By Jack Greenberg, , Seattle I personally, together with help from others in our own community and the Port Townsend Jewish community and an Edmonds non-Jewish high school teacher, for seven days handed out in front of the Port Townsend Co-op well over a thousand pieces of literature to refuteContinue Reading
By Akiva K. Segan, , Seattle re: Need Real Partners for Peace (Sept. 17), Josh Basson writes Israel should cancel peace talks, as in the aftermath of another terror attack Palestinians aren’t “partners for peace.” The term “partners for peace” is ludicrous and as used by Israel and Diaspora supportersContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist 1 Few parents are likely to be as grateful as those whose children have survived serious illness. Sara Flash is one of those survivors — of non-Hodgkin lymphoma — much to the relief of her parents, Ed and Rabbi Allison Flash, her brothers, Adam andContinue Reading
By The ADL Regional Board, , Seattle Recently “Blatant Discrimination” (Letters, Sept. 3) totally mischaracterized ADL’s position on the proposed NY Islamic center. From the start ADL stated that the consortium has every right to build in the location they own and have chosen. ADL leads in the effort toContinue Reading
By Ruvane Richman, , Seattle The following is a response to John Rothschild’s letter to the editor (Sept. 3) wherein he “urge[s] all members of the Jewish community to resign any membership that they have with ADL.” Rothschild accuses the Anti-Defamation League of “stereotyping all Muslims as terrorists…[and] claiming thatContinue Reading
By Philip S. Chanen, Board member, Anti-Defamation League Pacific Northwest chapter, Seattle You certainly have the right to publish John Rothschild’s misguided letter on the New York City Muslim center near the World Trade site, However you are completely remiss for not printing ADL’s response alongside. Continue Reading
By They’re not alone, , Seattle Despite the comments made by certain of the Chabad participants in “Tacoma Chabad breaks ground on new synagogue,” (Sept. 3), please note that there is already an exciting “Jewish presence” in Tacoma! Temple Beth El is vibrant, its rabbi learned, and its congregation joyous. Continue Reading
By Josh Basson, , Seattle Rabbi Charles Kroloff’s column (“Let’s recognize the sacred power of this time — for peace,” Sept. 3) misstates Mideast peace prospects. The fact that Palestinians finally agreed to direct negotiations, without pre-conditions, may be a positive step. However, let’s not delude ourselves. There can neverContinue Reading
By Seth Goldschlager, Adviser, Safra SA, Geneva, Switzerland I would like to draw your attention to a misleading book review, by Diana Brement, published 30 August 2010. You’ve done a disservice to your readers in presenting Isabel Vincent’s book as a “biography.” Indeed, far from investigative journalism, the book isContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, As I prepare to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot I have been exploring the various customs, and I’ve become intrigued by the ritual of Ushpizin, the inviting of supernal beings as guests to the sukkah. From what I have read it soundsContinue Reading
By Rabbi Mark Spiro , LivingJudaism Everyone knows the story of David and Goliath. But how many people know that the difference between these famous rivals can be traced to one point of origin and one critical, defining moment? David and Goliath were actually third cousins; descendants of Moabite sistersContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist When Noah Sarkowsky came home with a Seymour Kaplan Humanitarian Award from Seattle’s Coe Elementary School, he not only generated kudos from his family, but some curiosity as well. He pointed out to his parents, Stacy Lawson and Steve Sarkowsky, that his certificate was signedContinue Reading
By Ruth Messinger , JTA World News Service NEW YORK (JTA) — On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, many of us are haunted by the ubiquitous liturgical refrain asking, “Who shall live and who shall die?” As I sit in synagogue and hear these words chanted over and over again,Continue Reading
By John Rothschild, , Seattle I want to urge all members of the Jewish community to resign any membership that they have with ADL. ADL is supposedly dedicated to fighting discrimination and defamation against people because of their religion or nationality, among other objectives. The ADL claims that a MuslimContinue Reading
By Rose Yu , Special to JTNews Editor’s note: This article was written by Rose Yu in response to the Aug. 20 issue’s M.O.T.: Member of the Tribe column in which Yu, who is Jewish and Chinese, but was referred to as being non-Jewish. I grew up with a bitContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist The Bronfman Foundation has been sending small groups of select teens to spend a summer in Israel for 24 years now, and Mercer Island’s Madeline Brown was one of 26 North American young people to be selected for their five-week Youth Fellowship this summer. MadelineContinue Reading
By Harry M. Reichenberg, , Federal Way I too am glad to see coverage of the Olympia Co-op’s decision to boycott Israeli products (“Principled and Courageous,” Letters, Aug. 6). It goes to show how narrow-minded some supposedly intelligent people can be. You talk about Israeli crimes against the Palestinians. WhereContinue Reading
By Iris Langman, , Mercer Island I would like to know where Adrienne Weller obtains her information (“Principled and Courageous,” Letters, Aug. 6). What gives her the right and arrogance to judge Israel? Israel is a sovereign country whose elected officials’ job is to protect its citizens. What crimes againstContinue Reading
By David Brumer, , Seattle The Olympia, Washington Food Co-op has the dubious distinction of being the first within the grocery co-op movement in America to boycott Israeli-made products. This is unsurprising, because Olympia is a beehive of anti-Israel, anti-Zionist activities, from the classrooms of Evergreen State College to itsContinue Reading
By Rabbi Daniel A. Septimus, Temple De Hirsch Sinai In the Winter 2009 edition of Reform Judaism Magazine, the Union for Reform Judaism shared the results of a survey on post-B’nai Mitzvah retention. The impetus for conducting the study was quite simple: The leaders of the Reform movement have observedContinue Reading
