2008 Woodie Awards
LETTERS
Issue date: 3/8/05 Section: Editorials/Op-Ed
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Kosher Slaughter
Dear Sir:
I want to commend Rabbi Menachem Genack and the Orthodox Union both for its swift movement to correct the situation at the Postville, Iowa glatt kosher slaughterhouse and for its laudable public commitment to do all that is Halachically acceptable to ensure the most humane slaughter conditions possible in all plants that it certifies ("Setting The Record Straight On Kosher Slaughter" (February 15, 2005 issue)). However, as president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, I wish to point out that since, as Rabbi Genack reminds us, "any slaughterhouse, whether kosher or non-kosher, is by definition a disconcerting, blood-filled and gruesome place," we should consider that its products are having devastating effects on the health of Jews and others, and on the environment.
We should also consider the many violations of Jewish teachings related to animal-based diets and modern intensive livestock agriculture.
When Judaism mandates that we treat animals with compassion, can we ignore the cruel treatment of animals on factory farms, where they are raised in cramped, confined spaces without sunlight, fresh air, or opportunities to fulfil their natural instincts? When Judaism stresses that we must diligently protect our health, can we ignore that animal-based diets are major contributors to the epidemic of heart disease, many forms of cancer, and other killer diseases and ailments afflicting the Jewish community and others? When Judaism mandates that we be partners with God in protecting the environment, can we ignore the significant contributions of animal-centered agriculture to air, water, and land pollution, species extinction, deforestation, global climate change, water shortages, and many other environmental threats?
For the sake of our health, the sustainability of our imperiled planet, Jewish values, as well as for the animals, it is essential that we consider shifting toward plant-based diets.
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, College of Staten Island
Author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, Judaism and Global Survival, and Mathematics and Global Survival
President, Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA)
****
God and Tsunamis
Dear Sir:
Shaya Lerner, addressing the issue of God and natural disasters wrote, "However, if we accept the notion of a higher power, such as a deity, one can then question, as those mentioned above, God's lack of intervention and/or justice towards innocent humans."
As a deist, I believe that God does not exert supernatural influence in our universe in order to prevent natural disasters or even human evil for one reason: to preserve our free will.
It isn't that God doesn't care, He certainly does. The whole purpose of Creation is to spawn sentient life with the free will to choose between good and evil, to do the right thing or not, to choose to pursue God & Truth or not. Therefore, even the most "senseless" death of an innocent child is, at the very least, a monument to God's commitment to our free will.
This may seem a callous answer that is hard to bear, but against the backdrop of eternity, perhaps it is not.
Stewart Ball
Byron, GA
****
Blaming Students
Dear Sir:
Mr. McNamee ("Once. Twice. But Thrice?" by Adi Isaacs) states that because the student was emotionally upset he might not have "communicated properly with the guard and the guard probably did not understand what the student wanted at the time." As a result the guard could not be placed at fault because he did not know what the student wanted.
However, that is precisely the role of a security guard. When someone is mugged they usually become distraught. It is unreasonable to expect otherwise. When a guard is approached by a distraught, frantic student the first thought going through the guard's mind should be that the student needs assistance immediately. Not reporting the incident is more than just mere negligence, it is dereliction of duty.
Security personnel are supposed to be trained to deal with emergencies. By definition, emergencies are not planned for. Guards are supposed to be trained to deal with the frantic and distraught student who has just been the victim of a mugging. The guard should have reported the incident. Immediately.
That McNamee feels he can blame the student for being emotionally distraught and thus shift blame from security to the victim is indicative of one more problem afflicting the "security" department in YU. That such abdication of responsibility comes from the "Commander of Operations at the Department of Safety and Security" makes it all the more worrisome.
Adam Steiner
Yeshiva College '04
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law '07
****
General Elazar Stern
Dear Sir:
It is probably difficult for most Yeshiva College students (and faculty for that matter) to read between the lines when evaluating certain personalities in Israel. One of the unfortunate side effects of a YU education is the tendency to see every kippa wearing person who has "made it" as one of "us". This would be far from the truth. It has taken quite a few years of living in Israel (over 10) to make this distinction, with many pitfalls along the way.
Without a doubt, Maj. Gen. Stern is one of the most extreme Stalinist and Bolshevik generals within the IDF. His kippa would seem to belie this claim, but it is only an illusion. Stern's entire agenda throughout the advanced stages of his career, culminating with his current position as head of IDF Human Resources, is to promote a world-view that aligns the Jewish religion (from his point of view) with the extreme socialist outlook of the ruling establishment within Israel. He is correct in stating that his decision to disband homogenous Hesder units in the IDF has nothing to do with the disengagement (or as I prefer to call it, expulsion) plan. It has everything to do with promoting his own hegemony upon the intellectual development of Israeli soldiers. To date, the Hesder (and by extension Mechina) programs have stood in the way of his agenda. He is removing this barrier. Yes, mothers you have something to worry about as the general put it - after 18 years of guiding and nurturing your Jewish children, Elazar Stern will destroy everything you built by attempting to produce another generation of Jewish (and even Orthodox) Bolsheviks.
Avraham Ben-Tzvi (Husarsky)
Yeshiva College, BA Economics 1992
Shaare Mishpat Law School, Ll.B.(Candidate) 2008
Dear Sir:
I want to commend Rabbi Menachem Genack and the Orthodox Union both for its swift movement to correct the situation at the Postville, Iowa glatt kosher slaughterhouse and for its laudable public commitment to do all that is Halachically acceptable to ensure the most humane slaughter conditions possible in all plants that it certifies ("Setting The Record Straight On Kosher Slaughter" (February 15, 2005 issue)). However, as president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, I wish to point out that since, as Rabbi Genack reminds us, "any slaughterhouse, whether kosher or non-kosher, is by definition a disconcerting, blood-filled and gruesome place," we should consider that its products are having devastating effects on the health of Jews and others, and on the environment.
We should also consider the many violations of Jewish teachings related to animal-based diets and modern intensive livestock agriculture.
When Judaism mandates that we treat animals with compassion, can we ignore the cruel treatment of animals on factory farms, where they are raised in cramped, confined spaces without sunlight, fresh air, or opportunities to fulfil their natural instincts? When Judaism stresses that we must diligently protect our health, can we ignore that animal-based diets are major contributors to the epidemic of heart disease, many forms of cancer, and other killer diseases and ailments afflicting the Jewish community and others? When Judaism mandates that we be partners with God in protecting the environment, can we ignore the significant contributions of animal-centered agriculture to air, water, and land pollution, species extinction, deforestation, global climate change, water shortages, and many other environmental threats?
For the sake of our health, the sustainability of our imperiled planet, Jewish values, as well as for the animals, it is essential that we consider shifting toward plant-based diets.
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, College of Staten Island
Author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, Judaism and Global Survival, and Mathematics and Global Survival
President, Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA)
****
God and Tsunamis
Dear Sir:
Shaya Lerner, addressing the issue of God and natural disasters wrote, "However, if we accept the notion of a higher power, such as a deity, one can then question, as those mentioned above, God's lack of intervention and/or justice towards innocent humans."
As a deist, I believe that God does not exert supernatural influence in our universe in order to prevent natural disasters or even human evil for one reason: to preserve our free will.
It isn't that God doesn't care, He certainly does. The whole purpose of Creation is to spawn sentient life with the free will to choose between good and evil, to do the right thing or not, to choose to pursue God & Truth or not. Therefore, even the most "senseless" death of an innocent child is, at the very least, a monument to God's commitment to our free will.
This may seem a callous answer that is hard to bear, but against the backdrop of eternity, perhaps it is not.
Stewart Ball
Byron, GA
****
Blaming Students
Dear Sir:
Mr. McNamee ("Once. Twice. But Thrice?" by Adi Isaacs) states that because the student was emotionally upset he might not have "communicated properly with the guard and the guard probably did not understand what the student wanted at the time." As a result the guard could not be placed at fault because he did not know what the student wanted.
However, that is precisely the role of a security guard. When someone is mugged they usually become distraught. It is unreasonable to expect otherwise. When a guard is approached by a distraught, frantic student the first thought going through the guard's mind should be that the student needs assistance immediately. Not reporting the incident is more than just mere negligence, it is dereliction of duty.
Security personnel are supposed to be trained to deal with emergencies. By definition, emergencies are not planned for. Guards are supposed to be trained to deal with the frantic and distraught student who has just been the victim of a mugging. The guard should have reported the incident. Immediately.
That McNamee feels he can blame the student for being emotionally distraught and thus shift blame from security to the victim is indicative of one more problem afflicting the "security" department in YU. That such abdication of responsibility comes from the "Commander of Operations at the Department of Safety and Security" makes it all the more worrisome.
Adam Steiner
Yeshiva College '04
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law '07
****
General Elazar Stern
Dear Sir:
It is probably difficult for most Yeshiva College students (and faculty for that matter) to read between the lines when evaluating certain personalities in Israel. One of the unfortunate side effects of a YU education is the tendency to see every kippa wearing person who has "made it" as one of "us". This would be far from the truth. It has taken quite a few years of living in Israel (over 10) to make this distinction, with many pitfalls along the way.
Without a doubt, Maj. Gen. Stern is one of the most extreme Stalinist and Bolshevik generals within the IDF. His kippa would seem to belie this claim, but it is only an illusion. Stern's entire agenda throughout the advanced stages of his career, culminating with his current position as head of IDF Human Resources, is to promote a world-view that aligns the Jewish religion (from his point of view) with the extreme socialist outlook of the ruling establishment within Israel. He is correct in stating that his decision to disband homogenous Hesder units in the IDF has nothing to do with the disengagement (or as I prefer to call it, expulsion) plan. It has everything to do with promoting his own hegemony upon the intellectual development of Israeli soldiers. To date, the Hesder (and by extension Mechina) programs have stood in the way of his agenda. He is removing this barrier. Yes, mothers you have something to worry about as the general put it - after 18 years of guiding and nurturing your Jewish children, Elazar Stern will destroy everything you built by attempting to produce another generation of Jewish (and even Orthodox) Bolsheviks.
Avraham Ben-Tzvi (Husarsky)
Yeshiva College, BA Economics 1992
Shaare Mishpat Law School, Ll.B.(Candidate) 2008