FROM PAULETTE ATTIE
TO KHALID ABOU SHARAF
Dear Khalid Abou Sharaf: Thank you for writing,
“Ms. Attie's articles are made out of nectar.” Very kind of you,
indeed. I write my articles as a service and as a
contribution to the Agency, and especially for you who are
uplifted by such words. Like the title of the column suggests,
it's my modest way of "Making Matters Better." That you got the
message is my RICH REWARD. Please forward the site address for
others to read. The more positive feelings that exist between
people of different cultures and backgrounds, the better it is for
all who live in this world. I’m excited about new articles I’m
working on, which I hope you’ll enjoy as well. One is about
theatre across the United States, another on an organization that
works to create greater understanding between people from
conflicting cultures.
Stay connected! Salam Aleykoum
Paulette Attie, New York, USA
_____________________
UN report "US
torturing Prisoners"
Dear editor: Special to your
readers. A U.N. inquiry says the treatment
of detainees at Guantanamo Bay at times amounts to torture and
violates international law.
By Maggie Farley, Times Staff Writer. February 13, 2006. A draft
United Nations report on the detainees at Guantanamo Bay concludes
that the U.S. treatment of them violates their
rights to physical and mental health and, in some cases,
constitutes torture.. and in the UK Telegraph, read this: UN
inquiry demands immediate closure of Guantanamo.
13 Feb 2006. A United Nations inquiry has called
for the immediate closure of America's Guantanamo Bay detention
centre and the prosecution of officers and politicians "up to the
highest level" who are accused of torturing detainees. The UN
Human Rights Commission report calls for the United States to halt
all "practices amounting to torture", including the force-feeding
of inmates who go on hunger strike....Read also this article by
Judy Andreas: Another Stain On America's Human Rights
Record. February 13th 2006 at 10:55 AM: Who is Leonard Peltier and
why has he spent his last 27 years in prison?
Who is Leonard Peltier and why has he been sentenced to hell on
earth ? According to an affiliate of Physicians for Human Rights,
Leonard risks blindness, kidney failure and a stroke in the
future, given his inadequate diet, living conditions, and health
care. Leonard lives with diabetes, high blood pressure and heart
problems, .how long will he live ?....
F E
eeken_34@lycos.com
Essay on Purim by
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
Photo: Rabbi Steinsaltz
Max -- I finally got around to reading Rabbi
Adin Steinsaltz's article about Purim. It is magnificent. In one
short page, this incredible scholar has managed to convey a world
view which has numerous, and to me, stunning, insights. I rarely
like any of the modern interpreters of the Kabbalah; too many of
them are dangerously close to the New Age movement, which, as you
know, I heartily despise. But Rabbi Steinsaltz's
complex explanation of the working of the universe does not leave
a place for doubt or argument. You read it and believe that he has
some special knowledge -- and for an agnostic like me who has by
now despaired of understanding anything in this cruel world -- it
gives a sense of peace and comfort. I am going to get his Tania
book now. Have you read it yet? When you speak to him next, tell
him how much I loved the article. I wish I knew him well enough to
do it myself.
Ilil Arbel, New York, USA
WHOSE LAND?
Last night,
while I was mellowing in the
spa
and talking to friends about the importance of voting in
the upcoming elections, the more dedicated political
activists were at an
Election Forum
in Jerusalem. Even the Jerusalem Post was
impressed by Moledet's Uri Bank, but the quotation that
concerned me was from Naomi Blumental, who's probably
the best in Likud:
Attacking
last summer's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and
northern Samaria, Blumenthal called the pullout "a
disaster" and asked "what logic was there in
giving back land to terror?"
I don't
like her use of the verb "give back." It means that the
Land was, or even is, really owned by the Arabs. We have
to use the verb "give away." It's our Land according to
history, tradition and G-d. By relinquishing
sovereignty, throwing out loyal, peaceful citizens, we
are giving it away, G-d forbid.
Batya M, Israel
________________________
ADL STATEMENT ON
DANISH CARTOONS DEPICTING
MOHAMMED
The
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued the following statement in
response to the controversy stemming from the twelve cartoons
depicting Mohammed featured in the Danish newspaper
Jyllands-Posten and
reprinted in other European newspapers:
ADL is opposed to religious,
racial and ethnic stereotyping in the media. We found some of the
cartoons in Jyllands-Posten
troubling, particularly the direct linkage of
Mohammad and violence.
At the same time, we are gravely concerned by the extreme violent
reaction these cartoons have generated in Muslim communities in
Europe, and particularly in the Middle East.
It is certainly the right of individuals and governments to express
their disagreement with these depictions. However, the use of
violence, threats, boycotts and other extreme reactions are highly
inappropriate and bode ill for future debates involving Islam,
democracy and free speechWhat
has been overlooked in the controversy is the fact that despicable
anti-Jewish caricatures appear daily in newspapers across the Arab
and Muslim world. While invoking the supposed “freedom of the
press” in their countries, Arab and Muslim leaders have refused to
take any action to stem the drumbeat of anti-Semitism in widely
circulated newspapers, many state-sponsored. Indeed, leaders of
regimes such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia have
virtually ignored appeals from the United States and Jewish
organizations to put an end to incitement in their media, excusing
it in the name of “freedom of the press.” One would hope that
leaders of the Arab and Muslims would turn all of the anger being
aimed at the European press into a larger lesson for their own
people about the power of images.
ADL is strongly committed to
free speech and freedom of the press – principles we consider the
cornerstones of democracy. In a democratic society, newspapers
need to be free to publish controversial content without fear of
censorship or intimidation of their writers and editors. At the
same time, newspapers and all media outlets should to take into
account the sensitivities of racial, ethnic and religious groups.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading
organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services
that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
Myrna
Shinbaum, ADL, New York, USA
___________________
SUNDAY:
JERUSALEM RALLY WILL DEMAND COMMISSION INQUIRY INTO VIOLENCE AT AMONA
Dear Editor: The Yesha leadership, led by the Yesha Council joined by
members of the Knesset and community leaders, will hold a rally this
Sunday evening, Feb. 5th at 7 pm at Zion Square in
Jerusalem. "The public demands answers, and wants the government
to take responsibility and set up an official commission to examine
the events at Amona. The excessive violence on the part of security
officials is alarming, and requires scrutiny. If the police are
responsible for bashing the heads of youth whose hands were raised or
who were already beaten to the ground, they must be brought to
justice," said Yesha leaders. The people will call on the official
commission to investigate the criminal violent behavior of the police,
the intentions behind the Amona action and the potential of preventing
clashes by reaching compromise.
Ruth
Lieberman, Israel
_________________________
DISTURBING REMARKS
Thought this would be of interest to your readers. Recently,
disturbing remarks were made by a Northwestern University professor. A
NU professor backed the Iranian President calling the Holocaust a
myth and said Israel should no longer exist as a country. His remarks
have angered many NU students and faculty. In light of this, I will
speak on my book and show a film at Northwestern . The event is free
and open to the public. Following are the details.
Rachel
Oestreicher Bernheim, Chairman/CEO, The Raoul Wallenberg Committee of
the United States, A STUDY OF HEROES, 230 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New
York, NY 10169. Tel (212) 499-2695. email
rachel@raoulwallenberg.org
Mona Sue Weissmark, Ph.D., Visiting Associate Professor of
Psychology, Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, 2029
Sheridan Road, Evanston ,
IL 60208
NU
CALENDER EVENT: Dr. Mona Sue Weissmark professor and author of
"Justice Matters:Legacies of the Holocaust and World War II" (Oxford
University Press, 2004) will present a New Documentary Film titled,
"Seeing the Other Side -- 60 years after Buchenwald," produced by
Johanna Holzhauer of WDR German. Television. Why should we remember
the Holocaust? Who is to be remembered? And how are they to be
remembered? "Seeing the Other Side -- 60 years after Buchenwald"
explores these question. Wednesday, February 22, 2006 at 8:00 p.m.
Northwestern University in Annenberg Hall, room G15 Annenberg Hall
is located at 2120 Campus Drive,
Evanston Campus.
CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION: Edward
Glassmane-glassman@northwestern.edu 215.837.3417.
_____________________
CUNY CARE Work Experience Program (WEP) Vendex Contract Evaluation for
1/1/05-12/31/05
Please join me in
congratulating Elise Wunder and her dedicated staff for achieving a
"Very Good" overall performance rating on the above-reference
Mayor's Office of Contracts/Vendex Contractor Performance
Evaluation. As you know, our CUNY CARE Work Experience Program
enables Public Assistance
recipients attending the 17 campuses of CUNY and
over 30 other colleges,
to adhere to their workfare requirements while attending college --
thus enabling them to remain on Public Assistance, complete their
college degrees and benefit from dignified work
experiences which are complimentary to and enhancing to their college
education. This assessment also included "Excellent" ratings for
"timeliness of deliverables and reports", "timeliness of services",
"fulfillment of scope of services required by contract", "program
recordkeeping and reporting" and "adherence to target populations
and target areas". Our Fiscal staff are also to be thanked for the
"Very Good" rating on the "overall quality of fiscal administration
and accountability" for this Vendex. Thank
you.
Rabbi Moshe Wiener, Executive Director,
Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island, Inc., 3001 West
37th Street * Brooklyn, New York 11224-1479.
m.wiener@jccgci.org
______________________
|
Email us at:
editor@worldjewishnewsagency.org
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
MADONNA, KABBALAH AND GWENYTH PALTRO
I read this in your April issue...Have you noticed
something funny? Life and
history are so cyclical. Ms. Gwenyth Paltro is having
her London house exorcised by Kabbalah followers,
according to the advice Madonna gave her. There will
be a shofar call, and psalms
will be read -- great fun. Of course, this is neither a
Jewish nor a Christian exorcism, but something
interesting in between. Does this not remind you the
time in Hellenistic Egypt, before Christianity took
over? Thousands of pagans became Jews, or semi-Jews,
rather, since they did not feel like having
circumcisions as adults. Being tired of the repetitive
pagan religions, they had a strong pull toward the
monotheistic Jewish religion, and adapted it to their
needs. If Christianity had not succeeded in
grabbing these people by making it so my easier than
Judaism, the world today would have been largely Jewish.
So I am beginning to like Madonna
and the rest of her lunatic Kabalistic friends. Is the
cycle being closed? Are we going to have many converts
to Judaism, and if so, would they be taken seriously by
the Jewish authorities? I sincerely hope they will be
embraced. I would love to see a million Jewish converts
taking over the world's governments!
Rosa A, New York, USA
Hizbullah´s
newspaper "Al-Intiqad " interviews the Swedish
intellectual and writer Jan Myrdal
Dear sir: A friend of mine wrote to you to let you know
that there is a great international writer from Sweden who
gave a very informative interview to "Al Intiqad"
newspaper. Your educated Jewish readers should read the
interview. They will see for themselves what educated and
intellectual people around the world think about Hamas
movement in Palestine. I am myself a doctor in social
sciences. I have studied in Michigan and at the AUB
(American University of Beyrouth). Personally, I like and
admire your magazine. It is written for intelligent
people. Of course, you express very clearly the Jewish
concerns and many of your writers are anti-Arabs and
anti-Muslims. However, you publish outstanding articles in
many fields and on many occasions, you let our Arab
scholars and students express their feelings and opinions
in your magazine.
Please let your readers know about the
interview of Professor Jan Myrdal, in "Al Intiquad"
newspaper. Professor Myrdal was born in 1927. He is one
of the most renowned intellectuals and writers in Sweden
in the last 40 years and is also an important voice in
Leftist circles in Western Europe. Jan Myrdal has earned
himself a name as a writer engaged in questions concerning
the Third World, National Liberation struggles,
anti-imperialism, as a vehement critic of the US so called
”War against Terrorism”, and also as a writer engaged on
issues of freedom of speech and intellectual freedom. Jan
Myrdal has written 80 books and countless of articles on
this and other subjects and has on several occasions been
confronted by the repressive forces of the Zionist thought
police. Jan Myrdal stems from a family who has made huge
imprints in modern Swedish society: his father Gunnar
Myrdal was a professor of International Economics,
Minister of Commerce and a Nobel Laureate in Economic
Sciences in 1974 (sharing the so called ”Nobel Prize of
Economics”). Jan Myrdal´s mother Alva Myrdal, on the other
hand, was also a politician, top ranking UN diplomat and
peace activist, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in
1982. The elder Myrdal couple were also something of the
founding fathers of the visions of the Social-Democratic
Party, the leading political party in Sweden.
You have a great
magazine. I think it is the best of its kind. It is
beautiful and well done. As I understand, 300,000 Arabs
read it. Now, if you print the interview (attached), I can
assure you the number of your Arab readers will double. I
am writing to you on the behalf of many educated Arabs and
Muslims in Beyrouth. Please, sir, give us a chance to
express our opinions. Other Jewish magazines are as
fanatic as some of our people. Your magazine is not. Many
thanks to you. If you want you can contact Professor
Jan Myrdal and interview him. His Address: Östra
Björkviken SE-739 91 Skinnskatteberg, Sweden, E-mail:
myrdal@myrdal.pp.se.
Myrdal´s interview in English:
http://intiqad.com/english.
Respectfully, Walid Tajer, Ph.D.,
Beyrouth, Lebanon.
COMMENTS ON JAN MYRDAL'S INTERVIEW
AND WALID TAJER'S LETTER. YOU MAKE ME VOMIT!!
Editor of the New
York Jewish Herald: Are you nuts or what? Why did you
allow this guy Tajer to bring in the open what weirdoes
and anti-Semite groups think about Jews and Hammas? You
must be out of your mind! Shame on you! You tell me now
how many Arab and Muslim newspapers and TV stations allow
Jews to criticize Islam and Mohammad? Zip! How many Jews
work in Arab newspapers? Zero! I believe in freedom of
speech. I do not believe in speeches fueling hatred and
terrorism. Do you really care how many Arabs read your
paper? How about Israeli refugees in Israel? Do you voice
out their concerns? Shame shame on you. OK, make the Arabs
happy. I have one voice. But my voice is more honest than
those 300,000 fanatic Arabs who read your paper! You make
me vomit! Deborah Bloom, New York, USA
COMMENTS ON DEBORAH BLOOM'S COMMENT:
Bloom wrote:
"You tell me now how many Arab and Muslim newspapers and
TV stations allow Jews to criticize Islam and Mohammad?
Zip!". I would answer her that this is the main difference
between us. We allow free speech." Liz Tetullah, New
York, USA
MORE COMMENTS ON
DEBORAH BLOOM'S COMMENT:
Dear editor, this is
in reference to Deborah Bloom's comment: Dear Ms. Bloom,
you are so naive and so ignorant. And now I am going to
ask you these questions. You tell me how many black Jews
work in an Israeli newspaper? How many black Jews work at
the national radio of Israel? How many black Jews work in
consulates and embassies of Israel? You tell me how many
black Jews are represented in the Knesset? ZIP! I
emigrated from Addis Ababa to Israel searching for a
better life. They kept me on a Kibbutz for 2 years. And
here I am where I was when I came to Israel. Poor and
unemployed and I am a Jew from Ethiopia. Can you answer
me? Do you have an answer for me? I have the right answer:
It is a dirty politic game. That's all. Emanuel I,
Israel
THE PROBLEM OF THE ETHIOPIAN JEWS
The problem of the Ethiopian Jews is more than an issue
of black and white. They are not treated with perfect
equality – so much is known – but to assume that the
color of skin is the only problem is to look at it in a
simplistic sort of way. After all, the Yemenites are
black, but they have seats in the Knesset, excellent
positions in all industries, and they enjoy full
equality, if such a thing exists among human beings.
They also date and intermarry with other groups. The
difference is, the Yemenites are thoroughly Israeli.
They belong. They have come of their own free will
through incredible dangers, many years ago, settled down
to the harsh realities of the time, and often did jobs
that were beneath them to survive. Their children
excelled at school, and like all immigrants, they were
willing to accept the fact that the second generation
always does better than the first.
The Ethiopians were saved by the Israelis from certain
death, just before they were to be slaughtered. No one
will deny that. How many countries would do such a
thing? Would America do it? Would France, or Italy, or
England, save thousands of people, fly them home, and
settle them everywhere in the country just because they
claim they are of a certain religion or ethnicity?
Didn't Egypt and Syria and Saudi Arabia refuse to take
the Palestinians, who begged to be saved? Didn't America
turn away many boats of refugees of various countries,
including Jews escaping the Nazis? Saving the Ethiopians
was an unprecedented act of kindness. And when they were
brought to Israel, they were bleeding, poor, and while
not entirely uneducated, at least not educated in the
way that fits within a technological society such as
Israel. And they were not really promised
the moon. They just expected it.
When the Yemenites arrived in Israel, they were happy
being settled in what was called “the Maabaras,” shanty
towns of tents where they were housed until proper
housing was built or found. The Ethiopians expected
apartments in Tel-Aviv, on the spot. The kibbutz, the
border town, any temporary situation was not good
enough. But Israel is not equipped to assimilate so many
people all at once and settle them all in perfect
comfort. It is too poor a country, and such things take
time. The Ethiopians were unrealistic, and therefore,
they were disappointed. There were clashes at the style
of education given to their children, often they did not
want to conform to the style of education Israel
offered. That hurt their chances, too. In the end, they
were Jews, but they did not become Israelis. And that is
where the problem lies.
Halil L., New York, USA
FARRAKHAN AGAIN SPEWS
HATE IN SAVIOURS’
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