Often, I write about the uniqueness of the Holocaust and how it is completely different from other genocides. There are those who believe that the only way to preserve the memory of the Holocaust is by making it a universal lesson regarding the traumas and tribulations other peoples and nations have suffered.
Several years ago, a comedy album appeared by the title “When You’re in Love, the Whole World is Jewish.” Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg’s letter in your April 23 issue, in which he attempts to find specific Jewish meaning in “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” represents the sort of thinking referred to ironically in the title of the album.
The Tuesday morning before the first seder cars, a pick-up truck and volunteers waited outside of Torah Learning Center for meals to be brought out in huge boxes. All were in masks and gloves, waiting to load the meals that would soon be delivered by volunteers to people all over the greater KC area (some even outside the area).
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.
Ok, you have taken the position of defending Franklin Roosevelt. I’ll take the role of prosecutor.
Roosevelt favored having Jews go to Palestine? Are you kidding? It was very clear that FDR didn’t want to offend the Arabs, and you know why, as we were dependent on oil from Arab counties.
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.
