Bemoaning the loss of life
Regarding “The best defense is a good assault-style weapon” (Letters, Dec. 2):
In his response to Rabbi Charles Arian’s commentary on the Kyle Rittenhouse case, Richard Levy begins by apparently berating the rabbi for “bemoaning” the loss of life of two men. This is anathema to our Judaism and the rabbis who wrote in Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5 that “Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world.”
While our self-defense laws provide much discretion and the non-guilty verdict for Rittenhouse appears consistent with this fact, that should not be the end of story, although this is where Levy leaves it. Our responsibilities in life and to others are more than what is legal or not. Making the choice to become a 17-year-old vigilante with an AR-15 is akin to bringing gasoline to an existing 5-alarm fire. Rittenhouse may not be legally responsible for the loss of life, but surely what he did cannot be condoned and certainly we should bemoan the loss of life resulting from his reckless acts. Levy’s reply is simply insufficient as a Jewish response.
TED BENJAMIN
Reston
Redoing the math on faith-based child care
In “Jewish children left behind” (Editorial, Nov. 25), WJW wrote: “According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, faith-based organizations provide early childhood care for more than half of families who rely on childcare centers.”
Unfortunately, that is a misrepresentation of our data. While faith-based care is a critical piece of the child care landscape, they do not provide care for half of center families.
Through our national survey with Morning Consult, we found that 31 percent of working-parent households used center-based care. Out of that 31 percent, we found that 53 percent of those families used a faith-based child care center. Therefore, we found that roughly 15 percent of all working parents use faith-based child care centers.
LUCI MANNING
The writer is director of media relations, Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
Free or not?
In “The latest battleground in the war over whether colleges are safe for Jews” by Ben Sales (Nov. 25), Jennie Reich Litzky, the Hillel student president, is quoted as saying, “As a Jewish person I’m not discriminated against. I think there is definitely tension with the Israel-Palestine situation that makes it more difficult. But I feel like as a Jew, if I don’t share my political stance, I’m usually OK.”
Wow! She feels free to have her own opinions, as long as she keeps them to herself. Sooner or later, this young woman will meet with a sad realization about antisemitism . If she is not free to express her opinions, then she is not free.
PAUL CHANDLER
Falls Church
