Opinions

A young man in Kansas City was killed Dec. 4 after being deliberately run over by a car in an event that is being investigated as a possible hate crime. On behalf of Shoulder to Shoulder, a national campaign of religious and interfaith organizations dedicated to ending anti-Muslim bigotry in the United States and around the world, Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah in Overland Park responded to the fatal violence and conveyed the interfaith community’s condolences for the family and solidarity with the local and national Muslim community:

In the spring of 1968, I was attending Southwest High School. It was a difficult moment in American history. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated. The country was seething with racial tension. On April 9, the day of King’s funeral, Kansas City officials had decided not to close schools. That decision led to riots in the city, leaving five dead and over 100 arrested.

“A Bintel Brief” by Liana Finck. (HarperCollins, 2014.)

“Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? A Memoir” by Roz Chast. (Bloomsbury, 2014.)

“Lena Finkles’s Magic Barrel” by Anya Ulinich. (Penguin, 2014.)

“El Iluminado” by Ilan Stavans and Steve Sheinkin. (Basic books, 2012.)

All four of these new works of graphic literature feature the author/illustrator as the central character. Yet each one is utterly different from the others and all of them are examples of the talent Jewish graphic artists bring to the genre.

“Lucca’s Stories” by Rachel (Lucca) Ginsburg (Veni Vici Books, Amazon kindle, paperback, February 2014)

It isn’t often that a reviewer has to choose how much to write about the publisher when reviewing an equally interesting book, but that is the case here.

The Jewish Community Campus recently announced that drivers will no longer be able to park in the circle drives in front of the Jewish Community Center’s Child Development Center (CDC) preschool and main entrance. We are told this decision was made to create a safer environment for children, members and visitors to the Campus, the JCC and other agencies housed in the building. And certainly after last April’s tragedy, it’s clear that our Campus has to be constantly vigilant to outside attacks.

For youth between the ages of 10 and 24, suicide is the third leading cause of death. For every adolescent death by suicide you hear about, approximately 25 suicide attempts are made. These are shocking statistics. Sadly, once again we have become aware of teen suicides in our community. Even if you didn’t know the individuals involved, parents and teens are intensely impacted when young people take their life.

We are at war. Many stubbornly and foolishly don’t put the pieces together and refuse to identify the evil doers as evil. We are disgracefully politically correct. 

All of us were shocked and horrified that last week’s murderous terrorist attack in Jerusalem took the life of our friend Rabbi Kalman (Cary) Levine, along with that of four other victims. We have been very comforted by the outpouring of love and support people have shown, and the good memories that we all have of Kalman.

Cary Levine (now known as Kalman Levine) always had a big heart, with lots of love.

On behalf of JET Express, Jewish Family Services’ volunteer driver program, and the hundreds of older adults we serve, I would like to thank The Chronicle for its recent coverage of our program and our need for volunteer drivers.