Letters (Page 3)

By Paula Libes Chester, , Mercer Island When Abraham our father opened his tent to two strangers, he was committing a revolutionary act. Fear of the stranger is deeply ingrained in human consciousness. When we examine the word “kindness” we see that it contains the root “kin.” It is farContinue Reading

By Eran Ben-Sira, , Rainier, Wash. I agree with Steven Hemmat (“Allowing diverse opinions,” Letters, Sept. 13). Why does JTNews give a floor to opinions that side with people that want to destroy the Jewish state of Israel? Palestinian leadership tried to destroy Israel even before 1948 under British ruleContinue Reading

By , , In response to Elliott Magalnick’s letter, “Making Provisions for Provisions“ (Sept. 13), differences of opinion about Judaism are common and I welcome his and other points of view, but please let me correct the misconception that I had “punished” Jews for observing Yom Kippur by not makingContinue Reading

By Carolyn Hale, President, Circle of Friends for Mental Health, Seattle I live at Council House and have for about eight years. I am a “people” person and am the present greeter for new tenants to our building. I know both Knate and Charlene Stahl well and assure you theyContinue Reading

By Carol Stockton, Chair, J Street, Seattle The New Year is a time of renewal, joy, and, above all, hope for the future, and this year is indeed a time of hope. Twenty long years ago, the world watched as two bitter enemies, Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, found aContinue Reading

By Salomon Menashe, , Scottsdale, Ariz. As one born in Rhodes, I feel I must correct Vic Alhadeff’s article (“Rhodes: Embracing the past,” Aug. 30). The Spanish Inquisition was in 1492 and the expelled Jews spread along the Mediterranean on both the north and south coasts, and many who movedContinue Reading

By Steven Hemmat, , Seattle The JTNews Editor and Publisher recently chided several members of the Jewish community for questioning the appropriateness of publishing a letter by Linda Frank defending the Palestinian Authority and its policies toward the Jewish people. In your statement, you defended publishing Frank’s letter by citingContinue Reading

By Elliott Magalnick, , Denver, Colo In response to the article by Knate Stahl (“Between myself and God,” Aug. 16), I found this article offensive. He seems to know so much of Yom Kippur for someone who totally rejects it by holding a program to help the needy. Offering freeContinue Reading

By Joel Magalnick, Publisher and Editor, JTNews, Seattle The letters that follow this are in response to a letter from a member of our community that ran in the August 16 issue of JTNews. This person, who the respondents below see as vehemently critical of Israel, suggested that comments madeContinue Reading

By Nevet Basker, , Bellevue When someone you support says something objectionable, something that’s inconsistent with your values and incongruent with your beliefs, you generally have two options. You can distance yourself from the offensive message — “I mostly agree with this person, but must take exception this time.” Or,Continue Reading

By Robert Kaufman, , Seattle Linda Frank’s attack on the Pamela Geller bus ads lack both facts and logic (Letters, Aug. 16). Her defense of her interpretation is as damning to Abbas as Geller’s attack. She argues that he did not use the words “Jew-free,” but merely said “…that thereContinue Reading

By David Shayne, , Seattle Linda Frank defends PA President Abbas after he was caught stating he envisioned a Jew-free Palestine and distorts the record to make it look like Abbas and the Palestinian Arabs on the whole are ready to live in peace and harmony with their Jewish neighborsContinue Reading

By Michael Behar, , Seattle In your August 16 edition you published a letter from Linda Frank who regurgitated the standard boilerplate common among anti-Israel types. Ms. Frank, a local anti-Israel activist, is well known for her libelous claims against the Jewish State. Her most spurious canard (although not madeContinue Reading

By Herb Levine, , Tacoma Steven Blum’s discussion of the difficulties of covering Holocaust-denial stories, such as David Irving’s impending trip to Berlin, was right on target (“German preoccupation: Why bother with David Irving?“ Aug. 2). However, in his annoyance at the claims of Irving’s supporters that his “right toContinue Reading

By Linda Frank, , Tacoma Part of what drew me to Judaism and weekly studies at Temple was Judaism’s welcoming, and even encouragement, to ask questions about what I was being told. The article by Janis Siegel titled “Back on the Bus“ (Aug. 2) featured recent bus ads run inContinue Reading

By L. S. Davis, , Olympia The “Rabbi’s Turn” on May 22 (“What we’re all about“) featured Rabbi Seth Goldstein of Temple Beth Hatfiloh in Olympia. While he provided interesting facts about the history of TBH and Olympia’s local Jewish community, he does a great disservice to those of usContinue Reading

By Emily Katcher, , Seattle Seattle Public Schools will begin school for the 2013-14 year on September 4, erev Rosh Hashanah. Our families must choose between the first days of school and being practicing Jews. I have been in contact with my board member, Ms. Smith-Blum, who is aware ofContinue Reading

By Dennis Warshal, , Seattle While reading the article “A Jewish Tombstone“ (April 26) by Emily K. Alhadeff, I was appalled by her use and context of the pejorative word goy, referring in part to a “Jewish parent’s worst nightmare.” Her insensitivity to non-Jewish people, her use of a wordContinue Reading

By Edward Alexander, , Seattle As the IRS scandal unfolds, it is worth recalling that, according to the medieval rabbis, the practice of reciting Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, originated in the medieval story of Rabbi Akiva found in Mahzor Vitry. Walking in a cemetery, Akiva meets aContinue Reading