Insulting
Rabbi Pruzansky’s sarcastic list was in poor taste (“Is It Proper?” Oct. 29).
The idea that making racist jokes would, in some universe, be in the same ballpark as making jokes about firefighters is insulting, to put it mildly.
Furthermore, I noticed that Rabbi Pruzansky did not include jokes about the Holocaust in his list. I guess everyone has their limits – even the good rabbi.
Shlomo Becher
New York, NY
No Joke
Jokes are a way of ridiculing society’s stupidity, its social and political hypocrisy – and thereby defusing the tension that arises due to taking so much too seriously (“Is It Proper?” Oct. 29). Nothing is out of bounds, except for the insults that are anti-Semitic and racist. However, who decides what is or is not appropriate, as all jokes reveal the covert hostility and hatred of the other? Xenophobia against the Jew is ubiquitous, but anti-Semitic and racists jokes reveal what might be coming once again or is already here, and waiting to act.
Bert Zackim
New York, NY
Overused?
Here’s another take on the word “mentsch” (Word Prompt, October 22).
A person of integrity and honor, that’s what the Oxford Dictionary says.
The first use of the word “mentsch” that we’ve recorded in near modern times was around the early 16th century, where it spiked in literature to its highest level until around 1542, when it became unpopular and stayed relatively unused until the early 19th century, where its use today is about one quarter of where it was in the 16th century.
It goes without saying, this was primarily due to the explosion of Jewish literature, the growth and migration of Yiddish speaking Jews, and the rapid development of yeshivas that spoke Yiddish as the primary language. You could be called a mentsch if you did something good, even just one time.
Often, we bestow this upon our children in the hopes they will live up to the mentsch title, but far too often the word is overused and has come to recognize a good deed, but not necessarily that the person is of Honor and Integrity. Perhaps teaching mentschlichkeit beyond what we do for middos might restore the meaning to the word.
Jason Braverman
Toronto ON, Canada
Bad Move
A brief “Golden Age” in U.S-Israel relations is now reverting to the previous “Dark Ages.” Not surprising, since so many Biden foreign policy advisors are Obama retreads.
A few flashpoints are now emerging: Israel’s banning six NGOs strongly tied to the terrorist PFLP; 2,800 new West Bank Jewish housing tenders within existing settlement boundaries; 1,600 Palestinian housing starts in Israel-controlled Area C; and, especially, the intended reopening of the Jerusalem Consulate serving Palestinians.
The consul general would again report directly to Washington, bypassing the Embassy. What a deliberate strike against Israel’s sovereignty over its united capital! What extreme disrespect toward America’s most indispensable Mideast ally and its many American supporters. Totally unnecessary too, since Ramallah or Abu Dis would be far more appropriate sites for such diplomatic presence.
Many unintended consequences would flow from this unwise move. Israel’s new political spectrum-spanning government would almost certainly collapse. A fatal blow would be struck to the Abraham Accords. This administration cozying up to despotic Palestinian leadership and the Iranian mullahs is unwittingly creating combustible conditions for a catastrophic regional war.
Senators should be urged to support S.3063, which would prohibit its funding. The State Dept. is withholding announcement till after two critical votes: Knesset budget approval and Senate confirmation of Thomas Nides as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. The key to delaying that rests solely in Majority Leader Schumer’s hands. It’s time for him to prove that he is, indeed, “Schumer Israel.” That confirmation vote should not be held until the Administration agrees not to drop this proposal.
Lastly, an administration official has testified that, under international law, Israel must agree to the reopening. It will be under enormous pressure to do so. There must be equal and opposite pressure, in the U.S, and Israel, not to accede.
Richard D. Wilkins
Syracuse, NY
Shift Needed
How can American Jewry mobilize effectively against the woke animus of the Democratic Party without a massive shft of political allegiance to the other party?
Ed Yitshaq Levenson
Oaxaca, Mexico