By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)Putin’s ‘Jewish’ problemAs a general rule of thumb, one can gauge the uselessness of American Jewish organizations by the shrillness, frequency and absurdity of their press releases. Case in point: the hair-tearing horror (and utter decontextualization) over Vladimir Putin’s alleged accusation that Russian Jews may have been behind US election tampering (“Putin’s comments akin to ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion,’ Jewish groups say,” March 12).Gimme a break.Putin, in a reflexive blast of rhetorical verbiage, spewed out a litany of former Soviet types who are no longer part of Russia and are in fact antagonistic to it. Expat Russian Jews – many of whom were never from Russia proper – were hardly first on his vituperative list, and hardly alone.Clearly, Putin was being rhetorical and was not working from a script. Yet one can always count on the Anti-Defamation League, for example, and even the somewhat less fatuous American Jewish Committee, to behave just as reflexively – nuance be damned – especially if it can churn such idiotic spin into a smidgen of faux relevance.This is no different than last year’s hysterical accusations of US President Donald Trump being an antisemite because he dunderheadedly forgot to use the word “Jew” when talking about the Holocaust.I would say to these organizations get a life – only there’s little chance of that ever happening.YOHANAN AV-YAIRJerusalem
With his usual poker face, Russian President Vladimir Putin says alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election isn’t connected to his government. Without cracking a smile, he adds that some of the indicted Russian nationals may not be “ethnically” Russian.“How can you know that? I do not know, either,” the Russian leader said.If anyone knows, it is former KGB Lt.-Col. Vladimir Putin.JULIA LUTCHDavis, CaliforniaBlind liberals and realityWith regard to “‘Salah – here is Eretz Yisrael’” (Think About It, March 12), Salah is not against Labor. He’s for Bibi!When will you poor, misguided liberals wake up to the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu has been an incredible prime minister, just with a greedy appetite for cigars, champagne and ice cream? I regret to inform you that being a blind liberal seems to be an incurable disease whose sufferers cannot face reality.BARBARA SHAMIRJerusalemKim’s early ‘victory’With regard to “Trump has already handed Kim Jong Un a victory” (Comment & Features, March 12), I found the headline alone fascinating – a victory for North Korea just because the US president will consider meeting with its leader.Israel for years has been pressured to offer huge concessions to terrorist leaders who murdered hundreds of Israelis and many US citizens. The US has never pressured Palestinian leaders to change their charter or even commit to changing a kindergarten curriculum of hatred toward Israel, and toward Jews in general. And yet no one ever considered this a Palestinian “victory.” What a double standard!At least in the Trump era, we have already seen positive changes. Hopefully, many more will come. I’m sure Israelis can offer words of encouragement to help the Americans deal with this victory for Kim.PHYLLIS HECHTHashmonaimAs we try to size up US President Donald Trump and his administration, let’s look at the pros and cons. The negatives far outweigh the positives.He is an advocate for sexual assaults, taking the side of the perpetrator over the victim. He has cheated on his wives. Add the ongoing porn-star scandal plus the nepotism and you have a looming disaster of epic proportions.He lies virtually every day, making comments using vulgarity that he knows will create controversy, thereby creating divisiveness among voters. He can’t understand why so many people are anti-Trump.The Russia investigation and his initial silence on the mass school shooting in Florida again show that the negatives far outweigh the positives. Yes, the economy remains strong and immigration rules have been tightened, but his weak leadership and scatter-gun thinking have the free world both laughing and fearful of what this grown bully will come up with next. (I haven’t even mentioned his rolling back regulations for clean air, clean water, health care and senior care, and against unnecessary offshore drilling oil and the delusional “clean coal.”No matter how hard he tries to sell his “I love America” and “I love our military,” it all adds up to “I love me”!Many of us respect the office, but not the occupant.HERB STARKMooresville, North CarolinaGood news for a changeWhat a pleasure to open up your March 12 edition and see two positive news items – “Fastest Israeli woman is a religious, US-born mom of five” and “2 million volunteers to take part in the 12th annual Good Deeds Day.”Let’s keep up the momentum of good news!RENEE RABINOWITZNetanyaWhere there’s a willRegarding “How to lose your entire inheritance” (Business & Finance, March 9), I feel that the court should protect the decision of the deceased, who was proven to be of sound mind when he included the no-contest clause in his will. The fact that the sons went against their father’s decision shows the disrespect they had for him during his life.ESTHER RUBINSTEIN (NIFOUSSI)Tel AvivYou call that ‘cuisine’?In “From Jaffa oranges to gourmet shakshuka” (Frontlines, March 9), the sub-headline states that “Israelis have developed a cuisine that... has begun to spread around the globe.” The article cites Philadelphia, New York, Florida, New Orleans and Denver, yet these cities are not the “globe,” and the US has never had any relevance to international gastronomy.Having traveled on all continents except Australia, may I state that there is not a single relevant city where the list of top-rated restaurants includes an “American” restaurant. Nor an “English” nor a “German” restaurant.In the cities mentioned, it says: “Americans are crazy for hummus, falafel, shakshuka and fried haloumi.” These dishes are good food – but they are not cuisine.It is easy to name authentic dishes of French (canard à l’orange), Italian (fegato a la Veneziana), Spanish (paella) and Swiss (cheese fondue) cuisine, all of which require elaborate cooking. I doubt whether the writer could note one single dish of American or Israeli “cuisine.”ADOLF WEINSTEINShoreshDetermining the goalWith regard to “WIZO Glass Ceiling Index: Women hold one in three senior positions” (March 8), theoretically, women should comprise 50% of the top officers of companies. But in reality, the vast majority of society’s most important entities are managed by women. These entities are families.A successful homemaker and mother must be a top organizer and manager. Many women work both at home and outside the home, and still run the roost.The purpose of “liberation” is to enable women to use their talents in whatever field of endeavor they choose and not be limited to those areas in which society thinks they are suited. If women want to be full-time homemakers, that is a legitimate and important choice. This reduces the numbers of working women, so 50% of CEOs being women is not necessarily attainable.But is that really the goal?RUTH ZIMBERGSafed
