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By Marie (Sara) Wacht , , Seattle I just looked at the JTNews for the week and read the article about Halloween by Rivy Poupko Kletenik (“A treat that does the trick,” Oct. 19). I have two sons, 21 and 24, and my older son’s birthday is on Halloween. IContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz, Director, West Seattle Torah Learning Center, I was hurt and saddened by the letter to the editor in your last edition (Oct. 5) from Dr. Noah Friedland, and by his accusations and innuendo that the Kollel, and therefore myself as a rabbi and employee of theContinue Reading

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By Ken Leibert, , Seattle I have lived in the Seward Park area for 10 years. My wonderful wife Marilyn Leibert works for the Seattle Kollel. Our family has supported it and enjoyed its programs for years. We attend congregation Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath. We have three children who have attendedContinue Reading

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By Elisheva Miriam Stone, , Brooklyn, NY I would like to respond to the letter from Dr. Noah Friedland (Letters, Oct. 5). As a former Seattle/Seward Park resident (soon to be again, God willing) I enjoyed the unity aspect in Seattle/Seward Park/Western Washington. My rabbi is the Ashkenazic rabbi ofContinue Reading

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By Robert Stagman, , Mercer Island The JTNews review of David Klinghoffer’s latest book, Shattered Tablets: Why We Ignore the Ten Commandments at Our Peril (“Touring Seattle’s moral landscape,” Oct. 5), including copious quotes from the author, reveals Mr. Klinghoffer to be a person of remarkable arrogance and chutzpah. FromContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Jonathan Singer, Temple Beth Am, Seattle I am thankful for the coverage of our fabulous new K’hilah center. It is a beautiful addition to the greater Seattle Jewish community. However I want to clarify one thing: as a student of Mordecai Kaplan who taught that Judaism is aContinue Reading

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By Hilary G. Bernstein, Interim Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region, Anti-Defamation League, I was dismayed to read the letter from Faith Tapper (Sept. 21), in which she claimed that no one at ADL had responded to her discrimination complaints following Rob Jacobs’ departure from the Seattle office in August 2007.Continue Reading

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By Dr. Noah Friedland, , Seattle Not all change is for the better. The Seattle Kollel and its acolytes represent a foothold in our city for a dangerous brand of Haredi Judaism that those of us who have been fortunate to live in Israel are very well acquainted with. AnyoneContinue Reading

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By Josh Basson , , Seattle Ron Kampeas’s insightful column was quite informative (“In no one’s interest,” Aug 24.) Kampeas states that the “the Palestinian people need decent governance first, as a prerequisite for statehood” according to Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani rightly points out that “too much emphasis has been placedContinue Reading

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By Linda J. Clifton, Regional Chair, Pacific Northwest Chapter, Anti-Defamation League, Last issue’s JTNews carried three letters of appreciation for the pivotal leadership of Rob Jacobs, our former ADL regional director, in broadening the Jewish community’s dialogue with each other — especially the dialogue about how we each support Israel,Continue Reading

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By Norman Levin, , Mercer Island Put me squarely on the side of Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, who has strongly criticized Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, for his “profoundly ignorant and terribly superficial” speech to the Islamic Society of North AmericaContinue Reading

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By Faith Tapper, , Seattle When I saw in the JTNews that Rob Jacobs had resigned from the Anti-Defamation League, I was very worried. A year ago, I’d turned to the ADL for help when I was nearly fired when I insisted on taking off from work on Rosh Hashanah.Continue Reading

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By Jeremy D. Sher, , Seattle I’d like to appreciate Rob Jacobs’s impact as head of our regional ADL. As a Zionist peacenik, I experienced first-hand the pivotal role Rob played in bridging difficult issues in our community. Through his levelheaded and magnanimous disposition, Rob welcomed a large group ofContinue Reading

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By Barbara Lahav, , Mercer Island It was with great surprise and a heavy heart that I read of the unplanned departure of Rob Jacobs as the local Executive Director of the ADL. I want to publicly thank Rob for his devoted community work during his tenure at ADL. ItContinue Reading

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By Rainer Waldman Adkins, Chairperson, Greater Seattle Chapter Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, Seattle As Rob Jacobs departs the position of Director for the Pacific Northwest Region of the Anti-Defamation League, the Greater Seattle Chapter of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, which defines itself as “pro-Israel and pro-peace,” wishes to honor his pivotal roleContinue Reading

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By Phillip Klitzner, Owner, Nosh Away, Seattle Over the past few days, I understand that there has been a lot of negative feedback regarding the Jewish festival in relation to Nosh Away and other food vendors. I sincerely value the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and all of the workContinue Reading

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By Rabbi Anson Laytner, Executive Director, American Jewish Committee, Seattle A number of people have asked me why I was in China so early and it made me wonder if JTNews would want to clarify the following for your readers (“M.O.T.: A local rabbi’s ties to China,” July 20). AsContinue Reading

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By Susan Alhadeff, , Seattle Manny Frishberg’s reporting on the movie A Mighty Heart (“One of the unlucky ones,” July 6) leaves open a question as to whether Daniel Pearl’s last recorded words were “I am a Jewish-American” or not. Indeed, not only did he state that, but also, “MyContinue Reading

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By Josh Basson , , Seattle Strengthening weakly Dan Baron’s insightful front page column was quite informative (“Uncertainty hampers progress for Israel, Palestinians,” July 6). Baron highlights the redrawing of the Palestinian political map following the Hamas violent takeover of Gaza, thus complicating Israel’s plans to forge new ties toContinue Reading

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By Sharon Asia Finegold, , Seattle Now that the play about Rachel Corrie has come and gone, the various executive directors of the organizations who responded cooperatively and local volunteers are pleased that our various efforts were so helpful for many attendees of the play and the larger community. VitallyContinue Reading