‘Wright is not very wrong’

More on the Sarajevo Haggadah

Re: "Sarajevo Hagaddah reprint debuts" (April 25), your readers will be interested to learn that more than 50 years ago, Dervish and Sesvet Korkut, a Muslim couple living in Nazi occupied Sarajevo, in Yugoslavia, risked their own lives to hide several Jews in their home. The favor was returned when their daughter, Lamija Jaha, and her husband, Vikaznim, were among the Muslim refugees from the war-torn Yugoslav province of Kosovo who were offered asylum by the State of Israel.

‘Message not sufficiently clear’

Your readers may have heard about the recent horrible incident in which a Los Angeles philanthropist, Daphna Ziman, in the midst of being honored by an African American fraternity, was publicly reduced to tears by the keynote address of the Rev. Eric Lee. Ziman said, in a widely distributed e-mail, that after a harangue about Jews "economically enslaving us," Lee "continued as to how now the salvation has come and the gates have open [sic] for African Americans to come together behind Barack Obama, because now is the time to show them (meaning the Jews)."

‘What is good for Israel’

Increasingly, friends tell me that their decision in voting for candidates rests on which candidate’s policies are most likely to be good for Israel and for the Jews. It is reasonable for caring Jews to be concerned about that question. By that calculus, some Jews believe that President Bush has been the best president yet for Israel; that feeling is probably based on Israel’s support for the Iraq war and Bush’s reluctance to negotiate with terrorists. But the Bush administration has given us an ill-conceived and poorly executed war of choice, neglect of climate change, curtailed civil liberties, a sinking economy, and infinitely less regard from the nations of the world. The Bush doctrine for spreading democracy has resulted in democratic elections in Lebanon that brought Hezbollah into the government and democratic elections in the Palestinian Authority that brought Hamas into power. Can that have been good for Israel?

Temple Emanuel responds to letter

The lay leadership of Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley elected one year ago to reduce the number of days of formal classroom instruction for fourth- and fifth-graders in the religious school program. This change occurred in response to the needs of our community and was implemented last September. It was a conscious decision effected to attract and retain parents and students who were considering other alternatives, including forgoing any formal Jewish education. It was not our intention to detract from the quality education we provide at a program recognized as a Framework for Excellence School.

This decision to reduce the classroom component of learning was taken in concert with an effort to increase dramatically the educational alternatives offered outside of the classroom. These opportunities seek to engage students in a different fashion: to choose alternative venues to generate interest and excite children already overloaded with didactics and information. This change also provides a chance to involve students and their parents together in the pursuit of intergenerational study. We have the benefit of an energetic religious leadership and a school staff who pursue creative and imaginative methods of teaching in innovative settings. Anyone who has had the privilege of attending and participating in an educational event at our synagogue may attest to this fact.