12 The Jewish Herald • Friday, March 22, 2013 E


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Editorials


Protecting A Holy Site I


t is not difficult to imagine the deafening outcry that would have arisen had Jewish stone throw-


ers in the Jewish State attacked Arab mourners and visitors to a major cemetery. The chorus of con- demnation would have become shriller yet, had the attacks not been isolated but daily harassment and outright physical endangerment. It is safe to assume that the violent assailants


would have been castigated as despicable rac- ists and that all-out manhunts would have been mounted to apprehend them. But as it happens, the assailants are Arab while


the mourners and visitors are Jewish. Hence there is no outcry, no condemnation, no manhunts and the word “racist” is on nobody’s lips. No one talks about the regular predations on Jews trying to reach Jerusalem’s ancient Mount of Olives Ceme- tery, regarded by many as the second holiest Jew- ish site anywhere. It is almost as if brutal onslaughts and lynch-


ing attempts against Jews are only to be expect- ed and even accepted as the norm. It is a sad testament to an even sadder state of


affairs that Diaspora Jews feel obliged to take ac- tion to preserve the world’s largest Jewish ceme- tery, while successive Israeli governments seri- ally fail to stem lawlessness, vandalism and ne- glect there. American Jewish organizations have band-


ed together to press for meaningful security ar- rangements en route to the cemetery. This is not the first time they raise the issue, arguing that the Mount is not just a local Israeli concern but is sacred to Jews everywhere. The pressured authorities belatedly installed


long-promised surveillance cameras and opened a police substation at the cemetery. But there is only marginal improvement. The coverage of electronic surveillance equip-


ment is by no means as full as needed and the van- dals are in any case apparently not daunted, re- alizing that they are unlikely to be pursued. The brazen defilement at the Mount and the intermi- nable onslaughts on members of the public who venture there have not sufficiently subsided. Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman


of the Conference of Presidents of Major Amer- ican Jewish Organizations, said last week that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had per- sonally expressed to him his concern about “re- ports of ongoing violence despite the progress C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 1 5


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Voices Sir, With any luck, we’ve seen the last


of Israel’s left-leaning Ehud Barak, a schemer in Shimon Peres’ bull-in- the-china-shop mold. In Netanya- hu’s new government Barak has been swapped out for a major im- provement, Moshe Ya’alon. Every time a news story describes him as a “hardliner,” a “right-winger” or “hawkish” a tingle goes up my spine. Still, we’re talking about Isra- el where nationalist politicians and military heroes have been known to cause whiplash by swerving sharp- ly to the Left upon leaving or taking office. Perhaps Ya’alon will prove to be different and chart a star- board course. After all, he and his whole country should be kept hon- est by Iran, Arab turmoil, Hezbol- lah, Hamas, the Palestinians, and of course, Barack Obama. For the next two years at least, Israel and Israelis will have little margin for error. Yes, it’s crunch time over there. We can’t rule out disappoint- ment but let all true friends of Is- rael pray for the best. Dan Friedman


New York City, New York Via the Internet


Sir, I protest the decision by the White


House to exclude students of Ariel University from attending the Je-


rusalem Convention Hall Meeting between President Obama and stu- dents from all of Israel’s Universi- ties. Ariel University’s doors are open to Jews and Arabs, its teach- ers do not incite or propagate disin- formation or misinformation, and from everything I have heard, they are committed to all the norms of truth and open inquiry in their ac- ademic classrooms. I would like to believe these norms are adhered to in other Universities in the West Bank and Gaza. Whatever term one uses to describe the land on which Ariel University sits (West Bank? Disputed Territories? Judea and Samaria?, Occupied Palestinian Territories? Palestine or Palestin- ian Authority?), the ban excludes individuals on the basis of who they are, not what they do — a rec- ognized violation of human rights and an early warning sign of pos- sibly worse to come. Professor Elihu D. Richter MD Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine Jerusalem, Israel


Sir, Upon reading about the chare-


di MKs angry over their exclusion from this government, the word that comes to mind is immatu- rity. Or better yet, sour grapes. For many years, all of us across Isra- el were held hostage to the chare- di view on almost everything con- cerning government. As a result, our health system suffered and the


work force gained nothing from the potential manpower of many men who would pay taxes and support their own families instead of receiv- ing government handouts. These MKs must realize that throwing temper tantrums in full view sim- ply because they are not included in the current government is child- ish and nearsighted. MK Yaak- ov Litzman of United Torah Ju- daism calls the government “evil” and “based on hatred.” I find it sad that he sees the world only through his own eyes and not through those of all Jews, regardless of how they practice their Judaism. A. Weinberg


Rechovot, Israel Via the Internet


Sir, When he meets Ms. Aynaw, the


new Ethiopian-born Miss Israel and a former IDF officer as well, all President Barack Obama has to do during the photo op is point out that they are both there at the personal invitation of the Israeli president, and be publically quoted as ask- ing: “Does this look like an apart- heid State?” Afterward, he ought to write this across the photograph and send autographed copies to No- bel laureates Desmond Tutu, Jim- my Carter and others of their ilk, saving one more for the New York Times, daring the paper to print it on the front page. Gerald Flanzbaum Givat Olga


Via the Internet


TheJewish


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