With Enemies Like These

Bin Laden hates Bush.

Ahmadinejad hates Bush.

Hamas hates Bush.

Hizbullah hates Bush.

Leftists the world over hate Bush.

Israel-bashers everywhere hate Bush.

The New York Times hates Bush.

CNN hates Bush.

Saddam hated Bush.

As far as I'm concerned, George W. Bush's list of enemies alone is enough to give him great credit. Au revoir, Mr. President.

Michael Sterner

New York, NY

Khalidi And The Times

I was not surprised to read that Professor Rashid Khalidi's erroneous quotation of former IDF chief of staff Moshe Yaalon made it into the pages of The New York Times. (Media Monitor, Jan. 16). That Khalidi would have seized upon anything that would put Israel in a bad light is understandable, given his anti-Israel animus. When he saw something that fed into this, he apparently checked no further as to the accuracy of the quote.

But where were the Times's fact-checkers? Don't they have an obligationto their readers, let alone to the integrity of the Times (such as it still is) to verify the accuracy of the quote? As you said in your editorial, since the advent of Google even someone in the privacy of his own home can do this kind of fact-checking. Could it be that the Times was so anxious for Khalidi's point to be made that fairness and accuracy were thrown under the bus?

Lisa Grabelsky

(Via E-Mail)

Hamas A Fact Of Life

Unfortunately, your observation last week in the editorial "A Weakened Hamas Will Still Pose A Threat" was right on point. Whatever Barack Obama feels about the Middle East and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, it is hard to imagine how he will be able to ignore the presence of Hamas in the region.

No one seems to be able to eliminate Hamas, and much as it pains me to say it, we may have to accept its existence as a fact of life. Certainly there are measures American foreign-policy makers can do to blunt Hamas's vitriol, but pressure on Israel to accommodate Hamas's presence in any agreement may be unavoidable.

Chaim Davis

(Via E-mail)

New Chief Judge

It is welcome news that Jonathan Lippman has been appointed the new chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals (news item, Jan. 16).

I was happy to see that Governor Paterson got over his pique that a woman was not on the list he was required to choose from and in fact heaped praise on Lippman's qualifications. The current chief judge is a woman and three other women served with her for years on the seven-member court. The idea that there was some compelling reason to appoint another woman simply on the basis of gender was demeaning to the court and to the selection process as well. People should be evaluated based on merit, especially if they hold the future of millions of people in their hands.

David Rabinovitch

Brooklyn, NY

Bielskis Were Heroes (I)

Re "Demonizing The Bielski Heroes" (op-ed, Jan. 16):

The real events depicted in the film "Defiance" shows what a handful of armed Jews could have achieved. After 2,000 years of a crushing Exile, the paradigm of "death with honor" was a concept that the Jew had almost forgotten.

Before the war broke out, a group of Zionists led by Vladimir Jabotinsky foresaw the upcoming Holocaust. His followers were known as Revisionists and later founded the Irgun. They proposed practical solutions to fight Hitler. But one stands out: a Jewish Land Army on the European continent trained by what would later be known as the Allies. Jabotinsky had the backing of the Polish government, and could have recruited and armed over 300,000 Jewish men so that the Jews would have been able to protect themselves against the accursed Einsatzgruppen.

But the Jewish establishment ridiculed and opposed Jabotinsky, and a chance to save Europe's Jews went lost. He died in 1940, with most of European Jewry following him passively shortly thereafter.

Israelis used to ridicule the Jews of that generation for not fighting back, citing how in the last days of the war two unarmed German guards were able to march 5,000 Jews for 10 miles from one concentration camp to their deaths in another, with no resistance or attempt at escape. "I will bring weakness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a driven leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing ... you will have no power to stand against your enemies" (Vayikra 26).

Yet Israelis themselves have been chastened by the inexplicable passivity, timidity and self-restraint of the mighty IDF in the face of a puny foe, even as so many Jews in Israel have been reduced to body parts by Arab homicide bombers and rockets.

Amnon Goldberg

Safed, Israel

Bielskis Were Heroes (II)

I am neither Jewish nor a Bielski, but I was deeply moved by the story of the Bielski brothers and the many Jewish partisans of their community. As in any war, the worst shades of humanity are often seen in the most noble of men and women. While the movie mostly focuses on the nobility among these people, we are also invited to see them in their more frail moments. However, it does nothing to tarnish the fact that more than 10,000 people are alive today because of these men.

Thank God for the Bielski brothers and the Bielski cousins and the many, many men and women who also fought and survived. This story should have been told a long time ago.

Julie Tucker

(Via E-Mail)

Remembers Dr. Kipust

I was pleasantly surprised to see the interview with Dr. Philip Kipust on the history of Boro Park (The Changing Face of Boro Park," front-page essay, Jan. 9). I was a talmid at Kaminetz in the 1950s when Dr. Kipust was principal. He also taught science and he was far and away the best teacher I ever had all through high school and college.

I warmly remember spending time in Dr. Kipust's home with other students as he encouraged us to delve into various aspects of science. I have thought of him often over the years.

Thank you.

Yossie Bock

Los Angeles, CA

Spending Tzedakah Rather Than Investing It

Perhaps more astounding than the amount of money lost by Jewish charities in the Madoff swindle is the revelation of just how much money Jewish charities and foundations have in their coffers.

Mark Charendoff, president of the Jewish Funders Network, was quoted as estimating that losses in the Jewish community were at least $2.5 billion. And, of course, many more billions remain in Jewish family foundations and charitable endowments. The question that should be raised is whether the accumulation of vast amounts of financial assets in the Jewish philanthropic community is the best investment of those resources.

It's a well-worn joke that the only thing two Jews can agree on is how much a third should give to charity. So I don't want to tell philanthropists how or when to donate their money. Many are exceedingly generous and do incalculable good.

I do, however, want to ask them to consider the following: Much of the American Jewish community is drowning. Intermarriage rates are astronomically high while the commitment of Jews to the Jewish enterprise in America and their attachment to Israel are both on a steep downward incline. If current trends continue, there will be fewer and fewer American Jews left to benefit from the billions stashed away in endowment funds.

My plea is simple. Now is the time to substantially spend down endowment funds to help stop the hemorrhaging in the Jewish community. By far the best investment of those many billions hoarded in financial assets is Jewish youth. Imagine the return the Jewish community would reap if thousands more kids would be able to go to Jewish day schools - kids who are now shut out by unaffordable tuition rates.

Imagine the increased commitment to Israel if thousands more kids could go on subsidized missions to Israel. Imagine the return if we could reach more young adults through outreach organizations so that their children will grow up in committed Jewish homes.

Whatever the rate of return from financial investments, just imagine how much more rewarding it would be for the Jewish community if the same amounts were invested in our youth. Not only would there be more Jews, more commitment to Jewish values and more support for Israel, there would be a greater financial return as well. The more kids who grow up in a solid Jewish environment, the more they will contribute to Jewish needs years and decades from now instead of to secular museums and orchestras.

The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 6a) enjoins us: "And with regard to tzedakah, it should be distributed immediately. For what reason? There are poor standing (and waiting); it is obvious."

Our poor and poor of spirit and commitment are waiting!

Ira Kaminow

President

Tzedakah, Inc.

(www.just-tzedakah.org)

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