Letters
LETTBtS To the Editor: It's been a long time since I have had the pleasure of reading poems of the caliber and intensity of those published in your April issue. I refer to the three poems by...
...To the Editor: moment grows better by the month...
...A Jew is a person who follows the precedents set by the official leaders of the faith, both in the past and now...
...This "sudden realization" during the trying period he describes, at the inexperienced age of 26, which caused such a shocking change of values is indicative of a severe social-identity conflict that many other young people solve by becoming cultists of one sort or another...
...The last item in "Moments of Truth" treats, with tongue in cheek, the recent dedication of a JNF grove of trees in memory of George Eliot...
...Furthermore, the Gush Emunim movement probes into the ideological foundations of contemporary Israel by insisting that post-war Zionism, which conceived of Israel as a "refugee center," must give way to a more vigorous ideal...
...If he is talking about people with certain last names he is guilty of his own accusations: "real prejudice" and "abysmal ignorance...
...But, understand, Mehler is welcome in my house anytime...
...Let Carter work for human rights...
...Show me in our war room, solemnly surrounded by our top military and diplomatic leaders...
...If Gush Emunim is trying to say that Israel and the Jewish people must forge its own destiny rather than defensively accept whatever is to be imposed upon them, then the movement, despite the discomfort it causes, must be considered thoughtfully...
...4. France has ennobled civilization with its noble traditions .. .freedom, the rights of the common man, elegant food, sparkling wine, perfume, wide avenues, and the benefits of prostitution in sex, business and government...
...the most important educational experience...
...Golda Meir refused their request, but it is noteworthy that the continued response of the Jews of Gush Emunim to that war was an expression of faith in Israel's future...
...Mehler to state that homosexuality is a naturally occuring phenomenon amongst Jews...
...We thank him...
...Also, we should not give offense to anyone, the oil-rich Arab nations least of all, God forbid...
...However, it is there, alone and vulnerable, a metaphor of our collective condition...
...France did not reach its present position in the world by taking moral stands...
...He does not elaborate on...
...When I visit friends in Kiryat Arba we usually disagree theologically about the land of Israel...
...It was the first proto-Zion-ist work, influencing Jews and gentiles, among them Eliezer Ben Yehuda, Yehuda Leib Gordon, Peretz Smolenskin, Moshe Leib Lilienblum, Arthur James Balfour, and Emma Lazarus...
...We must be careful—Entebbe has been over-exposed...
...While those who identify with Israel's welfare can support or oppose Gush (as David Schnall's balanced account shows) there is no question that the leaders of the Gush, and those who support its efforts, are motivated by ahavat Yisrael...
...Therefore, our version must be unique...
...This is nonsense, of course, since any knowledgeable Frenchman knows we have not had a soul for a long time, and our foreign policy is based purely on egalite, fraternite and expediency, which mean— freely translated: go with the heavy hitters...
...The law must be a means to a higher end—not the end in itself...
...Two footnotes to the April issue...
...nevertheless we share the same grim conclusions about the function of the Gush Emunim settlements...
...Judy Bennett Rock Island, Illinois Editor's note: Yehudah Amichai's latest collection of poetry will be published this month by Harper and Row...
...I just wish that he would realize what he is doing, not only to himself but to the image of Judaism that he portrays...
...A Jew, in my definition, is a person who practices a discipline of living, regardless of previous background and not particularly limited to persons born "Jewish...
...By referring to no study of the sexual habits of practicing Jews, it is unpardonably unfair of Mr...
...And, hopefully, they grow into the larger universe sooner or later...
...You are to be commended for offering your readers such delightful diversions...
...Liu Shao Chi further related that his grandfather informed him, too, that their ancestors had come from Ceylon and that they worshipped Ji-Hi-Wei...
...I should be played either by myself or Yves Montand...
...They are much prettier and we could show the world that they get to their target in doubletime and they land so silently they do not even wake up the Ugandan guards...
...Congratulations...
...Fact of the matter is that Israel's tribute to this English author is long overdue...
...Yet, law, itself, can become distorted or corrupted...
...3. Instead of focusing on Israeli leaders, our focus should be on pivotal French decisions in Paris during the drama...
...Herbert Zweibon Chairman, Americans for a Safe Israel New York, New York To the Editor: The article on Gush Emunim shows fairness and open-minded-ness, especially in view of your editorial feelings about the movement...
...In citing two examples which are irrelevant to Judaism, the Kinsey study and animal behavior (both exclusive of practicing Jews) he simply shows that normal America and the sexual proclivities of animals belong in an anti-civilized model of sexual dominance and submission...
...Therefore, if we produce our own Entebbe, how should it differ from the earlier versions...
...Norman Saul Goldman Dover, Delaware To the Editor: It seems as if Barry Mehler ("Gay Jews," February/March) became a homosexual rather than being one...
...While there is slight poetic license here, // n'ya pas de quoi because the positive impact on those fou Americans around Kennedy Airport may offset any flak from fussy critics stickling about facts...
...Ginsberg's "Jews of China" is a fascinating article...
...In other words, while Israel's life hung in the balance, depending on America's response to her pleas for an airlift of arms, the future leaders of Breira sought to prevent those arms from reaching Israel...
...A grove of trees is but a modest act of appreciation to this great lady...
...Daniel Deronda is hardly the exciting novel that Exodus is but, oddly, Eliot's work had significant impact when it appeared in 1876...
...Perhaps the difference is clarified by pointing to the contrasting reaction to the Yom Kippur War by the first members of Gush and the leading figures in Breira...
...On the other hand, the leadership of Breira includes a number of individuals with clear records of anti-Israel activity...
...NBC took a bath, even though they inherited a vast audience already stupefied from the Superbowl...
...The crew should sing "The Marseillaise" a lot, reminisce about Paris in the spring, enjoy good French wines and French kisses and casually observe how well we Gaullists are running the country...
...2. The central characters will be the French captain (who will be played by Pierre Montalban), the stewardess (can we get Bri-gitte Bardot...
...Vive la .. . Giscard Note: Our good friend, Albert Vorspan, uncovered this letter and passed it along to us...
...Amichai 's work...
...One question: Is there any way I can obtain more of Mr...
...It's time for a Gallic production, because the Abu Daoud affair has left a bad taste in the mouth and our summer bookings are down, and we have to recoup our world standing...
...In America, all three networks have each produced prime time Entebbe shows and the Israelis are unveiling their own Entebbe film...
...Why should we not do a French version of the Entebbe raid...
...Because the Gush Emunim movement perceives a transcendant dimension to their politics, they are characterized as "hawks" or ill-advised messianists...
...Liu Chao Chi (who was then still in favor with Mao Tse-Tung) shared this intelligence with Wetzel: "My grandfather told me that our ancestors lived in K'ai-Feng, the capital, and that they belonged to the tribe of Yi-tzu-lo-ni...
...I think, however, this can be readily understood...
...We do not need to make waves...
...Arthur Waskow, now on Breira's Executive Committe, sent out a 'Dear friends' letter urging recipients to work for a ceasefire, "not for more arms...
...Which leads us to the sinister thought that Liu Shao Chi fell from grace with Mao because the latter was an anti-Semite...
...we'll keep our eye on the main chance, which is oil...
...Schnall did an adequate job in pointing out that Gush Emunim raises some relevant, if not difficult, questions...
...As far as Breira was concerned, when the Yom Kippur War broke out, Bob Loeb, now its executive director, then on the steering committee for Breira's creation, on behalf of the Committee on New Alternatives in the Middle East, of which he was field director, spoke out for preventing the flow of arms to the Middle East...
...Of course, we know we are NOT (repeat NOT) anti-Semitic—which the Quai d'Orsay defines as disliking Jews more than necessary—but the DJL has started a whispering campaign (they do whisper at the top of their lungs) that we have sold our souls to the Arabs...
...In his History of Zionism, Nahum So-kolow offers the following tribute: "Among English writers who have understood the idea of Zionism in all its depth and breadth, the place of honor belongs unquestionably to George Eliot...
...Rather, his "coming out" seems to be a dramatic departure, much less than a public affirmation of a deeply considered life...
...There could be some funky sex in the cockpit before the takeover) and the rest of our Air France crew...
...As follows: 1. The big C-46 cargo planes will, of course, be Concordes...
...Vive la France...
...As for people who object to specific aspects of the religion, they must be treated as a different sociological group...
...In this context, I wonder if the Israeli government isn't secretly proud of Gush Emunim, knowing, that, finally, their spirit and morale can be relied upon in a future crunch...
...Arthur Chiel Woodbridge, Connecticut To the Editor: In your introductory remarks to the April issue, you treat Gush Emunim and Breira as ' 'counterparts" and express surprise that so much indignation should be aroused by Breira and so little by Gush Emunim...
...An illuminating addition is found, however, in a 1961 French biography, Liu Shao Chi—Le Moine Rouge by H. H. Wetzel...
...Whether or not Kiryat Arba could withstand military assault is debatable...
...In either event, Giscard—like France—should be suave, decisive, Kennedyish, bold, honorable and sophisticated...
...Ron Benvenisti Brooklyn, New York Confidential Memo To: French television networks From: Giscard Classification: Top Secret—burn before reading Voila, I have an idea...
...Vive l'Entebbe...
...For example, the Israeli government is fond of saying that Israel is a society of laws, not a theocracy...
...When there is a discrepancy between the law and a nobler impulse, the law must be scrutinized...
...Both the Arabs and Amin should have the right of script refusal...
...I refer to the three poems by Yehudah Amichai...
...that was the "Gay Experience" course, nor does he give us any background as to his abrupt change, in terms of growth or life interests...
...Now, with a French Entebbe, we can illuminate French honor and, at the same time, make beaucoup loot out of a blockbuster of a movie...
...If we do not do our own Entebbe, how will we deal with the sensibilities of Jewish and pro-Israeli viewers, some of whom could happily watch the Israelis landing on their screen every night...
...During an interview...
...During the war, a group of women, who were part of a settlement-core organized by what was to become known as Gush Emunim, met with Golda Meir and asked her, at this time of desperately shaken morale, to announce their commitment to and the government's approval for the creation of a Jewish settlement in Samaria...
Vol. 2 • June 1977 • No. 8
