Maybe Israelis don’t need liberal religious institutions
Thank you for publishing the very thoughtful and cogent article by Saul Golubcow regarding the public airing of a Conservative rabbi’s furious distain for the Orthodox rulings in Israel (“A lost opportunity,” Voices, Sept. 21).
As a secular Jew, I find a home in my Conservative synagogue where I can express my Jewish identity and celebrate holidays and the Shabbat in my own limited way.
It occurs to me that secular Jews in Israel don’t find the need for these liberal institutions on the whole because they live in a Jewish country where holidays are official, the week ends on Friday afternoon, etc. They seem to cede religious observance to the Orthodox. I might add, however, they don’t know what they are missing.
SHERIE SILVERMAN
Bethesda
Defense of Israel BDS law misses point of objections
The Voices essay, “Objections to Israel’s BDS law are overwrought and hypocritical” (Sept. 7), in large part misses the point of objections.
Barring entry to a country solely because of a point of view is contrary to all principles of a free society. With this law, the Israeli government has added to the Orwellian atmosphere, abetted by much of Israeli media, which insulates the public from non-politically correct points of view.
Further, the author describes the activists who were barred as “militants.” Although I might be missing something, as far as I can find in publicly available information, those who were denied entry did not have a history of violence; I’m not sure how this term applies to them.
Finally, the author is identified as the legal adviser to NGO Monitor, “a Jerusalem-based research institute.” This description fails to mention that NGO Monitor works to discredit any organization that criticizes Israeli policy and role regarding Palestinians.
NANCY NAVARRO
Rockville
