Shabbat under fire: an Israeli story

Sir, - Friday night July 25th, in the midst of the unceasing Hamas terror rocket fusillades fired throughout Israel, Petach Tikva had the dubious privilege of a 'red alert' heralded by a loud wailing siren. This alarm caught many shul-goers off guard just prior to the start of their Leil Shabbat meal.

Upon hearing a siren, the instructions of the Home Front Command for a residential building is for the families to seek shelter in the enclosed inner stairwell and to wait there for ten minutes after hearing the explosive boom. This particular seven story building on Rechov Hanissim found the majority of its families occupying the stairwell from top to bottom.

Yossi Roth and his wife are residents of this building and were on the stairwell, when Yossi had an inspiration. Using his beautiful voice he started singing the 'Shalom Aleichem' hymn which welcomes the two angels into the Sabbath home and asks for their blessings. What Yossi started was picked up by all the families – irrespective of religious or secular – with increasing enthusiasm, providing the angels with a most resounding welcome. The angels of course were happy to provide their enthusiastic blessings for a Shabbat of peace and tranquility.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Wikimedia user יעקב]

J.Post Magazine June 20: Do Israel's rabbis care about real problems?

Sir, - In his article "Where the rabbis went wrong" Avraham Avi-Hai manages to attribute almost all of Israel's ills and shortcomings to the (orthodox) Rabbinate whom he accuses of emphasizing the "shall nots" above social concerns and compassion. 

He begins his article with a description of a scene at the airport where a bearded gentleman called out to him, "Come put on tefillin", and he snapped back with the challenge, "Did you ask anyone if he cheated someone today?"

While his obvious point is that he feels that concerns about peoples' honesty are far more important than putting on tefillin, his rejoinder was totally absurd. Can our imaginations really suffer a scenario in which a bearded, black-garbed gentleman approached a stranger in the airport and asked if he cheated someone that day? The most natural response would be "Who the hell do you think you are? What gives you the right to question my honesty?" Neither the time nor the place are appropriate for such questions.

What Avi-Hai fails to appreciate is the fact that he was approached by a member of Chabad whose operational raison d'etre is respect for the infinite worth of every individual, and asking him to put on tefillin was a magnificent expression of that respect for his merit within the larger Jewish framework no matter how far he may have strayed. 

The above is indeed a powerful message, and if extensively adopted would go a long way toward mending many of the rents in the fabric of our society that Avi-Hai finds so troubling. 

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikvah

[Image credit: Daniel Maleck Lewy]

Toxic Remarks: Tzipi Livni and Rabbi Nissan Kaplan

Sir, - Readers of the Jerusalem Post were confronted with two disturbing headlines on Sunday May 18 and in fact both reflect a venomous posture towards the state of Israel and its people. The first headline relates to the unauthorized meeting that took place in London between Tzipi Livni and the PA's Mahmoud Abbas; the second cites a repulsive and toxic statement from a rabbi of the Mir Yeshiva who declared that "government officials should in theory be killed."

It appears to me that Naftali Bennet's comments about Livni that describe her as a "satellite lost in orbit, with no connection to the planet earth" can unhesitatingly be applied to the Yeshiva scholar Rabbi Nissan Kaplan as well. The physical disconnect that Bennet describes is, however, unfortunately inadequate to fully portray the depth of their folly. They both seem to lack a basic appreciation or understanding of the 'heavenly miracle' that is the State of Israel or the real concerns of its people and their core values.

Tzipi Livni, in her desperate pursuit of an Israel-Palestinian peace treaty, is evidently willing to ignore the real danger that is inherent in meeting with a unified Hamas-PLO entity, wherein Hamas insists on its intention to annihilate the Zionist state. Their continuing rocket attacks against Israel and attempts to kidnap soldiers clearly demonstrate an implacable intent to unite their words of enmity with murderous deeds. She needs to understand that her primary obligation is to the security of the people of Israel with absolutely no room for compromise or weakness. 

The words describing the Israeli government as 'Amelekites' and therefore worthy of being killed borders on pathology no matter if it emerges from Rabbi Kaplan or any so called 'Gedolim,' be they Ashkenazi or Sfardi. His pathetic remarks and inane games played with his children are both symptoms of the terrible growing divide that separates the Haredi world from the rest of Israel, and worse is the Haredi world's ingratitude for the fact that currently there is more Torah being learned in the state of Israel with the support of the 'Amelikites' and the security provided by the IDF than any other period of Jewish history. It is time that these facts were honestly recognized by the Yeshiva world, and that they gather the courage to thank the Almighty for His daily miracles even when they come dressed in non-velvet kippot.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: WEF and Wikimedia user yoavlemmer]

J.Post May 1: Double Standard in Taser Torture?

Sir, - I must confess that reading on Holocaust Remembrance Day the account of contemporary sadism by a patrol policeman who tortured a suspect with the use of a Taser gun disturbed me beyond revulsion. My vexation was seriously compounded by the fact that the suspect was handcuffed and completely helpless at the time, that the shooting to the back of his head was without any provocation, that it was followed by three more shots after he fell to the ground, then nine more during the drive to the police station as the policeman cursed at him. 

The officer was sentenced to 28 months in prison by the Tel Aviv District Court after being charged with two counts of torturing a helpless person with a Taser gun and on one count of causing serious bodily harm. Judge Zvi Gurfinkel said that the law regarding "use of a taser is the same as for use of a gun." To a layman like myself, it seems that when unprovoked sadism is employed in the torture of a helpless human being, a more appropriate and just sentence demands a much lengthier prison term!

At the end of the same report we are told about the case of Boaz Albert from Yitzhar, Samaria, in which police delivered electric shocks to his chest as he lay helpless on the ground. This action was caught on video and established that Albert was not resisting arrest when the Taser gun was used on him. In Albert's case, however, the Police Investigation Department closed their investigation, finding the Taser use justified under the circumstances. Because Albert was from Yitzhar in Samaria? Is the justice system merely perverted, or corrupt as well?

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Wikimedia user Rama]

Mis-God-ed Haredi Values

Sir, - Rabbi Berel Wein succeeds in presenting us with a most insightful and robust analysis of some of the important tensions and contradictions that plague the Lithuanian Haredi community. He succeeds in doing so by employing satirical humor and thus is able to some degree soften the portrayal of the often very sharp conflicts that exist in that very distinct community. He is further aided in his coherent analysis by a sensitivity that stems from a sense of identity (since he identifies himself as belonging to this community) which serves to endow his critical remarks with not only a profound sense of poignancy but also with the ring of truth and accuracy.

He correctly points to some of the crucial matters in which the Lithuanian Haredim have adopted customs that intensely highlight the dissonance between their present communal practices and the desired righteous path expounded by our Prophets and prescribed by our sages. The dignity of labor that enables economic sustenance and the avoidance of becoming a burden to others, alongside the proud participation in a military that defends the Jewish people and the state of Israel, are two of the most important of these divisive issues. The ambiance within which these pivotal attitudes find expression is pervaded by a deeply felt sense of distrust of the entire Zionist enterprise and of all its institutions based on an attribution of illegitimacy to any major development in the story of our people that has not yet won the imprimatur of those who see themselves as God's spokesmen. This is especially so in their view of the fact that many of the State's founding fathers were visibly secular.

Unfortunately, their extreme misguided and mis-God-ed outlooks have also succeeded in influencing and misshaping the values of other segments of the Haredi community. The former Poale Agudath Israel, with its healthy positive outlook toward the nobility and importance of labor, and favoring of the full participation in the economic and military life of Eretz Yisrael within a framework of diligent observance, has slowly witnessed the erosion of those values and their substitution by a separatist orientation. The former Shas MK Rabbi Chaim Ansalem has bemoaned the negative and alien inroads made into the mores and values of the traditional Sephardic community regarding attitudes toward the Zionist program and the necessity to maintain a vibrant work ethic and a vigilant security structure.

The story related by Rabbi Wein about the Haredi professional engineer who sought his counsel about making a trip to America in order to "schnorr" funds for a child's wedding, when questioned if it was not more desirable to work in his profession rather than go begging, replied that in the milieu in which he was living a father who worked (and did not spend his full time learning) would have a negative effect on the Shidduch prospects. This extreme anecdote, while inviting both pity and revulsion, also serves to illustrate the extreme problems within the Haredi community.

Above all, one would expect from those who claim to value Torah to be first in their ability to discern the Divine Presence that accompanies Jewish History and that endows the life of Am Yisrael and its reborn sovereign State with distinctive majesty and eminent religious significance.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

Haredim Fighting the Draft

Sir,  - The unsightly scene captured by the photograph on your front page showing ultra-Orthodox men protesting outside a military prison is in reality depicting a phenomenon far more ugly and perilous than appears at a first glance. In fact your underlined caption "Fighting the Draft"  that appears beneath the picture is itself quite misleading.

A deeper understanding of what is taking place can be found in the sign that appears in the center of the photograph and reads "It is better to die than to enlist in the Zionist apostasy army." This frenetic fringe group is without either hesitation or subtlety, publicly declaring their opposition not only to the drafting into the army but opposition to the army itself. For them the army is 'apostasy' and 'impure' and it expresses a complete detachment that forbids entrance into its satanic and sinful clutches under any circumstances be they benign or enforced. The army for them is tarfus and they proclaim their willingness to die rather than being part of it.

Unfortunately, the above extreme fanaticism, while it is being expressed by a minority of Haredim, is a reflection of a more widely held attitude that views the entire Zionist enterprise, including the establishment of the State of Israel and all of its institutions, as illegitimate. The only hope of altering their position would be the (admittedly unlikely) condemnation and reeducation of this group by the respected sages of the Haredi world.

In the meantime. they will continue to desecrate God's name and invite the growing resentment of most Israelis, secular and religious, who are able to see and appreciate the Divine Hand that was responsible for the miracles involved in the establishment of Israel and its glorious army.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Nir Hason]

The True Religious Jews of Beit Shemesh

Sir, -  My focus on Beit Shemesh, I must admit, stems from the fact that my son and his family are residents in Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph. Although they themselves are religious Zionists and totally observant, they have chosen to live in a religiously pluralistic community comprising Haredim, Religious Zionist, and Secular. They felt that it is important for the building of a healthy Israeli society wherein the various components may learn to appreciate and respect one another and thus strengthen the ties that bind us all.

Sadly, now 14 years later there is almost no one left of the secular segment, mainly due to the unfortunate fact that the Haredi world does not view this goal as being of paramount importance and in no manner does it encourage the tolerance necessary towards its realization.

The usual meticulous standards of Haredi religious observance seem to totally disappear when engaged in a bitterly contested mayoralty election. Ethics, morality, civility, truth, and honorable behavior can be easily exchanged by deception, lies, name calling, and totally irreligious behavior -- and this is done despite Harav Ovadiah Yosef's ubiquitous portrait. Is not the portrait of this Torah giant being debased when exploited for partisan political purposes?

The incumbent mayor had signs stating that "True religious Jews vote Abutbul." Who are these true religious Jews? Are they dressed in black garb, getting themselves arrested for the use of fraudulent identity cards in order to elect a 'religious' candidate, or is it rather my son -- the graduate of a Hesder Yeshiva and a practicing attorney who while strict in his religious observance continues to serve in the Army Reserves even though he has long finished with his reserve obligations, and in all his endeavors strives to bring honor to God's name?

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

[Image credit: צביקי ולדמן]

Where's the Real Jew Haven? Israel vs. New York

Sir, – Yair Lapid’s statement made in an interview with CBS’s Charlie Rose (“Lapid: Jews safer in NY than in Israel,” October 9) was both boorish and simplistic, and not at all worthy of a senior government minister.

Objectively speaking, Lapid has no real facts about life in New York that could lend support to his statement, and frankly I am not certain what it means. The one possible area where it has a ring of accuracy would be that of road accidents caused by the criminally irresponsible Israeli drivers.

With the great amount of talk about the need for hasbara (public diplomacy) and the concern that Israeli students and professors traveling abroad serve as ambassadors carrying a positive image of Israel, flippant, thoughtless statements like the above serve to obliterate much of that effort.

At any rate, while it might indeed be safer for Jews in New York than in Israel, beyond any shadow of a doubt Israel is the securest place for the Jewish people. This is so because Israel has two invincible sources of help, as reported by columnist Leonard Lyons immediately after the Six Day War.

Israel, Lyons explained, was aided by both a supernatural and a natural source.

The supernatural was its army. The natural was its God.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petah Tikva

[Image credit: Roman Iakoubtchik]

Encourage Israeli Entrepreneurship ... In Israel!

Sir, - Idan Ofer, we are informed, has donated $40 million to the London Business School. It is of course his unquestionable right to donate his money to whatever philanthropic endeavor he chooses. Where I do feel there is room for serious questioning, however, is the reasoning provided by Ofer to justify his choice for the beneficiary of his largess. He tells us it's to "ensure that the next generation of Israeli entrepreneurs is equipped to cope with the challenges of globalization."

I beg forgiveness for my obtuseness, but I fail to understand how the gift to that institution will accomplish that admirable goal. What will have changed for Israelis after this gift that was not present before? The far more important consideration is whether a gift of this size -- if it were given to any one of Israel's own institutions of higher learning -- would not have achieved the stated goal a lot more directly. Surely an endowment of a scholarship program in Israel for gifted Israelis would be a most meaningful way to encourage future entrepreneurs.

Ironically, on the same day that news of Idan's gift was published in the Post there also appeared the news on the Front page that the Technion received a $130m grant for a joint program with a leading Chinese university. This appears to be a more likely way to achieve the understanding of globalization.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: 401kcalculator.org]

Ortal Shmueli vs. Lag Baomer Animal Abuse

Sir, - I must confess that it was curiosity that prompted me to read the article by Rachel Avraham about Ortal Shmueli titled "A wonderful candidate for Beersheba's city council." Never having heard her name, I was interested in finding out why she merited an article that essentially was nothing other than a letter of recommendation for her election, plus some statements by Shmueli herself expressing her interest in helping Olim and some of the programs that she would like to promote.

Shmueli, however, also informs us about an additional agenda to that of serving the citizens of Beersheba, one in which she wants to help educate the population against the abuse of animals. In pursuit of that goal, she is quoted as saying that "many children around the country throw animals into fires during Lag Baomer and abuse animals in horrific ways."

My family and I have celebrated Lag Baomer more than 40 times in Israel, and I state categorically that we have never witnessed or heard from any of our many friends about the revolting practice that Shmueli describes. It is a most unfortunate and baseless exaggeration, that not only brings no credit to its author but will also undoubtedly be added to the list of calumnies against the people and state of Israel. It is a hapless statement that has no redeeming qualities and for me reflects quite negatively on the merits of Ortal Shmueli.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

[Image credit: אדיר-מתן אוזן] 

Don't Pay Bill Clinton with our Hard-Earned Money

Sir, - Isi Leibler is performing a much needed service in his vigilant insistence on the need for accountability and transparency in all organizations that collect and disburse charitable funds. He especially focuses on the Claims Conference that is responsible for the transfer of funds paid by the government of Germany to the victims who suffered and survived the horror of the Holocaust purgatory. Leibler quite appropriately describes their function as being responsible for the disbursement of "sacred restitution funds."

But despite the hallowed constitution of these funds, we are informed that there has been an embezzlement over several years of more than $57 million dollars, money that was destined for very deserving and needy survivors. It is hard to conceive of something more revolting or sacrilegious.

Almost equally revolting however, is the obscenity that is to be committed by the KKL-JNF in their intended payment to Bill Clinton of $500,000 dollars to speak at an event that is part of the week-long tribute to Pres. Shimon Peres.

Instead of Clinton lending his presence out of respect for the many achievements of Shimon Peres, there is figuratively and literally a payment of tribute being made to Bill Clinton out of charitable and public funds in an unconscionable amount that violates every standard of propriety. It is not only a clear violation of public trust, it is also a gross betrayal of the many thousands of families who have for many years kept the blue and white Keren Kayemet boxes in their homes and filled them with their hard-earned shekels in order to redeem the Jewish homeland for the Jewish people.

This is profanity.

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Flickr user DonkeyHotey]

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Ponevezh Time Movie: A Disturbing Glimpse

Sir, - 'Ponevezh Time,' the film made by Yehonatan Indursky, provides us with an intimate, yet obviously caring look into one of the haredi world's most prestigious bastions of study. Indursky, who from the age of 16 spent three years at the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, brings an insider's knowledge to his portrayal, together with a great measure of empathy and understanding. However, his film alerts us to a number of serious concerns that are common to huge institutions, be they haredi or secular. 

 

click here to view full trailer

The most blatant of the concerns begins with the circumstances that caused Indursky himself to feel compelled to leave the Yeshiva that he so much admired. He relates the feeling of being "utterly at sea there" and "on your own, with no one to turn to." Did this most respected institution maintain an atmosphere that valued excellence in Torah studies above the emotional health and well-being of the individual student? 

In view of the fact that most of those who enter Ponevezh are of adolescent age -- and are thereby afflicted and conflicted with much inner emotional turmoil regarding their religious, theological, sexual, economic, social, and military behavior -- it would seem that a major priority would be a staff that combined great Torah knowledge with a warmth of personality to provide a responsive ear and understanding for their concerns.

 

The great Torah sages throughout Jewish history knew how to combine their brilliance in Torah with brilliance of character -- along with a deep understanding of the human condition -- so they were successful at imparting their love of learning to their disciples with warmth, acceptance, and love. 

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

Top Three Crimes in Israel

Sir,- Three of the most heinous criminal events in recent times that have traumatized Israel are surely:

1) The massacre of the Fogel family at Itamar.

2) The four hour rape-torture of the 83 yr. old woman in Tel Aviv.

3) Moshe Feiglin praying out loud on the Temple Mount.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

UPDATED J.Post December 22: Out with Zoabi

Sir, – With regard to “Panel bars Zoabi from Knesset election” (December 20), we were informed in a previous frontpage Post article (“Zoabi: If Balad’s banned, Arabs won’t vote,” December 9) that MK Haneen Zoabi has a first degree in philosophy and a second degree in communications. But it quickly becomes quite apparent that despite her advanced education, she lacks the ability to relate to the need for accuracy or truth with any degree of sanctity.

While Zoabi unhesitatingly attacks Israel with the obscene charge of racism, she blithely chooses to ignore the malicious and patent absurdity of the charge, based on the evidence of the opportunities afforded to her by both the democratic State of Israel and its liberal and accepting society.

She received her higher education from two of Israel’s important universities and was democratically elected along with several Arab colleagues to serve in Israel’s parliament.

These facts, it is worth noting, are in clear contrast to the existing realities in all of Israel’s nondemocratic neighbors.

What, however, makes Zoabi’s behavior more despicable is her joining the May 2010 protest flotilla aimed at breaching Israel’s security blockade of the Gaza Strip with the purpose of showing support for and providing encouragement to its terrorist Hamas government.

Zoabi dismisses this fact on the basis of the presence of parliamentarians from other countries.

Of course, they were from countries with clear anti-Israel agendas.

Therefore, it does not at all provide her with an excuse for her behavior, but rather makes it all the more contemptible.

As a serving member of Israel’s parliament, joining in a clearly anti-Israel effort in support of those who consistently call for armed conflict with Israel with the goal of our destruction, was in fact an act of treason and should minimally exclude the possibility for her reelection.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petah Tikva

[Image credit: Fora do Eixo]

J.Post November 4: Lapid and His Declarations

Sir, – Yair Lapid’s dramatic and extremely important declaration (“Lapid: We won’t sit in a government that won’t return to negotiating peace with the Palestinians,” October 31) is a most welcome introduction announcement to the platform of his Yesh Atid party.

It is about time that Israel’s citizenry heard a crystal clear and bold statement about principles from those who seek their votes.

Click here for full video

I, however, believe such statements must be correctly understood.

Thus, I was most pleased to learn that Yesh Atid won’t sit with the Palestinian Authority government of President Mahmoud Abbas until its gives up its consistent and adamant refusal to return to the peace table without demanding suicidal concessions from Israel.

I do strongly believe that all parties that make up the political spectrum of Israel, Right or Left, Ashkenazi or Sephardi, religious or secular, follow the example set unintentionally by Lapid and present a totally unified position to the world.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petah Tikva

[Image credit: YouTube screenshot]

J.Post October 25: Cries for Help

Sir, – The shocking tragedy of the needless loss of a precious young life should serve to arouse within us some serious soul searching regarding some of our basic societal values.

The planning of a “double suicide” by two adolescents raises many serious questions about education, religion, peer pressure, family structure, sexual mores and the seeming lack of appreciation about the infinite value of every single human life.

The fact that Raz Attias was prepared to murder his pregnant girlfriend and then commit suicide defies rational explanation and a total understanding of the pathology involved.

It is however a vulgar and perverted dishonesty by segments of the media to attempt to obfuscate the real complex issues and divert the blame onto a reputable and honorable organization like Efrat, which offers emotional, psychological, spiritual and financial aid to those seeking alternatives to abortion.

Without attempting to impose a facile solution to this quandary, I believe that the seeming ease that youngsters engage in irresponsible sexual behavior with highly regrettable results deserves our concerted attention.

ZEV CHAMUDOT 
Petah Tikva 

Perplexed: Yona Metzger on Israeli Conscription

Sir, - After a careful reading of the interview with Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, I feel much in need of a guide for the perplexed. I found his answer to the most crucial question posed to him as a Chief Rabbi, namely "What do you think should replace the Tal Law?" to be most problematic.

After describing his own service as a gunner in the IDF's 7th Armored Brigade, his convoluted response "Unfortunately, there is a relatively large number of boys officially registered or partially registered at yeshivot, and some of them aren't registered at all, and they wander around, and sometimes become involved in crime and drugs. There are said to be more than 10,000 such youths today. They could fill several brigades in the IDF." This reply gives the impression of an attempt to avoid a direct and clear response, and is both confusing as well as bordering on the deceptive.

Are we to understand that Rabbi Metzger is "donating" ten thousand delinquents for service in the IDF? What about the tens of thousands of  haredim that were exempted by the Tal Law? Why indeed does Rabbi Metzger not propose their conscription for army service combined with Torah study, similar to the program he himself participated in with apparent great success?

Isn't it about time that a Chief Rabbi in Israel declares, that just like Torah study is an obligation for every Jew, so too is service to the country and the security of its people no less an obligation, and incumbent on all its citizen?

ZEV CHAMUDOT

Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Lior Golgher]

J.Post July 25: Why didn't he serve?

Sir, – In her passionate defense of Itay Tiran (“The golden boy of Israeli theater,” Think About It, July 23), Susan Hattis Rolef states that efforts to delegitimize him are “undemocratic and repulsive.” She acknowledges that these efforts at delegitimization are based on Tiran’s not serving in the IDF together with other political views that found expression in his refusal to perform in Ariel.

It must be noted that Rolef, when mentioning Tiran’s lack of service in the IDF, surprisingly adds in explanation: “apparently on grounds of conscientious objection.” Do we, the readers, not deserve to be clearly told the reasons behind such a critical issue and not be left with assumptions? Rolef further states that Tiran has done “nothing illegal or illegitimate.”

She thus, perhaps unwittingly, gives her imprimatur of legitimacy to those who do not serve in the IDF.

Does she believe that Tiran’s acting skills permit him to avoid service? I personally feel that it is quite consistent with the definition of a democracy for citizens to take offense and express their objection to those who choose to act against the will, sentiments and values held by a majority of the populace.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petah Tikva

The Truth About Israel and Illegal Immigrants

Sir, - The title of M.K. Shlomo Molla's article "Foreign workers - the latest victims" is quite consistent with the hostile tone that he adopts throughout his column. One gets the distinct impression that Molla is far less interested in a fair and just solution to a very complex problem confronting the State of Israel, than in exhausting his lexicon of tiresome cliches.

The M.K. begins with a malicious attack upon the reception granted the large waves of aliya from different countries by stating,"but all met here with a cold shoulder of scorn, rejection and lack of respect." Not only is this a gross distortion of the truth but it reflects an animus toward a beleaguered Israeli society which from the beginning of its being has made heroic and Herculean efforts to provide a haven and home for the ingathering of the exiles.

Molla borders on vicious obscenity when he accuses Israel of racism based on skin color, when his very own presence as a member of the Knesset gives the lie to that allegation. He unabashedly chooses to ignore the fact that it was the Israeli government that actively sought out the Jews of Ethiopia and organized the massive airlifts to bring them home to Israel.

Israel, even when engaged in the defense of its existence has welcomed to its midst waves of immigrants from Iraq, Morocco, Yemen, India, Russia, America, England, S.Africa, and Australia and has succeeded in creating a dynamic, and fully democratic society.

While it is true that the illegal immigrants who are flooding our shores create a variety of problems that require sensitivity and humanity in addressing them, they can never be solved by making Israel the scapegoat for all the world's ills.

ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva

[Image credit: Roi Boshi]