Limiting Deduction For Rich Will Hurt Poor In his May 1 opinion article “When Charity Isn’t Charitable,” Peter Singer highlights an important fact of which most of us who work in the philanthropic sector are well aware: Much charitable giving and much foundation giving do not really benefit the needy. He is correct that this…
Same Old Story, From Jersey to Pennsylvania The story you told in your excellent article “On the Jersey Waterfront, Jews Return, but Jewish Community Still Struggles” is not in any way an isolated one (April 24). I live in Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill County, within this state’s anthracite coal regions. Here we once had a number of…
Spiritual Pros, Cons There are exciting policy implications in the new Synagogue 3000 study by Steven M. Cohen and Lawrence Hoffman, “How Spiritual Are America’s Jews?” as reported in your April 17 article “Study: Young Jews More Spiritual, Yet More Divided?” The authors of the study conclude that stressing spirituality will broaden Judaism’s appeal to…
40% Foolish on Iran Your account of the J Street poll that reports 40% of American Jews would favor an American attack on Iran if it were on the verge of going nuclear is no less disturbing than any other bad news we’ve heard recently (“Israel, U.S. Pursue Divergent Path on Iran,” April 3). Does…
An Ungenerous Epitaph An otherwise useful article on the problems facing United Jewish Communities unfortunately misrepresents American Jewish communal organizational history (“UJC’s Future at Stake as Local Charities call for Dramatic Cuts,” April 10). Your article characterizes UJC’s predecessor agency, the Council of Jewish Federations, as merely a “trade organization, convening the federations’ General Assembly…
The Delicate Dance Of Muslim-Jewish Dialogue As a sometimes skeptical participant in dialogue, I was pleased to read of the recent vote by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs in support of strengthening Muslim-Jewish ties (“JCPA Approves Effort To Build Dialogue With Muslim Groups,” March 13). To be honest, most Muslims and Jews will continue…
Lerner’s Devotion, in Sickness and in Health I write to protest your article on Michael Lerner’s cancer and the way I was quoted in it (“Tikkun’s Founder: ‘I Have Cancer,’ Give to My Cause,” March 13). In my interview, I said that Lerner’s e-mail announcing his diagnosis and urging people to donate to the Network…
Yeshiva Is Incubator For Orthodox Activism Reading your March 6 news article “Social Activism, Modern Orthodox-Style,” I was struck by consultant Shifra Bronznick’s assessment of three major factors that have caused the increased interest in young Orthodox engagement in social justice: Darfur, the Agriprocessors scandal and the plethora of nondenominational Jewish social justice organizations. It…
Nothing Selfish About Rabbi’s Cancer Plea Your article singling out Rabbi Michael Lerner for a letter he sent regarding his cancer was baffling (“Tikkun’s Founder: ‘I Have Cancer,’ Give to My Cause,” March 13). Why would you consider it newsworthy to try to put down a devout and caring rabbi for writing a letter to…
Hebrew College Serves Entire Community Your February 27 article “Hebrew College’s Big Plans Yield Big Debts” noted some of the challenges facing Hebrew College and other Jewish colleges. It is true that the academic landscape has changed, as secular universities have increased their Jewish studies offerings. But while some conclude that we have become an…
Israel’s Electoral House Isn’t ‘Divided’ Aaron David Miller writes that, following the Israeli elections, “we have a divided and dysfunctional Israeli house” (“Scrambled Electoral Eggs,” February 20). How is this so? Israel’s elections produced 65 seats for the right-of-center parties, against a mere 44 seats for the left-of-center parties. This suggests that around 60% of…
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