Categories: In Print / Letters To The Editor

Letters To The Editor - October 18, 2024

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October 15, 2024, 10 AM ET

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Correction: In Saul Jay Singer’s Collecting Jewish History article, “The Yomim Noraim with Marc and Bella Chagall,” the referenced October 7, 1963 Shana Tova correspondence written in Yiddish by Marc Chagall to his friend Gabriel Talpir was inadvertently omitted. In the letter, Chagall thanks Talpir for sending him an etrog for the New Year, but regrets that his late father will be unable to use it. Instead of writing the word “etrog,” Chagall added an original illustration of a hand holding the beautiful fruit. Gratitude From Unmatched Author I would like to thank the letter writer Andrew Bloom (Oct. 4), as well as other Jewish Press readers who have written directly to me. When I began writing Unmatched, I couldn’t envision sharing my story at all and couldn’t imagine it being accepted by the community. While working on it, I often thought of trashing the entire manuscript in my moments of self-doubt, so reading Mr. Bloom’s words “a masterpiece in style and content” – along with so many of the other beautiful comments and reviews I’ve received – still takes my breath away. Thank you all so much. Seeing my memoir so warmly received is so gratifying and validating. Your letters have made this difficult writing journey all worthwhile. In addition, I’d like to thank The Jewish Press for all their support and for serializing my memoir. To contact me, or for more information on Unmatched, please visit www.unmatchedstory.com.

Sarah Lavane Via E-mail

Prager On The Mark About “Israel Derangement Syndrome” I always read Dennis Prager’s columns with great interest due to his intelligent, clear, and moral dissertations. The Oct. 4 article regarding Israel derangement syndrome was no exception. Mr. Prager likened the hatred for Israel and Jews to the irrational and psychotic hatred of former president Donald Trump. Yes, Mr. Trump can come off crass at times, but his policies were excellent, both for Jews and the global community at large. In short, there were no wars during his tenure, and our economy was humming along until Covid reared its ugly head. And I ask those who claim the former president mishandled Covid what they would have done. He shut down travel from China and was called xenophobic. A vaccine was fast tracked in record time, so please, let’s just stop that nonsense. Getting back to Israel derangement syndrome, this is part of a much larger blight on society. Radical leftist ideologies and their supporters have been infiltrating our educational systems from kindergarten through college for many decades. This, coupled with massive investments into our universities by Islamic countries pushing their agenda, has resulted in a perfect storm. Per the leftists, we must be broken down into oppressors versus the oppressed, and of course Israel oppresses the Arabs amongst their midst. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Muslim citizenry of Israel have full access to all elements of society. They may avail themselves of many freedoms in Israel that can only be dreamed of in the neighboring Muslim countries. Add to the mix the radical Israel- and Jew-hating influence of the Islamo dollars at work at universities in conjunction with leftist hateful dogma, and of course the result will be anti-Israel and antisemitic proliferation. Both the leftist and Islamist factions feed off antisemitic and anti-Western anarchist activity. Their goal is to destroy Western civilization and reshape society into socialist/communist and Islamic totalitarian quagmires. Most notably, however, Israel derangement syndrome is driven by simple raw antisemitism which has been simmering under the surface for decades, but has now surged to the surface with a vengeance. We as Jews must recognize this tragic trend and act accordingly. Mostly, we should pray and treat each other with respect and love and support each other. Secondly, we must vote for candidates that will support our great country’s principles, which should naturally dovetail with support for Israel and Jewish communities, as well as the country at large. This holds true for the office of the president as well as down the ballot. Third, perhaps we should be seriously considering aliyah or at the very least moving to states with rational anti-crime and economic policies, and take our tax base with us. Voting with our feet as it were. We must rid ourselves of polarizing forces, and may G-d bring peace and prosperity to the world at large with the coming of Moshiach as painlessly as possible speedily in our times.

George Weiss Via E-mail

Herman Melville’s Journey To Eretz Yisrael I read with great interest Saul Jay Singer’s Sept 27. column on Herman Melville’s travels in the Holy Land of Israel (Collecting Jewish History column, “Herman Melville’s Journey To Eretz Yisrael And His Resultant Epic ‘Jewish’ Poem”). One thing that was not mentioned is the fact that the Jewish residents of Jerusalem were so enamored with Mr. Melville that they named their most sacred shrine in his honor: The Whaling Wall. I’ll see myself out.

Steven Bernstein Via E-mail