Gilad Shalit was born in Naharia, Israel, in 1986. He joined the IDF in 2005.

One year later, in 2006, a small group of Hamas terrorists dug tunnels under an IDF post, resulting in an attack of Kerem Shalom, near Gaza. During the resulting fight, two soldiers were killed, four wounded and one soldier — Gilad Shalit — went missing. He was kidnapped and taken to Gaza. Twenty-four hours later, Hamas took responsibility and demanded the release of 1,000 Palestinian terrorists from an Israeli prison. Now, more than five years later (1,934 days for those of us counting), Shalit is free.

Shalit was held in a dungeon with no human rights. In contrast, the Hamas terrorists in the Israeli prisons were given the chance to study, watch cable television and were able to see their families.

Since the first days of his kidnap, the Shalit family did everything they could to make sure their son remains in our thoughts. Television news programs in Israel did a daily count of the number of days Shalit was in captivity. The entire Jewish people — in Israel and in the diaspora — prayed for his safe return. There was great hope, but we all knew there would be a high price to pay.

The law in Israel says that Israel’s citizens have the right to appeal to the Supreme Court if they don’t agree with the government’s decision to release terrorists. Along with this, the government publicly releases the details of the exchange and the names of the terrorists to be released. Several appeals to the Supreme Court were made by bereaved families, which explains why Shalit wasn’t released until several days after the announcement was made last week.

Now, we wait for more terrorist attacks. While we celebrate Shalit’s release, Israelis understand that terrorists who murdered babies, children and innocent civilians, lynched soldiers and planned to bomb busses packed with people have been set free. And we know they will try and do it again.

It is important for us to understand the meaning of the deal:

From the Israeli perspective, the Israeli government tried to reduce the price Israel had to pay, which is why Shalit spent more than five years in captivity. Another factor is the situation in the Arab world. The lack of stability in the Arab world, and in Egypt specifically, could have allowed Hamas to move Shalit to Egypt and, from there, to an unknown destination. Both reasons pushed the Israeli government to set a deal now — before it’s too late.

From the Palestinian perspective, the pressure on Hamas was grave. Hamas is the government in Gaza, so it has to be pragmatic at times. New terrorist organizations in Gaza are putting political pressure on Hamas to show results. One of these results is to honor their promise to bring their prisoners home. We also must remember Abu Mazen in the West Bank — with the rivalry between Hamas and Fatah in the background — the deal is a victory for Hamas. Hamas kept its promise.

In order to try and reduce the damage to Fatah, Israel did not release prisoners like Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah terrorist more popular than Abu Mazen himself. Releasing those terrorists would mean danger to Abu Mazen’s control. For Israel, that could mean the loss of a potential partner for peace.

This victory for the Palestinians has future consequences as well. Hamas is a terrorist organization, so Israel is potentially giving them a huge incentive to kidnap more soldiers and civilians. And the released terrorists will become heroes. Eventually, they will want to prove their status by initiating more terrorist attacks against Israelis. On the flip side, we must remember that terrorists continue to kidnap and attack Israelis. So perhaps incentives will always exist for these terrorists.

The Palestinian terrorists discovered the soft underbelly of the Israelis long ago — the importance of human lives. They know Israelis will do anything to release their soldiers. So Hamas created a “price list” for kidnapped Israelis. With a live soldier bringing in the “best price,” all the way down to body parts, which would bring in lower “prices.”

For the Israelis, the release of Gilad Shalit or any captive soldier or civilian, is of supreme value. Beyond the mitzvah of redeeming the captives, it is extremely important for future soldiers to understand that, as they are risking their lives for the state of Israel, the state of Israel will not abandon them in their time of need. It just becomes difficult when we all know that more Israelis will ultimately pay the price with their lives because of the trade for terrorists.

As Israelis have been compelled to do in the past 150 years, ever since the first Palestinian terrorist attack in 1851, we know there is never an easy or “clean” way to deal with terrorism. Everything is complex, there is always good inside the bad, and bad inside the good. Gilad Shalit’s case is no different. We are all happy that Shalit has been released and that he’s alive and well with his family. But we also feel compassion for the many bereaved families in Israel and worry for what is yet to come.

Lilach Nissim is the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City’s Israel emissary.

Beware of J Street

The Jewish community should be made more aware of J Street, the organization of Jews which proclaims itself to be “pro-peace, pro-Israel” while publicly advocating pro-Palestinian positions with such fervor they might as well be wearing kaffiyehs.

Very disturbingly, many rabbis are adherents of J Street. The J Street website exhorted these rabbis to use the High Holidays as the occasion to present the J Street playbook to their congregations. This was done to least one major area congregation, on Kol Nidre, the solemnest night of the year, to a captive audience in attendance under compulsion of conscience, destroying the possibility that most of his congregants could approach Kol Nidre with anything like the appropriate mindset.

From the bimah, this rabbi endorsed almost every single Palestinian demand. Stop building housing in Jerusalem itself,  the very capital of Israel! Give them a chunk of Jerusalem, which has never in history been an Arab capital of anything. Go back to the 1967 borders, with “land swaps.” Israel is tiny. Just what land would he swap? And why? The Arabs launched two aggressive genocidal wars against Israel, with the announced goal of exterminating not only Israel but also its entire Jewish population. Just when in all human history has any entity that engaged in two genocidal wars of aggression and lost them both been given land back?

The settlements, of course, must go. Why? If indeed there is a future Palestinian state with Jewish settlements within its borders, shouldn’t those settlements be able to exist in peace, just as Israeli Arabs have their own settlements within Israel?

J Street adherents give aid and comfort to Israel’s enemies. When rabbis in particular endorse Arab demands, the Arabs gleefully proclaim, “See, see, look at all those rabbis that support our position. Obviously, we are in the right!” J Street supporters are soul mates of Neville Chamberlain — appeasers who seem to believe that giving the Arabs everything they ask just because they ask it, will bring peace to Israel. They have already forgotten World War II, where giving Hitler the Rhineland, Austria, the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia did not bring peace. It brought Auschwitz.

Lee Levin
Overland Park, Kan.

Where are the Jews?

In the Sept. 29 issue of The Chronicle, I wrote an article published on the opinion page titled, “How to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.” I also sent the article to five friends in Israel.

All five of those friends had something to say about the article. Three of them, in addition to their comments, also wanted me to tell them about the reaction of the local Jews to the article. Subsequently, I wrote to them that there was no reaction at all.

Hearing this, one of my friends wrote, “Are there any Jews in Kansas City? If there are, are these Jews Jewish? I hope this will never happen to them. However, it is possible that, at some point in the future, some (all?) Kansas City Jews will be seeking a safe haven. When they arrive at our shores, we will receive them with open arms. So it goes.”

Zeev Dickmann, Ph.D.
Overland Park, Kan.

QUESTION: Why do we wash our hands after leaving a funeral or the cemetery?

ANSWER: This is a very old tradition. There are references to this over a thousand years ago in Jewish sources. It is symbolic of “washing away death” and probably symbolic of purification after exposure to death. Louis Memorial Chapel has a washing basin outside their chapel. It is even heated so that it can be used on the coldest days in the winter. One absolutely needs to wash one’s hands after leaving the chapel. Similarly one should try to wash after leaving the cemetery. I realize that is a challenge in winter months. But usually one can go to the nearest bathroom in the facility in the chapels of most of our cemeteries and wash there as well. There is also a similar tradition to have water waiting outside the shiva home upon returning from the cemetery, in which case one does not have to wash their hands on leaving the cemetery if one is going directly to the shiva home. It is also traditional not to dry our hands at that time but to let one’s hands “air dry.”

At one time people would purify themselves after exposure to death through a sacrifice known as the “red heifer.” We have not had access to that type of ceremony for over 2,000 years. The use of the mikvah and washing, etc. is the closest we have to those purification ceremonies.

There are many other symbols that take place at the cemetery. Many people have the tradition of leaving a stone, a rock or a pebble on the grave as a kind of “visiting card” that one has been there to pay respect to the memory of those buried there. Other people have the tradition of plucking a little grass and throwing it over their shoulder upon leaving the cemetery based on the verse talking about the fact that we are as “the grass of the field.” Even placing soil on the grave has to do with verses based in the Bible about “dust to dust” and completing a full burial by shoveling into the grave.

So many of these traditions are just that, they are not law but they are steeped in our Jewish past and should be highly respected.

An icon is lost

We lost a pillar of our community when Rose Evelyn Sporn died on Sept. 21, 2011.

Many people have called me who knew that she had devoted her life to the education of children. Letters from Rabbi Hadas and Rabbi Margolies wrote about her creative work. Many of your grandchildren were enchanted with her “Kiddie Kapers” plays. She put Jewish Women International on the map with her “Dolls For Democrary” program. Through her poetry and songs she left a legacy for President Harry Truman and Thomas Hart Benton. Randall Jessee (WDAF) once wrote her a letter saying: “You have done so much for many people of all faiths and races. You are one of the few people who really serves your city. Many times this is unknown to all but a few closest to you.” Bill Yearout (KCMO) also wrote letters to her, saying “Only one time in so many years does God create a talent like yours ... there will never be another Rose Evelyn Sporn in this century.”

She will be missed.

Sunie Levin
Leawood, Kan.

Oppose a Palestinian state

Editor’s Note: Bob Magoon wishes to share this New Year’s greeting he received with the entire Kansas City Jewish community.

My friends,
I would like to wish you a happy New Year. Here in Israel now it’s a complicated time, as I am sure you know.
The Arabs, who already have 26 Muslim countries, want to have one more country — their 27th country — inside of our very, very tiny country. Imagine what would happen if al-Qaida demanded to have a country created inside the U.S.A. Americans would never, ever agree to such a ridiculous thing.
It is our luck that our prime minister now is Benjamin Netanyahu, who is an excellent speaker. He has explained in a very clear way that (creating another country) is absurd. We already gave Gaza to the Arabs. Many wonderful and Zionist Jews in this area were thrown out of their homes. What did the Arabs do with Gaza? They send rockets from there to Israel and try to kill us, as always.
So the world must understand that Israel is the only Jewish nation. The Muslims have 26 countries. They can build another state there if they want, just not here.
Once again, I wish you all a good and happy year. For Israel, I wish a safe and quiet year.

Tirtsa Roi
Jerusalem, Israel

So many things happened in Israel during my visit home: the terrorist attack on the way to Eilat, rockets over my home town of Ashkelon, preparing for the discussion over a Palestinian state on Sept. 20, angry Erdogan in Turkey and the attack on the Israeli embassy in Egypt. Well, I guess it’s not a secret that in Israel there is never a dull moment…

But another important thing happened in Israel during my stay. I am not talking about anything security-related, or foreign affairs issues. I am talking about a social movement, one that has the support of more than 85 percent of the Israelis.

It all started one day when a young man from the city of B’nei Brak, Israel, decided to open a Facebook group. This group called for Israelis to stop buying cottage cheese because of its inordinately high price. Although that cheese is an important ingredient on the Israeli breakfast/dinner table, this peaceful boycott worked. People stopped buying cottage cheese. As a result, the price has gone back down to reasonable levels.

This one act of social networking set the dominoes into motion. Following the cottage cheese boycott, another important movement in Israel occurred. A group of approximately 100 young people set up tents in the center of Tel Aviv, one of the most expensive cities in the world, to protest the high cost of living, and the fact that it is nearly impossible today for young couples to afford to purchase their own homes in Israel. Word spread quickly, and Israelis from across the country were soon joining the protest in their own cities.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched on the streets time and time again; left wing, right wing, religious, seculars, Arabs, students, young families, elderly, etc. walking together in peace, shouting “The people want social justice!” At the end of every demonstration in every city, famous Israeli singers performed and showed their support. In the tent cities that sprang up across Israel, the peaceful protest continued, with young people playing guitars, singing, discussing social justice issues and talking to academics, Rabbis, Knesset members, etc. All of it without a hint of violence.

The result: The protests caused the government to set a committee to devise ways to reduce the high cost of living. All Israelis are awaiting the results.

One must understand this is very different than the protests for freedom and democracy taking place in the Arab world. We already have freedom and democracy in Israel, so these recent Israeli demonstrations are not a threat to democracy. Simply put, they are a cultural shift in Israeli society. For years, people in Israel complained in front of the TV and never did more than that — a problem common to all democracies. Today, something is different: people believe that they can change their lives more than once every four years.

I dare say that I invite democracies around the world to watch and learn how a social protest can be done to effect change in a positive way.

If you would like to discuss Israeli current events, history, or anything about Israel, please remember to contact me at 913-327-8124, , or find me on Facebook. I look forward to talking to you!

Many people may have heard about, seen pictures of or visited the Dohany Street Synagogue in Budapest. It is absolutely magnificent in the richness of its details, sumptuosity and grandeur. I always thought it was the world’s largest synagogue, but I was wrong.
As you drive into Jerusalem, when coming from Tel Aviv, you are able to see in the skyline a huge building. This building doesn’t have any remarkable architectonic features other than its size. One would never guess that it is a synagogue. Belz Beit HaMidrash HaGadol (The Belzer Hassidim Great Synagogue) is located in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Kyriat Sanz. This humongous building is an enlarged replica of the synagogue built in 1843 by the first Belzer Rebbe. It is composed of a grandiose main sanctuary, smaller study halls, party rooms for weddings, several libraries and other communal facilities. Next door to it is the home of the current Belzer Rebbe Yissachar Dov Rokeach. This synagogue, dedicated in 2000, took 15 years to complete. Curiously, I found out that it took the same amount of time to complete the original one in Belz back in 1843. I was amazed to learn that 6,000 people can sit and worship in the main sanctuary at once. Apparently that was not big enough, because the sanctuary is currently being enlarged. The very ornate ark inside the sanctuary is 12 meters high and weighs 18 tons. It has the capacity to hold 70 Torah scrolls!

Belz was made famous by the Yiddish song, my Shtetele Belz, whose refrain is known to anyone that grew up with Eastern European relatives:
Oy, oy, oy Beltz, mayn shtetele Beltz,
Mayn heymele, vu ikh hob
Mayne kindershe yorn farbrakht.
Beltz, mayn shtetele Beltz,
In ormen shtibele,
Mit ale kinderlekh dort gelakht.
Oy, eden Shabes fleg ikh loyfn
Mit ale inglekh tzuglaykh
Tzu zitzn unter dem grinem beymele,
Leynen bay dem taikh
Oy oy oy Beltz,
Mayn shtetele Beltz,
Mayn heymele, vu kh’hob gehat
Di sheyne khaloymes a sakh.
Beltz, my little town! The little house where I spent my childhood!
The poor little room where I used to laugh with other children!
Every Shabbos I would run to the river bank to play with other children under a little green tree.
Belz, my little town!
My little town where I had so many fine dreams!

During our visit to Jerusalem a few months ago, I was determined to see the synagogue from the inside. I tried to get in and couldn’t. Through a little ingenuity and persistence I managed to get one of the young Chassidim to show me around. We were very lucky because we not only got a great tour, but I was also able to gain insight and knowledge about my new-found friend. As I grilled the young man about his lifestyle I found out that he was a newlywed. He had just come in from London to get married and was enjoying a year of kest, a Chassidic tradition by which the new husband is maintained by his in-laws for a year (or more) to study. As his year of kest was coming to an end, my new friend was extremely worried about how he would make a living, mainly because he had no secular knowledge. I discussed several ideas with him and at the end of the tour gave him a small token of my appreciation for his time and kindness. I am sure that it was a novel experience for both of us; he had never met a Reform Jew before and I had never spoken with a Belz Chassid.

As we were walking toward our car, I could not help but think that this synagogue is a true wonder not only because of its size but because the Belz Chassidic sect was almost totally decimated after the Holocaust. Yet the existence of this massive synagogue is proof of our people’s resilience.

Arthur Frank passed away Monday, Sept. 26, 2011, at the age of 83.

He was born in Germany on Feb. 7, 1928, and immigrated to the United States in 1938 along with his parents, of blessed memory, Walter and Paula Frank. They settled in St. Louis, Mo., where Arthur learned English and after school delivered groceries.

At age 18 he entered the U.S. Army serving as a topographic draftsman/mapmaker in the Korean Conflict.

After his military service, he moved to Kansas City where he met his future bride, Maxine Schaffer. They were married for 61 years, living in Kansas City where Arthur worked in the furniture business as a salesman, buyer and manager.

Arthur and Maxine enjoyed many trips together, traveling on cruise ships and touring the United States, Europe and Israel.

Family was most important. Arthur Frank is survived by his wife, Maxine; children, Fran (Phil) Yeddis, Lee (Judy) Frank, all of Denver, Roz (Tim) Dwyer, Lake Lotawana, Mo.; and six grandchildren, Jordan, Joshua and Lisa Yeddis, Katy and Dylan Dwyer and Asher Frank.

Funeral services were held Tuesday, Sept. 27, at The Louis Memorial Chapel, with burial following at Mount Carmel Cemetery. Donations may be made to Congregation Beth Shalom or American Diabetes Association.

Online guest book available at www.louismemorialchapel.com.

Arr: The Louis Memorial Chapel, 816-361-5211.

In trying to comprehend the world’s love fest and obsession with a Palestinian state, one must conclude that it is deluding itself into believing that such a state would greatly contribute to the wellbeing of the world.

However, a reality check reveals that such a belief is wishful thinking and has no basis in fact. There are two ways to predict the future reality of such a state. If one looks at other Arab states as a guide, such a state will likely mirror totalitarian states. Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states provide no liberties or human rights to their citizens. States like Syria and Libya, where there is civil war, use violence against its own citizens. States like Egypt, Lebanon and Yemen are influenced or controlled by Muslim extremists wishing to impose Sharia law.

If one wishes to be more accurate in his prediction, one can look at the nature of the autonomous Palestinian entity in the West Bank and Gaza, created after the implementation of the 1993 Oslo agreement where the Palestinian Authority has been controlling the daily internal affairs of 98 percent of the Palestinian people.

According to past evidence the Palestinian state will have the following characteristics.

Terrorist and militant — After the Israeli army left major Palestinian cities and many villages in 1999 and the PA took civil control of 98 percent of its people and responsibility for its internal affairs, Arafat and Abbas began their war of terror, by sending suicide bombers inside Israel on a daily basis, and murdering more than 1,000 Israeli civilians and injuring more than 5,000. Since the Israeli army and all Jewish settlers unilaterally left Gaza in September 2005, it has become a safe haven for terrorists and more than 6,000 rockets and mortar shells have been fired toward Israeli cities.

Undemocratic — President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian legislature have stayed in power for the last two years without new elections and there is no independent judiciary or rule of law.

Welfare state — The Palestinian Economy is artificially resuscitated by handouts from foreign donors. Economic studies show that 60 percent of its GNP comes from donations from the United States, Europe, U.N. and other nations. The Palestinian people receive the largest amount of per capita donations worldwide, which amounts to an average of $560 per family, per month.

Corrupt — Most donations go to the pockets of the ruling party bureaucrats and senior officials in the Palestinian government rather than to build an independent economic infrastructure or help the people.

Historical revisionist — The PA has repeatedly misrepresented history by claiming and acting as if a Palestinian Arab state existed before the establishment of Israel in1948 and that Jerusalem was its capital. They also deny any historical Jewish connection to the land. However, in reality, there was never an Arab or Muslim state called "Palestine" in the area west of the Jordan river and no state ever existed there except a Jewish state and Jerusalem was never the capital of any entity other than a Jewish one.

Indoctrinating and glorifying death and martyrdom — In the West Bank and Gaza, streets, schools, soccer teams, U.N.-sponsored summer camps and trading cards are named after suicide bombers. TV shows for school children and school text books extol hatred for Jews and praise suicide bombings.

Apartheid and racist — The Palestinian representative to Washington, Maen Areikat, told American reporters on Sept. 14 that a future "Palestine" would ban Jews and homosexuals. It would be the first state to officially prohibit Jews since Nazi Germany.

Rejectionist — Abbas refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and Hamas does not recognize the existence of Israel at all. Arafat and Abbas both rejected two Israeli government’s offers in 2000 and 2008 to end the conflict by establishing a Palestinian state within almost all disputed territories and a capital in Jerusalem. Now Abbas rejects direct negotiations.

Divisive — Hamas violently kicked out the PA from Gaza in June 2007 and since then any attempt to reunite has failed while both have been imprisoning and torturing each other’s supporters.

The world and the Palestinians Arabs should be careful of what they wish for since this hope for a Palestinian utopia will crash and burn like the Arab spring.

S

houla Romano Horing was born and raised in Israel. She is an attorney in Kansas City and a national speaker. Visit her blog at www.shoularomanohoring.com.

Beautifully expressing his wishes and fantasy, the prophet Isaiah, who lived in the 8th century B.C.E., said, "…nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4). That was, is, and will remain a fantasy for a long time. It is a fact that mankind’s entire history is replete with wars. This fact permits us to view the human race as a war-addicted species.

Since eons ago, man’s aggressive behavior has not changed and it is not about to. Therefore, it seems axiomatic that in the future, we will continue to have wars — small wars, intermediate-size wars, and even a global war. Should the latter materialize, and the probability for that is high, it is likely to be fought with nuclear weapons. Such a war could end the existence of the human race. Obviously, we should spare no effort to avoid being dragged into a global war.

It is widely known that the Palestinians’ ultimate aim is to annihilate the state of Israel. Not so well known is the fact that many Israelis subscribe to the motto "Masada shall never fall again." Thus, if in a future war with an Arab entity, Israel is pushed to the edge of the abyss, Israel will use its nuclear weapons, resulting in massive deaths and destruction on the Arab side. This, in turn, could spark World War III.

To avoid the above, the Arab/Israeli conflict must be brought to a definitive end. Conditions should be created that would satisfy both the Palestinians and the Israelis, while realizing that neither side can have all its claims fulfilled. Also, it is important to include in the solution-formula a process that will eradicate from the Arab psyche the desire to destroy Israel.

My research has led me to target two key elements involved in the conflict: one, the Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and two, the Arab population in Israel.

When a Palestinian state is created, the Palestinian people in the West Bank will find it difficult and frustrating to zigzag around the Israeli settlements in their midst. Therefore, all the Israeli settlers will have to leave, and resettle in Israel. This will allow the Palestinians to start their country with a clean slate.

In exchange, and to complete the solution, all the Israeli Arabs will have to leave Israel and resettle in the new Palestine, with the option to migrate to other countries. This will allow the Israelis to have their clean slate by not having an internal Arab problem. No Arabs in Israel and no Jews in the West Bank is the essence of the solution for the Arab/Israeli conflict.

The Arab population in Israel presents a blatantly abnormal social situation not found in any other country. Over a million Arabs live in Israel. They make up about 20 percent of the total population. As Israeli citizens, they enjoy much more freedom and democratic living than their brethrens in any Arab country. They also enjoy the amenities the state of Israel provides to all of its citizens. However, they differ from their Jewish counterparts in two basic respects: One, they don’t serve in the army, and two, their allegiance is not to the state of Israel, but to Israel’s enemies, who pledge to destroy Israel. An American analogy for that would be that 60 million Americans (20 percent of the total population) champion the destruction of the United States.

No doubt, there will be much screaming from many quarters against the proposed transfers of the two populations, with the loudest screams coming from the Israeli Arabs and the Jewish settlers. That is understandable. To ameliorate their pain, the transferees should be given every possible physical and emotional assistance. But once the dust settles, with the transfers completed, we are likely to see very positive results.

The new situation will be considered a fait accompli by both sides and by the world at large. As such, the desire for Israel’s destruction will enter a process of fading away. The Palestinians, free from Israelis breathing down their necks, will be able to divert all of their energies toward building their new country. The former Israeli Arabs will take pleasure in supporting their new country rather than hating their previous one. No one will be able to accuse Israel of mistreating its Arab population, because there won’t be any.

The Arab/Israeli conflict is like a patient. This patient has been extremely ill for a long time. He is going from bad to worse. The only way to save him is through a radical, painful surgery. Thus, the surgery — the population transfers — is performed, and the outcome is a success.

A future historian of these events will finish his narrative writing, "… and tranquility descended on the region."

Zeev Dickmann, Ph.D., is a retired professor of reproductive biology.

Courting the Jewish vote

Republicans are of course ecstatic that the New York 9th Congressional District voted Republican for the first time in almost 90 years, despite its being the district with the largest percentage of Jewish voters in the country, having a 3 to 1 Democrat advantage in registered voters, and having an Orthodox Jew running against a Catholic. Paradoxically, Jewish Democrats should be equally ecstatic.

This outcome shows that Obama is hemorrhaging Jewish votes. Trying to spin the results any other way is futile. Obama is suspected by some of being a closet Muslim; now he will be required to become more Jewish than Moses. In order to stem this tide, from now until election day he will have to go to any length to convince Jewish voters that he is unreservedly on Israel’s side, and doubtless that is exactly what he will do. In fact, the process has already started.

That’s excellent. Israel’s situation now is extremely perilous, and it will more than ever need total support from the United States. It doesn’t matter why it will now get that support; the critical factor is that it will be there. If this means Obama will thereby manage to retain many Jewish votes, so be it.

It is my personal hope and expectation that Obama will be a one-term president. But if the result of the election in New York’s 9th District is a wake-up call that leads him to be unequivocally supportive of Israel at this critical time, it is an outcome devoutly to be wished.

Lee Levin
Overland Park, Kan.

Respect President Obama

I am frustrated by hearing many Jewish people voicing their opinion that President Obama does not support Israel. I have even heard some say they will not vote for him because of this misconception. I have never been a one -issue voter, and am sad that many people are, but in this case, the perceptions (and concerns) are misplaced. Just last week (Sept. 15), the Chronicle included a short article about AIPAC and AJC lauding Obama for the immediate U.S. intervention on behalf of Israel’s besieged embassy in Cairo. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu also expressed gratitude for our quick and decisive assistance.

Though I am disappointed in some aspects of his administration, I respect President Obama for his handling of the myriad problems that have faced him, many not of his own making. I will continue to support him in every way I can, while respecting the opinions of others who do not share my conviction. However, as Bill Clinton said on ABC News recently, EVERY United States president will always support Israel, so I believe we as Jewish voters can afford to take a broader view of the administration, review its accomplishments, appreciate its support for Israel and think about the values of the Democrats and how they differ from those of the Republican candidates. As many have said before me: “Be careful what you wish for!”

Judy Sherry
Kansas City, Mo.