Archived Opinion

Fact Check said my article was wrong when I said there was a connection to the Holocaust. Guess what — they were wrong.

At the 2014 Oscars, they celebrated the 75th anniversary of the release of the “Wizard of Oz” by having Pink sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” with highlights from the film in the background. But what few people realized, while listening to that incredible performer singing that unforgettable song, is that the music is deeply embedded in the Jewish experience.

To: Sol Koenigsberg

As a Jewish educator I am aware of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and your “letter” that appeared in the April 2nd issue of the Jewish Chronicle provided a number of details related to it.  However, the conflict is much more complicated and one mistake Jewish educators (and others) make is that they don’t tell the entire story and focus on the mistakes that leaders (usually Arab and Palestinian) made and not the impact that those decisions had on the average Israeli and Palestinian. This often creates confusion and anxiety for members of our community, particularly Jewish students on university campuses, when they are confronted with the situation on the ground in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza and don’t know how to respond. 

Advice from a rabbi

Anyone who does not have a rabbi or spiritual leader is welcome to reach out to me for help, advice or just a hug. We are all seeking answers and never believed this virus might occur. Love ones are dying and we are helpless.

Lee Levin’s letter

Letter to the editor

I am fatigued and annoyed by the letters to the editor section of The Chronicle. 

Many people, confined to isolation and even solitude during these tough times of coping with the Coronavirus, often compare themselves with Jews who spent months and years hiding from the Nazis who hunted and killed Jews in 21 countries during World War II. 

One more letter

“A half-truth is a whole lie,” so states Marvin Fremerman. It would be nice if he obeyed his own precept. He states that President Trump eliminated the Global Health Security Office two years ago, thus, according to Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat of course, “unilaterally disarmed (us) against the world’s infectious diseases.” Not true. The Washington Post, definitely no friend of Trump, fact-checked, and discovered that this entity was not eliminated at all. It was simply merged into a reorganized, streamlined system that eliminated overlaps and duplications of health-related entities.

By Rabbi Mark H. Levin, DHL / Guest Columnist

American Jewry’s most popular holy day, Passover, begins at sundown, Wednesday, April 8th this year, with the seder. Approximately 90% of us host or attend a seder annually, by far the most inclusive Jewish event in any year.