Israel + peace = pro-Israel
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb has staked out the common ground in his excellent, well-thought-out answer to the question he posed: “What does it mean to be pro-Israel?” (Voices, April 18). Adat Shalom had a debate years ago that resulted in our entrance banner: “We support Israel; We support peace.” It presaged Dobb’s important statement last week. May it inspire all America’s Jews to join hands and plant a thousand flowers to grace the path to a far better tomorrow.
RABBI GEORGE B. DRIESEN
The writer is senior scholar at Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation, which Dobb leads.
Supporting Israel = pro-Israel
Rabbi Dobb fails to consider critical factors. He attacks Netanyahu, accusing him of “sliding toward the extreme right.”
Dobb advocates a two-state solution, not mentioning five previous attempts — 1923, 1937, 1947, 2000, 2008 — all accepted by Israel [or the pre-state Zionist leadership], but rejected by Arabs. He ignores the religious aspect of the conflict, namely that many Muslims believe that once land comes under Muslim
control, it must remain so for all time.
Being pro-Israel should mean supporting what the people of Israel want, not what American Jews want. It is wrong for American Jews to interfere in Israeli politics. They should make aliyah, participate in the Israeli electoral process and place their children in the IDF protecting the Jewish state.
WARREN MANISON
Potomac
Look to the right for anti-Semitism
In his April 18 letter “President John Adams…,” Marc Caroff inveighs against the alleged “increasing influence wielded by anti-Semites within the [Democratic] party” while turning a blind eye to
goings-on on the right: such as the message “Gas the Jews” accompanied by swastikas and the words “Trump 2020” painted on the windows and doors of the Cleveland County, Okla., Democratic Party
office; and the dispositive ADL testimony before a House committee that 78 percent of extremist murders in this country in 2018 were the work of white supremacists — not self-styled democratic socialists.
Or the Trump campaign ad featuring three rich Jews (Lloyd Blankfein, Janet Yellen and George Soros) over a narration vilifying “those who control the levers of power in Washington” and the “global special interests”.
STEVE WEISSMAN
Baltimore
Musical neighbors
Regarding “Suitcase Stories” (April 18), Yevgeny Kutik grew up in my town. I remember the excitement and the community effort to welcome his family [who immigrated from the USSR]. They became a fixture in the community life — his mom taught and his father blew the shofar many, many times for the high holidays. Having a family with that level of musicianship was otherworldly. Thanks for this great write-up.
KIM LEVONE
Silver Spring
Warren Manison insists that “.Being pro-Israel should mean supporting what the people of Israel want, not what American Jews want. It is wrong for American Jews to interfere in Israeli politics. They should make aliyah, participate in the Israeli electoral process and place their children in the IDF protecting the Jewish state.”
So, why doesn’t he – and his fellow ZOA myrmidon letter-writers Nelson Marans and Melvin Farber – do the right thing, by making aliyah themselves? They talk the talk, but, hypocritically, refuse to walk the walk.
As to “It is wrong for American Jews to interfere in Israeli politics”: decision-making and responsibility go hand in hand. Thanks to lobbying by the American Jewish community, Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid: $3.8 billion. If the US helps pay Israel’s bills, Americans- including American Jews- are entitled to a say in Israeli affairs.