Letters, July 16, 2010
Beyond the boundaries of comprehension
THE eruv: what a brilliant concept. Citizens at large never had a problem confining Jews to ghettos, so it is rather odd that the worthy burghers of St Ives should object to a virtual enclosure. Now if only we were permitted to affix a mezuzah to our car doors.
Len Green
Rose Bay, NSW
Don’t dismiss what Abbott stands for
IT is comforting, not only for Jews but also for honest non-Jews, to learn that our new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has seen for herself what Israel is up against: dealing with neighbours bent on its destuction and able to call on the services of some hostile western journalists to play havoc with facts, not only regarding history, but also the contemporary threats and rocket attacks by neighbours with written charters and plans to “wipe out” a sovereign state.
But what does Michael Danby mean when he tells us that “we need Julia Gillard to save the nation from Tony Abbott” (AJN 02/07)? Tony Abbott is the elected leader of the Liberal party. He is also a Catholic with strong views about the teaching of the Church; about the sanctity of marriage and the family. In this respect, he doubtless enjoys strong support in the Liberal party, otherwise he would not have been elected.
The sanctity of marriage, the traditional home and family, are values rooted in Judaism; in fact, they stem from the Noahide laws which, in Jewish teaching, bind all mankind.
Western democracy, now rooted in Judaeo-Christian teachings, rose to unprecedented heights of material prosperity, cultural pre-eminence and power as a result. It is now fast declining and the masses are reacting against the collapse of their national cultures and blaming uncontrolled multiculturalism, which is certainly part of the problem, but human nature “abhors a vacuum”.
When the US Supreme Court banned prayers in public schools in 1962, the ban was welcomed by non-Orthodox Jewish organisations. Strong public protests were made by such Torah sages as the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits (later Chief Rabbi Lord Jakobovits). Rabbi Jakobovits wrote “I wish to express my dissent from, and utter dismay at, this strange alliance between teachers of Judaism and the spokesmen of atheism or secularism who secured and applauded the verdict. As spiritual leaders of the people that gave birth to the immortal vision of the days when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, we can scarcely, I submit, be jubilant about outlawing the acknowledgement and worship of God from any area of life, least of all from schools, which pre-eminently fashion the outlook for our future citizens, without making a travesty of Jewish thought and history,” (New York Times 02/07/1962).
Mark Braham
Rose Bay, NSW
Overstating the threat facing European Jewry
WHILE I share many of the concerns raised by Mark Leibler in his interview with Zeddy Lawrence (AJN 09/06), I have to say that I think he went a little far in comparing the situation of Jews in modern-day Europe with the pre-Holocaust period. I agree that governments, the media and individuals are highly, even overly, critical of Israel, and that there are occasional incidents of anti-Semitism. But does he really envisage a situation where race laws could be passed banning Jews from running businesses, where Jews could be kicked out of schools, where there could be government sanctioned vandalism of synagogues etc?
Is the situation facing Jews any worse than that facing any ethnic minority? Life for our Jewish cousins overseas may not be perfect, but to suggest that the existence of Israel is what will save us from possible “slaughterhouses” in the future seems somewhat of an exaggeration, both of the level of hatred that currently exists and the potential for another systematic genocide.
Daniel Gilbert
Rose Bay, NSW
Understating the threat facing Australian Jewry
MARK Leibler says “We live in a sort of heaven compared to some parts of Europe,” (AJN 09/06), but in the same newspaper we read some of the terrible anti-Semitic comments made when Orthodox Jews ask for an eruv. These comments are as bad as anything Jews would hear elsewhere.
We also read that a judge is stopping children having their bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies. And one of our closest neighbours has just banned shechita — how long before lawmakers over here consider doing the same? These stories in just one week. And let’s not forget the attacks on‚ÄàIsrael we have seen in other newspapers and on the streets in recent months.
A heaven? We should not kid ourselves, that we are so much better off.
Karen Silver
Malvern, Vic
Jewish refugee status is more than just an idea
IT is commendable that Naomi Levin should draw attention to the Jews who were displaced from their Arab homelands, and how the group Justice for Jews from Arab Countries¬†is raising awareness of their history by showing the documentary, “The Forgotten Refugees” (AJN 09/06). This publicity is long overdue, as the media constantly shine a spotlight on the plight of the Palestinians, while ignoring many others who have been displaced.
However, her statement that the group “seeks to promote the idea that the word refugees in the context of the Middle East, does not only refer to Palestinians, but also Jews who were displaced from Arab countries”, is somewhat problematic. It is not an “idea” that Jews were displaced, but a historically verifiable fact.
I realise¬†that in¬†our postmodern age, everyone’s narrative is equally valid, but let us not reduce the well-documented history of the virtual disappearance of Jews from Arab countries to just another story.
Pam Hopf
Kew, Vic
The value of vegetarianism
FOR some in New Zealand’s Jewish community, it is frustrating that their government has banned shechitah. However, as an animal rights advocate, a vegan and observant Jew, I’m heartened that the New Zealand Government is standing up for animal welfare. The New Zealand Government’s decision is motivated by compassion for animals, not by closet anti-Semitism. If New Zealand’s Jews eat less or no meat, their health need not suffer. Indeed, they would consequently be kinder to the environment and to animals.
In my view, it is unquestionable that Torah values of compassion and respect for life are most fully realised by not eating animals. Many revered contemporary Jews, from Albert Einstein and Isaac Bashevis Singer to Rabbi Abraham Kook and Elie Wiesel, have all advocated vegetarianism as the ideal Jewish diet. True, our biblical ancestors ate meat, but they lacked modern supermarkets full of kosher vegetarian food.
No matter how expertly shechitah is performed, animals nonetheless suffer terribly in treatment, transport and their ultimately unnecessary death. This is the inevitable outcome of profit-driven industrialised farming that regards animals as unthinking meat machines (although calves, lambs and chickens are scientifically proven to feel pain and emotions). This week we enter the annual Nine Days of mourning, during which observant Jews refrain from eating meat. If this vegetarian interlude were to last all year, millions of animals would be spared suffering and the Jewish nation would truly become a light of compassion to our fellow creatures.
Raphael Brous
East Malvern, Vic
For all the letters from this week’s issue, purchase a copy of The AJN. If you would like to submit a letter, email lettersjewishnews.net.au
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