Whose prayers? Sir, – The police spokesperson stated that the “areas of the Temple Mount and the Kotel Plaza are used as a place of prayer and religious rituals....”(“Authorities block Likud’s Feiglin from ascending to Temple Mount,” February 13).The last time I heard, this “use” was not very symmetrical, with Jews not being allowed to show any sign of prayer or hold a prayer book. Apparently, the police spokesperson meant that the Temple Mount is used as a place of prayer and religious rituals for Muslims only.It is about time that such a visit is no longer considered incitement, and that Jews (who, ironically, have sovereignty) are given equal time and privileges, as is done at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.SIMCHA RUDMAN Jerusalem Wurzburg remembers Sir, – “Wurzburg ‘brings back’ its Jews” (February 13) almost glossed over a most important event in the history of that German city: It was a collection point for the deportation of tens of thousand of Jews to extermination centers.On June 17, 1943, the last of six transports, involving 2,063 Jews including members of my family, proceeded from Wurzburg. The Jews were collected in an amusement hall called Platz’schen Garten, and then marched across town to the Aumuhl-Ladehof railroad station, from where they were loaded on trains to the east.Forty-one survived the Shoah.Thanks to the meticulous records the Nazis kept, today’s citizens of Wurzburg were able to identify 850 Jews in this transport. On May 10, 2011, they organized a march in which thousands of people participated, repeating the trek from the amusement hall to the railroad station.Each of the 850 Jews was represented by a plaque carried by a current resident. The plaques included the names of my father-in-law and my mother-in law, both of whom were murdered at Auschwitz. The plaques are now a part of a visiting exhibition.FRED GOTTLIEB Jerusalem Heart of frustration Sir, – Reader Jerry Aviram (“No logic,” Letters, February 13) states the obvious – direct election of the prime minister was an abysmal failure – and is miffed that Prof. Uriel Reichman was mentioned “almost as an afterthought” in your editorial (“Electoral reform,” February 10).The Committee of Concerned citizens, founded by the late Chaim Herzog in 1978, was the front-runner for electoral reform. We worked closely with Reichman, who openly stated that his mission was to write the constitution for Israel. He needed the reform, which had already been worked on by Gad Ya’akobi and others years before and was almost identical to the one being proposed today by the newly-formed Sikui movement headed by Meir Dagan.Reichman was party to all that happened from the early ’80s and was close to Binyamin Netanyahu. He decided he had bigger fish to fry and moved in another direction, and for almost 30 years did nothing. It’s a poor excuse for the letter writer to blame everyone else and say “our movement faded away.”If the public outcry of last summer can be harnessed there’s every good reason we can finally get real representation and, most of all, accountability from elected representatives – the lack of which lies at the heart of our society’s frustration.ZELDA HARRIS Tel AvivThe writer was a co-founder of the Committee of Concerned Citizens Faulty defaultSir, – Elliot Jager’s interpretation of the Portrait of Israeli Jews report as revealing that “Israelis are not fond of the country’s ‘either-or’ school system” is right on the mark (“In God they trust?,” Comment & Features, February 13).A friend of mine recently attempted to register her three-year- old for municipal kindergarten on her city’s website.The system refused to accept her choices and she was asked to come to City Hall and register in person. However, her choices were rejected again.Why? Because she had chosen a religious kindergarten as her first choice and a secular one as her second choice. The system was programmed to reject this possibility.She was told in no uncertain terms by the manager of the municipal education department, “You have to decide! Are you religious or secular?” No other parameter for choosing a kindergarten was permitted, even for a three-year-old, for whom proximity to home or a parent’s place of work might actually be more relevant to the choice.Speaking as somebody who tried to beat the system by living in a secular area while sending my children to a religious school – and then having to deal with the consequences – I can indeed sympathize.ELLIE MORRIS Asseret
February 16: Unity after terror
The terror attacks being directed against Israeli targets abroad should come as a warning not only to Israelis but to Jews everywhere.
Whose prayers? Sir, – The police spokesperson stated that the “areas of the Temple Mount and the Kotel Plaza are used as a place of prayer and religious rituals....”(“Authorities block Likud’s Feiglin from ascending to Temple Mount,” February 13).The last time I heard, this “use” was not very symmetrical, with Jews not being allowed to show any sign of prayer or hold a prayer book. Apparently, the police spokesperson meant that the Temple Mount is used as a place of prayer and religious rituals for Muslims only.It is about time that such a visit is no longer considered incitement, and that Jews (who, ironically, have sovereignty) are given equal time and privileges, as is done at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.SIMCHA RUDMAN Jerusalem Wurzburg remembers Sir, – “Wurzburg ‘brings back’ its Jews” (February 13) almost glossed over a most important event in the history of that German city: It was a collection point for the deportation of tens of thousand of Jews to extermination centers.On June 17, 1943, the last of six transports, involving 2,063 Jews including members of my family, proceeded from Wurzburg. The Jews were collected in an amusement hall called Platz’schen Garten, and then marched across town to the Aumuhl-Ladehof railroad station, from where they were loaded on trains to the east.Forty-one survived the Shoah.Thanks to the meticulous records the Nazis kept, today’s citizens of Wurzburg were able to identify 850 Jews in this transport. On May 10, 2011, they organized a march in which thousands of people participated, repeating the trek from the amusement hall to the railroad station.Each of the 850 Jews was represented by a plaque carried by a current resident. The plaques included the names of my father-in-law and my mother-in law, both of whom were murdered at Auschwitz. The plaques are now a part of a visiting exhibition.FRED GOTTLIEB Jerusalem Heart of frustration Sir, – Reader Jerry Aviram (“No logic,” Letters, February 13) states the obvious – direct election of the prime minister was an abysmal failure – and is miffed that Prof. Uriel Reichman was mentioned “almost as an afterthought” in your editorial (“Electoral reform,” February 10).The Committee of Concerned citizens, founded by the late Chaim Herzog in 1978, was the front-runner for electoral reform. We worked closely with Reichman, who openly stated that his mission was to write the constitution for Israel. He needed the reform, which had already been worked on by Gad Ya’akobi and others years before and was almost identical to the one being proposed today by the newly-formed Sikui movement headed by Meir Dagan.Reichman was party to all that happened from the early ’80s and was close to Binyamin Netanyahu. He decided he had bigger fish to fry and moved in another direction, and for almost 30 years did nothing. It’s a poor excuse for the letter writer to blame everyone else and say “our movement faded away.”If the public outcry of last summer can be harnessed there’s every good reason we can finally get real representation and, most of all, accountability from elected representatives – the lack of which lies at the heart of our society’s frustration.ZELDA HARRIS Tel AvivThe writer was a co-founder of the Committee of Concerned Citizens Faulty defaultSir, – Elliot Jager’s interpretation of the Portrait of Israeli Jews report as revealing that “Israelis are not fond of the country’s ‘either-or’ school system” is right on the mark (“In God they trust?,” Comment & Features, February 13).A friend of mine recently attempted to register her three-year- old for municipal kindergarten on her city’s website.The system refused to accept her choices and she was asked to come to City Hall and register in person. However, her choices were rejected again.Why? Because she had chosen a religious kindergarten as her first choice and a secular one as her second choice. The system was programmed to reject this possibility.She was told in no uncertain terms by the manager of the municipal education department, “You have to decide! Are you religious or secular?” No other parameter for choosing a kindergarten was permitted, even for a three-year-old, for whom proximity to home or a parent’s place of work might actually be more relevant to the choice.Speaking as somebody who tried to beat the system by living in a secular area while sending my children to a religious school – and then having to deal with the consequences – I can indeed sympathize.ELLIE MORRIS Asseret