What About Judaism?
As we approached Pesach, the Exponent found it newsworthy to print lengthy letters by Jews who love everything about being Jewish except for the source of Judaism. Well, maybe I’m an old fool, but I will still use the Haggadah at the seder and recite the miracles that G-d performed for our ancestors. The alternative is to believe that Pharaoh got tired of having Jewish slaves and freed them out of the goodness of his heart.
Zachary Margolies | Philadelphia
Israeli Election Mischaracterized
Reading the Exponent is always informative and sometimes interesting. For instance, the April 18 edition had a balanced story about Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, of which I am a longtime member (“Area Native Matt Brooks Takes RJC Into 2020”). Brooks is a smart, courageous activist, and he has built the RJC to be a formidable national organization, with an active chapter here in the Greater Philadelphia region.
And to offset this quality of work by Jesse Bernstein, the headline writer on page one calls the recent Israeli election “a major victory for the right.” Wrong. The election was not a major victory for the right — it was a major victory for the only democratic nation in a very troubled region.
Following the election with Israel’s multiparty system, and a new Blue and White party led by several respected IDF generals, was not easy. But Bibi Netanyahu’s Likud victory is not a victory for the right. It is a victory for the citizens of Israel — the democratic state of Israel.
Too many American Jews think that they have the answers to Israel’s security, international and domestic issues. Even if we had the answers, and they were the right answers, it would not matter. What matters is that Israeli citizens make their decisions and we Jewish Americans support a vibrant, politically charged Israel and the choices its citizens make.
Howard A. Cohen | Philadelphia
Vaccination Charges
Risking a catastrophe, recklessly endangering another person, endangering the welfare of a child — these are all crimes that a parent who refuses to vaccinate a child for measles could, and should, be charged with (“A Measles Resurgence,” April 11). Wrapping it in religion is a perversion. Doing so endorses the profane idea that a higher power wants to endanger a child. It is like putting a dress on a pig. At the end of the day, it is still a pig.
Richard Saunders | Chincoteague, Virginia
