feel anything but gratitude, pride, and actual joy that G-d has blessed us with a leader such as President Trump.
R. Frankel
Go to the UN on Tisha B’Av
Incendiary kites burning thousands of acres of precious Israeli farmland; Iranian troops and proxies from Syrian inching closer to Israel; brazen acts of anti-Semitism in Europe; constant pressure by BDS hatemongers right here in the United States – these are just some of the reasons we are continuing our annual Tisha B’Av Mincha prayer service at the Isaiah Wall opposite the United Nations.
Please come to First Avenue and 43rd Street on Sunday, July 22, at 2 p.m. Mincha, complete with Torah reading, will focus on our brethren in danger in Israel and throughout the world. Contact us at [email protected] or 212-663-5784.
Lenore Richter
Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concerns
Israel Associated Itself With Anti-Circumcision Group
In attending New York’s gay pride parade, Israel’s consulate general in New York associated himself with “intactivists,” a group that is always present at this type of event.
This group views circumcision as a form of child abuse; it believes the act of circumcision mutilates the body and causes pain to a minor child without his consent. It therefore advocates banning circumcision.
For Israel’s consulate general in New York to have any connection, in any form, with this group represents the epitome of disregard for the Torah and one of the major tenets of Judaism. It was an absolute chillul Hashem for a representative of a Jewish state to have been associated with this group.
Elaine Friedlander
Tepper Is Wrong About Applied Kinesiology
Mr. Tepper’s article on energy healing was truly interesting and educational. It was quite clear and almost convincing. One would think his background is so comprehensive that all he said was true and accurate.
Not so. All was somewhat acceptable until the end of the article when he threw in kinesiologists. And his error regarding Applied Kinesiology leads me to believe the rest of his article may also be wanting.
Applied kinesiology is both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool and not an energy technique; it incorporates neurology and manipulation. The tools of this technique have been documented in numerous peer-reviewed journals that Mr. Tepper either ignored or missed in his research.
I also ask: Why does Mr. Tepper not mention the most accepted technique based on Qi, a technique that has been utilized for almost 2,000 years? Yes, acupuncture practitioners are taught Qi as the foundation to their education.
Dr. Jeffrey E. Weber MA, DC, DCBCN