Same Old Platitudes
I was shocked at the glowing terms in which New York City’s new “antisemitism czar” (“Exclusive Interview: After D.C. Shooting, NYC’s Antisemitism Czar Announces New Initiatives” May 30) spoke about the Muslim community, and that the interview did not address the incitement being preached in mosques as well as the problem of imported antisemites (some legal, many illegal) in our city and in our country. It’s great that the mayor is trying to make Jews safer, but unless you confront the proverbial elephant in the room, you won’t really solve the problem.
I also took issue with the writer’s idea that the stats (including a 150% jump in hate crimes from 2023 to 2024) will “make our community feel a bit better” because “the problem is not as widespread as perceived.” It is well known that many low-level experiences of antisemitism, as with other types of unpleasant interactions, go unreported. So even these numbers don’t tell the whole story. These days, Jews are clearly “target number one,” and based on everything that’s happened since October 7, including on our own streets (and let’s not forget the college campuses), our fear is justified. Officials committed to combating antisemitism have to approach it as a real problem, not a therapy program for paranoid Jews.
A.T. Horowitz
Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Intrinsic Holiness Of Yerushalayim
In “Jerusalem and Yerushayalim” (May 23), Rabbi Francis Nataf discusses why Yom Yerushalayim deserves, on the one hand, to be more appreciated, but on the other hand, should not overshadow the fact that we do not yet have the rebuilt Beit HaMikdash. He writes: “For almost all intents and purposes, G-d has removed His presence from that once holy place.” This is a troubling statement.
The prophet Isaiah said, “It shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion, and he who remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy” which the Gemara in Sanhedrin interprets as a prophecy implying an eternal connection between holiness and Jerusalem. The Mishna (Keilim) teaches that Israel is the holiest of all lands and Jerusalem the holiest of all her cities. Maimonides teaches that Jerusalem has a special level of holiness that never lapses.
While Rabbi Nataf makes an important point about the need for us to keep our eyes on the prize, so to speak – to continue to pray and work toward the ultimate geulah – it seems to me that the risk of too much jubilation being associated with Yom Yerushalayim is not a very serious one compared with the lack of connection to and appreciation of Jerusalem among many segments of the frum world.
Sadly, many left-wingers and charedim share the same apathetic, take-it-for-granted, and even critical attitude toward Jerusalem and Israel as a whole, but for the rest of us, we would do well to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim with more enthusiasm – not less – as a mark of our hakarat hatov to Hashem for this special gift.
Yael Weiss
Via E-mail
