Doubtless, we can look forward to other such acts of intellectual protection like readings of choice articles from the Nazi newspaper Der Sturmer on the anniversary of Kristallnacht and of the lyrics of songs by white supremacist bands on the Resistance Records label on Martin Luther King Day. Or are the only scurrilities honored by readings at Theater J those of the anti-Zionist sort?

SHMUEL BEN-GAD

Washington

An open letter

Dear Mr. Ari Roth -- I have been reading about the controversy over the production, Seven Jewish Children (" 'Intellectual protection for the Jewish community,' " WJW, March 26). I find it most disturbing that our local JCC would want to put on a play with such negative portrayals of Israelis and Jews and such harsh judgment. Why not just put on a dramatization of Protocols of the Elders of Zion?

There are more than enough people who hate Jews. We do not need to aid their causing by giving them extra ammunition. This play, which originally premiered in England, was deemed anti-Semitic by a theater in Ireland. It is beyond me why our own JCC would put on a production that is considered too toxic and anti-Semitic for a European venue. That the author wanted all contributions to go to a fund for Palestinian children says a great deal about the orientation of the author and the intent of the play.

I would hope that more careful consideration is given to the impact of staging anti-Semitic plays.

Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt

Congregation B'nai Tzedek

Potomac

Play a travesty

Your review of the King of the Jews states that it is based on the "fictionalized treatment of the Shoah" ("A compelling night of theater," WJW, March 26). Sadly, the program that is given to patrons at the Olney Theatre states that "These events are real, as rooted in exact history, in the drama as they were in the novel from which it has been adapted ... ." To suggest that the events and people depicted in this travesty of a production are historically accurate is an insult to the memory of 230,000 Jews of Lodz, Poland, who perished in the Holocaust.

Lisa Traiger refers to "the colorful characters" comprising the first Judenrat. Chaim Rumkowski, in the character of Dr. Trumpelman, is portrayed as a lascivious pervert. The two rabbis in the play are depicted as clownish beggars, as they "stretch into stereotype with their discursive and bumptious talmudic arguments," much the same as caricatures included in Nazi-produced anti-Semitic films and documentaries. After a moving monologue by "the boy" about the gassing of his family and townspeople, the audience is subjected to a slapstick mass suicide scene, complete with people running into walls and pants dropping, reminiscent of The Three Stooges.

Ms. Traiger calls King of the Jews a "morality play that at its core captures the drama and life-or-death predicaments of the Holocaust." I disagree. Leslie Epstein's adaptation of his own fantasy novel is an absurd depiction of the selection and interactions of the Judenrat.

Sadly, many of the patrons who view this play will think it presents history.

JUDY HINES

Olney

Keep singles connecting

Instead of criticizing past actions regarding Jewish events for the 20-something generation, why not focus on and discuss what can be done in the future to keep singles of all ages connecting ("Too old to be considered 'young professional', " WJW, March 19)?

Why are there not any casual and friendly get-togethers for the 45-55 and 55 and over singles groups? For example, potluck dinners are fun and could be held in D.C., Virginia and Maryland. Why not make it easy for Jewish singles of all ages to be included in meeting one another?

LAURIE ENGLAND

Washington

Low-wage workers' reality

In his article ("Employee Free Choice Act ... belongs, with unions, in the past," WJW, March 19), Richard Berman speaks of the improvements in working conditions created by labor unions in the 20th century. However, his description of horrific working conditions as a thing of the past belies the reality of low-wage workers in this country.

Many low-wage workers pass invisibly through our lives, but are a critical part of keeping our society and economy moving. As we revel in the luxurious (but heavy) mattresses many hotel chains now offer us, an incredible one in 10 hotel housekeepers are injured on the job. Even before many hotels responded to the economic downturn by laying off housekeepers and upping their daily quotas, two-thirds of housekeepers reported taking pain medication daily just to get through their jobs.

Mr. Berman refers to critical efforts to set basic humane working conditions, but neglects to mention that in July 2008, before domestic workers in Montgomery County were given the right to a written contact, a study showed that almost half did not even receive a minimum wage and 75 percent did not receive overtime pay.

These injustices are just as real now as they were 100 years ago when our grandparents and great-grandparents helped found the labor movement to end the exploitation of workers.

Each year, Passover forces us to ask ourselves: Would we side with Pharaoh, demanding more and more from workers, or with Moses and the exploited Israelites, demanding respect and freedom?

The right to join a union means the right to a decent wage, decent conditions and a better life. When under current conditions as many as one in five workers are fired for attempting to join a union, we need reforms like the Employee Free Choice Act to guarantee that all people have the right to improve their lives.

JACOB FEINSPAN

executive director, Jews United

for Justice

Washington

Buyer, beware

Let the buyer beware when it comes to matzah this year. A five-pound package of Manischewitz matzah is priced at the outlandish price of $19.95 at local Giant markets, but with a Giant card you can get it for $8.99 when you spend $25 or more. And with a special coupon from the newspaper you can get a $5 rebate coupon to use on a future Giant purchase.

Similarly, a five-pound package of Streits matzah is priced at the even more outlandish price of $21.49, but with a Giant card you can get it for $2.99.

At the same time the Israeli brands of matzah, such as Osem, Aviv and others, which are usually priced around $5 for five pounds, seem to be absent from the shelves.

We Americans have to deal with the ups and downs in real estate, the stock market, credit card interest rates, etc., but whoever expected we would be faced with a matzah war this Passover. What is going on?

SALLY KRANZ

Washington

JWV's party planner

Just to set the record straight -- I believe as a newspaper you want the facts to be correct -- in your article and photographs, "Happy birthday Jewish Military Museum" (March 19), you did not report the party (for Jewish War Veterans of the USA at the National Museum of American Jewish Military History in Washington, D.C.) was conceived, sponsored and executed by six individuals. It was not sponsored by the museum, JWV or Jewish War Veterans Auxiliary. As the programs from the March event and the 1984 dedication show, one individual is responsible for the party.

I do not appreciate being ignored.

Florence Goldberg Levine

Past-president, National Ladies Auxiliary

Jewish War Veterans of the USA

Include Israeli products

When local and national Jewish communities collect food for food banks, they may want to include Israeli products. So doing, they are able to fulfill three mitzvot:

¥ Getting food for the needy

¥ Providing exports and income for Israel

¥ Improving our image, as recipients will recognize the Israeli food and the Jewish source.

Suitable nonperishable products can be found in the kosher foods sections of supermarkets, These may include biscuits from Kedem and canned products such as Israeli hummus, pasta and soup cubes from Telma.

Given the generous food donations from American Jewish communities, this may generate significant extra revenue for Israel and help to improve our image, without extra expense to those who donate food generously anyway.

MICHAEL MAUTNER

Germantown

That's for the record

Douglas Bloomfield claims that certain, unnamed Jewish groups claimed the credit for Chas. W. Freeman's withdrawal from his appointment as National Intelligence head and used the issue as a stick with which to beat a president they regard as hostile to Israel. ("Freeman defeat an inside job," March 19). This is untrue.

Freeman's Chinese and Saudi ties and conflicts of interest primarily sank his appointment -- and as one of only two Jewish groups that publicly opposed Freeman's nomination, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) repeatedly pointed to these ties and conflict of interests, not merely Freeman's malicious and vitriolic past statements about Israel. (These included blaming Israel for causing 9/11, which gives the lie to his claim of having been merely a measured critic of particular Israeli policies.)

In letters to various newspapers and in our response to Freeman's subsequent attack upon ZOA in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria (March 16), we exposed Freeman's repeated, false claim that he had only described, not supported, the official Chinese attitude to its 1989 repression of pro-democracy forces. (In fact, he has welcomed such repression and expressed the view that it should have happened sooner.)

We are pleased to have played a role in drawing attention to Freeman's unacceptable record that spurred members of Congress to act decisively.

Lastly, ZOA has expressed several concerns with the Obama administration's Middle East policy and will continue to do so as we see fit, but, in connection with Freeman, our only mention of President Obama was our call upon him to rescind Freeman's appointment.

Michael Goldblatt

Chair, Board of Directors

Zionist Organization of America