Rabbis Should Stick to Torah
The focus of Parshat B’midbar is the census of the 12 of Israel, but the published D’var Torah (“Escaping the Wilderness,” June 2) quickly pivoted to Uvalde and yielded a coda that inter alia advocated gun control. In contrast, online commentaries branch into discussion of flags and ritual, absent polemics.
Your rabbinic authors should discuss the religious messages without obscuring their universal relevance by adding contemporary progressivism.
Robert B. Sklaroff | Rydal
Gratz a Trailblazer
As an alumnus of Gratz College, I was pleased to read the feature article about the college in the Exponent (“Gratz Refocuses, Ahead of the Curve with Online Classes,” May 25).
Gratz has another distinction. It is the first Jewish institution of higher learning in world history to have admitted women as equal students. When it opened in 1895, this was unprecedented.
In fact, many of the most famed colleges and universities did not admit women until much later. Yale, for example, first admitted women in the 1960s. The first graduating class of Gratz included both men and women. This reflects well on Gratz and on the Jewish community of Philadelphia.
Saul P. Wachs | Rosaline B. Feinstein Professor Emeritus, Gratz College
Ethiopian Jews Story Warranted the Cover
Your report on Ethiopian Jews (“Ethiopian Jews Make Aliyah as Part of Operation Zur Israel,” June 16) should have been on your front cover. I am very concerned with Israel’s portrayal in the media. Exponent pages often report on increasing antisemitism and decreasing support for Israel. This is especially true of “pro-Palestinian” younger Jews.
Why this is happening is not such a mystery. Anti-Israel propaganda is nonstop. Pro-Israel information is rarely reported.
There is so much that is positive and good about Israel, but it stays “in the tent.” Every opportunity to open the tent’s door should be taken.
Roberta E. Dzubow | Plymouth Meeting