Don’t Blame O’Reilly
An August 22 editorial mentions that books by conservative talk show hosts Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage and Sean Hannity were found in the home of alleged killer Jim Adkisson (“Terrorism and the Lone Gunman”). The Forward does not mention what other books or other types of literature were found in Adkisson’s home — which, considering the editorial’s insinuations, should be mentioned.
If he owned a Bible, would the Forward blame his actions on the Gospel?
The editorial accuses the book writers of “urging action” in the context of asking whether they incited the violent attack. Yet the Forward makes no mention of what type of action is allegedly being urged. Considering the magnitude of what the Forward is suggesting, an example is most certainly warranted.
Suppose that a reader of the Forward took action against O’Reilly, Savage or Hannity in order to stop them from inciting attacks on liberals. And supposed a police check found a copy of the Forward in the reader’s home.
Would the editorialist feel that the Forward should in any way be implicated in the reader’s actions?
Andy Klages
College Park, Md.
Take Lebanon To Task
Hezbollah is of course a political organization in Lebanon that participates in Lebanese politics, but it also has its own army and its own foreign policy (“All of Lebanon Is Not Hezbollah,” August 29). This is a very unusual situation, and Lebanon is an abnormal state.
Two years ago, Hezbollah opened fire on northern Israel, and under the cover of this attack crossed the border and killed and kidnapped our soldiers. The Lebanese government and public felt that Israel had no right to strike back after such an act of war, claiming that it was Hezbollah, not Lebanon, that launched the attack.
In short, Lebanon does not take responsibility for actions of war that originate on its own territory, and yet opinion writer Firas Maksad feels justified in addressing complaints to Israel. He appears to believe that Israel is responsible for the strengthening of state institutions and the political stability of Lebanon.
What Maksad needs is a good lesson in self-criticism. Surely Lebanon has to behave as a modern state in control of its own territory — one state with one government running one foreign policy and one army. That, obviously, means hard work.
Apparently, it is easier to criticize Israel than it is to criticize one’s own failures. Perhaps it is actually a compliment to Israeli society: Maksad apparently believes that Israel is actually listening to criticism and that there is room to influence its decision-making process — which is not the case for his own society.
Yehudah Ben-Hayim
Via e-mail
Religion Is a Cure All?
Rabbi David Wolpe says of the real content of religion: “Eighty-five to 90% of religion is not about abstract ideas; it’s about the way people live their lives, and when people are in trouble, or rejoicing or need community, or are sick, or have died, suddenly religion steps in as that which supports and cares for them. There is no real understanding or acknowledgement of that in many of these polemics” (“Keeping the Faith, L.A. Rabbi Grabs a Pen,” September 5). This is the old argument that religion should be maintained because it’s useful.
But when one looks at the social and political influence of religion, there is a real question as to whether its net impact has been beneficial. Think of the centuries of antisemitism promoted or tolerated by the Church, the effects of religious teachings about birth control and the role of women on world population and poverty problems, and the fruits of today’s Islamic radicalism in Iraq, Gaza and around the world.
The extent to which religion may seem useful to some says nothing about the truth of its teachings. I want my physician to prescribe a drug for my medical condition because she has a rational basis for expecting it to work, not because she thinks it will make a great placebo, and it’s fair to expect similar integrity from those promoting religion as a balm for the human condition.
Joshua Barwick
Atlanta, Ga.
Give Carter His Due
The minimal role given to President Carter at the Democratic National Convention, out of fear of offending Jewish voters, does not auger well for Israel (“Jimmy Carter Conspicuously Absent From Podium,” September 5).
More than anything else, Israel needs peace. It also needs to end its discrimination against its Arab citizens, reducing their antagonism toward the Jewish majority, and to reestablish its good name in the international community. These can only be achieved if both the Israelis and the Palestinians acknowledge their responsibilities for the current terrible situation.
American participation is needed if there is ever to be a peaceful and progressive Middle East. But a cowed Democratic Party can be of no help to Israel.
Joel Levitt
Ann Arbor, Mich.
It may be a new day, but for the Republicans and the McCain / Palin ticket it is really same day, old stuff. I am frightfully concerned that although I am an Independent leaning liberal and unashamed of that tag, it is difficult for me to find anything redeeming about either candidate. MaCain and I are the same age so I can't claim age bias, but in practical terms I would not bet that under the tresses that face the President I would at this age guarantee that I will be around in 2012 or even less likely in 2016. Sarah Palin who represents the antithesis of my core beliefs is by any stretch unqualified to head our government and be thrust into a world leadership position. If we consider what the ineptitude of George Bush and his so called expert advisers, Rove, and his neocon kabul have accomplished, how any thinking person who doesn't eat Moose meat can in good conscience support that ticket is beyond my understanding. If their decision is fear of higher taxes for those earning over two hundred thousand yearly, I have scant sympathy for them. Are those the same people who pay thousands of dollars for premium seats at sports arenas and drive behemoth SUV's and complain about $4.00 gas, but are unwilling to contribute to the general welfare of their fellow man who has to use the emergency department of a city hospital, or who either with good intention or being suckered into risky mortgages and are now loosing their homes, because banking oversight was not there to reign in the unethical lending practices, (let the free market monitor itself). Now the bill has come due and the U.S. taxpayers will have to bail out Ginny and Freddie at a cost of billions. I didn't hear that addressed by all the rhetoric in St Paul, but I heard shades of whimpering nabobs of negativism from those dreaded eastern Liberals. Romney excluded of course. Yes, Senator McCain, Change is in the wind and it will be the result of putting the new team of Obama a brilliant legal mind and a Biden with over thirty years of legislative experience who really is a straight talker even if he doesn't mince words. We can't afford to risk our future with a group of people that call themselves advocates of change, but stick to the same line of less government as long as it suits their purposes. And I haven't even gotten into environmental issues. As that guy in the movie Network, said, I am damn mad and I'm not going to take it anymore.
@Steven Smith: What a joke: an obvious Republican operative with as WASP-y a name as you can think of, posting a vitriolic message on a progressive Jewish website. Hey Steve - next time, try something like "Greenberg" as a surname, it might make your B.S. sound slightly more believable to us gullible Jews.
I hardly know where to begin--it is bad enough the obama campaign does not know if he is african or american--sorry you can not be both- half the time he is white and half the time black--depending who he is trying to woo on any given day--he has 3 sides for every issue.The democratic party changed their own rules as soon as the polls said hillary could not defeat the republicans.So locked in votes were allowed to shift to obama.And now as idiotic as it is we have the claim of a jewish rabbi in his family when it is really a great cousin of his wife and barely a relative of hers.And his congregation has no viable links to Israel.And they seem more worried about being accepted as white than as jews. And the entire democratic ticket voted against America in voting against our national language being English..The democrats are so hungry for the White House they will twist and turn more ways than a snake,and be assured if obama wins we will all be snake bitten.
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