Fight for Electoral Change in Israel
Your editorial brings to mind Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity (“Israel’s Government Crashes into the Wall,” June 29). The representatives of the Reform and Conservative movements, Women of the Wall, JFNA and the other Diaspora-affiliated organizations listed in the editorial — and your editorialist — are not insane, so why do they continue to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?
Every time that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has to choose between appeasing Diaspora Judaism and preserving his coalition by kowtowing to the demands of the haredi parties on issues that they deem to be critical, he chooses the latter.
This kabuki dance will continue so long as the haredi parties are needed to form his governments.
Thus, the only real solution to the Diaspora-haredi impasse requires the election of political parties that can form Israeli governments without the participation of the haredi parties.
So, rather than continue these fights, the representatives of the Diaspora-based organizations should seriously work on electing Israeli political parties that share their values and will help achieve the results that they seek.
Jacques Gorlin | Jerusalem
Words Matter When it Comes to Loved Ones
Rabbi Dayle A. Friedman captured the sense of a “hollowing out” at the death of a cherished loved one (“Take Time to Grieve; Rituals May Help the Process,” June 29). But in speaking of those who are bereft, she does not include the word “spouse.”
It may be that “partner” is intended to be interpreted as such, but I feel a great sense of loss if a spouse, whether husband or wife, whether heterosexual or not, is now passé. The marriage vows any couple undertakes as they commit to each other mean something more than partnering implies. I would be saddened indeed if we are on the path to losing the words “spouse,” “husband” and “wife” from our language.
Iris Levine | Old City
Comment a Swipe at Old Neighborhood
Upon reading your article about the re-opening of the Short Hills Deli, I was tempted to go there for the first time (“It Took a Long Time, but Short Hills Deli’s Finally Back,” June 22).
But as I continued reading, I became highly insulted by the owner Jerry Kaplan’s comments concerning my neighborhood. When discussing the closing of Jack’s Delicatessen, Kaplan stated that “Jack’s is in a failing neighborhood.”
Our neighborhood may certainly be changing and quite diverse, but I would not describe it as failing. Obviously, Kaplan has an elitist attitude and doesn’t need or deserve our business.
Karen Wohl | Bell’s Corner
