Letters to the editor, 4 August 2023 - The Jewish Chronicle

It’s all a leftist plot

Professor Alan Dershowitz points out that the real reason for the mayhem sweeping Israel is not the judicial reforms but the desire by the opposition to topple Benjamin Netanyahu’s government (If you truly love Israel, it’s time to compromise, July 28). Evidence corroborates his assertion.

A video from 2020 shows Ehud Barak saying that he sees himself as the most apt candidate for the top job. He still harbours this ambition and inspires many. Other high-ranking “has beens” have similar aspirations, not sparing any effort to scale the globe to garner support, be it financial or political.

Creating unrest, fear, insecurity and disarray are the means by which the organisers of the demonstrations seek to achieve their clearly spelt-out goal. They engage the army, paralyse health services and the financial sector through strikes and use empty sloganeering and fantasies of an approaching doom in their propaganda tactics.

The hysteria now gripping one part of the nation is the result of a well-planned, richly financed and superbly organised and orchestrated malevolent endeavour. Newspapers and other media outlets in Israel and abroad, including in the UK, have been monopolised and colonised by a one-sided leftist opinion, with the right struggling to get a pipsqueak on the margins.

Over the years, the Israeli judiciary has arrogated to itself an enormous power. Trust in the judicial system is at an all-time low, at 19 per cent. The Knesset can spend months on drafting a law, only for the Supreme Court to cancel it. Many Israelis say there are two governments in the country, one in the Knesset and the more powerful one in the Supreme Court.

To paraphrase Dr Aviad Bakshi of Forum Kohellet, chief adviser to the architects of the judicial reform, the aim of the amendment to the “reasonableness” clause is not to “weaken” the judiciary but rather to “force” it to pass judgments concerning the government within the boundaries of the law, uninfluenced by a subjective whim or a political leaning. The existing “checks and balances” remain intact, including “due process”, “human rights”, “conflict of interest”, “discrimination”, “proportionality”, and others.

Aharon Barak, the author of the reasonableness clause, is on record saying the clause has outlived its usefulness and has become redundant. The same sentiments have been expressed in the past by Gideon Sa’ar and Yair Lapid, who are now trying to wriggle out of them, sensing a potential for a revenge on their rival who remains unvanquished.

Another aspect of the judicial reform concerns the appointment of judges. Under the current system, a left-leaning majority is always secured by the committee charged with this task, regardless of which side is in government. Is this democratic? Is it surprising that the left fights tooth and nail to ensure the status quo persists?

In the US, a new Attorney General (AG) is appointed by the president upon assuming office. When a vacancy occurs in the Supreme Court, it is the president, with the Senate’s approval, who appoints a new judge. Benjamin Netanyahu has to contend with an AG appointed by his political rival, Gideon Sa’ar. In a similar vein, a Knesset minister is allocated a legal adviser by the judiciary rather than choosing one himself/herself.

Israel’s lack of a constitution is often cited as a disadvantage and seen as a flaw, with a stronger potential for lawlessness. The fact that the UK doesn’t have a constitution either is somehow overlooked. But as Ben-Gurion foresaw, not having a constitution allows for a more dynamic legal process, where laws can be changed or amended. The US serves as a prime example of the rigidity and immutability of a constitution.

Eda Spinka
London NW4

Investigation required

As parents who were considering Menorah Foundation School, we were disturbed to read the article by Simon Rocker (Barnet primary to cut classes as numbers fall, July 28). Many of our friends have chosen either not to send their children to the school or to remove them.

Hearing that so many staff have left in a short time indicates that not all is well. That former staff appear reluctant to give their names suggests to me that they feel aggrieved about what has happened. Alarm bells continue to ring when neither the former head nor the school will comment.

It should also be noted that the school is going to have a new chair of governors (the fourth in three years).

We believe that it is the duty of the local authority, JLC and Pajes to commission an investigation as to what has really happened in this once great school.

D Levy, P Smith, S Marsh,
T Copeland
Barnet

What about Joe?

Hadley Freeman writes that “the closest we’ve come to Oval Office is Doug Emhoff, the Jewish husband of Vice President Kamala Harris. And let’s be honest that’s not very close at all” (Let’s face it Mel Brooks would make the best US President, 21 July).

She seems to have forgotten that the former Senator for Connecticut Joe Lieberman was Al Gore’s vice-presidential running mate in the 2000 presidential election.

It was the US Supreme Court in the case Bush v Gore 2000 which settled the election in favour of President George Bush, but had it ruled in favour of Al Gore over the disputed vote counts in the state of Florida then Lieberman would have become the first-ever Jewish vice president of the United States of America.

If Gore had become president and been incapacitated for whatever reason, Lieberman would have become President of the USA.

Ze’ev Portner
High Wycombe, Bucks

Genuine remorse

At Holocaust Centre North we pride ourselves on working tirelessly to make sure the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten. With this in mind, it is with genuine remorse that we apologise for the plainly inappropriate language used in our press release about our equality and diversity training programme (Fury as Shoah awareness charity launches course to curb your “inner Hitler”, July 14).

In our attempts to simplify what is a complex, difficult and challenging programme to help participants consider how individuals have historically contributed to racism, violence and extremism, we used language that does not reflect our centre’s values or represent our approach to Holocaust education.

Neither does this language reflect the nature of the course, which does not make such simplistic connections between the actions of those responsible for the Holocaust and workplace practices but seeks to promote further study of the conditions that gave rise to the Holocaust and consider how those lessons can continue to inform our interactions and encounters.

In a field where we speak often of the inherent power of words, the language used in this document demonstrates a grave error of judgment, but it is one from which the organisation will learn and will grow. While our belief in the value of our work is unwavering, we will become more robust in our processes and more considered in our approach to speaking about our work.

The course has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees who have said they valued the opportunity not only to further their knowledge of the Holocaust, but to reflect on how they can make their organisations more inclusive, accountable and transparent.

The course forms a small part of a highly ambitious learning programme we run to deepen knowledge and understanding of the causes, consequences and legacies of the Holocaust.
The fact that this body of work has been demonstrated to have a significant impact on those we engage with, from primary and secondary school children, through young people exposed to extremist ideologies, to adult learners and business and public-sector leaders is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our team.

From our founding day, we’ve been committed to supporting survivors, educating people about the Holocaust, fostering understanding and a culture of care and building a community that can and will stand up to intolerance and injustice. We are proud of the work we do and hope our continued dedication to these aims gives people trust and confidence in us to continue to share the vital stories of Holocaust survivors. We will work diligently and tirelessly to restore any trust and confidence that may have been eroded by this incident.

Jenny Kagan
Chair of the Board of Trustees, Holocaust Centre North

Borscht Belt memories

My wife and I read your article Back to the Borscht Belt (July 28) with great interest.
In November 1994, we went to the Concord Resort Hotel. It was quite an experience.
On the first evening we were offered four separate starters and a choice of eight main courses. Among them were roast prime ribs of beef au jus and General Zhao’s lemon chicken. I said to the waiter that while I fancied the beef, I had never before had a hotel choice of a Chinese dish and I could not decide what to have.
“I’ll bring you both,” he said — and he did.

Michael Zaidner
Bushey Heath WD23

As someone who spent her childhood and adolescent summers on a bungalow colony in Mountaindale in the late 1950s and 1960s, went to the movies in Ellenville and Katz’s Deli in Monticello, I was disappointed that bungalow colonies were barely mentioned other than “Orthodox and Chasidic Jews have taken over many of what were the bungalow colonies”.
Mirth Colony was a particular summer vacationland, and not the only one, founded in the 1950s, embracing communist, socialist and leftist members. Besides all the pleasures of a summer in the Catskills, there were book and movie groups, lectures, debates and nightly folk dancing. Many members travelled to Washington DC in August 1963 to join the March on Washington.

Mountaindale had a summer repertory theatre, showcasing a new play or musical each week. Sixty years later, the once-children, now seniors, remember those years as crystallised magic.

The disappearance of the bungalow colony is another consequence of history. Bungalow colonies could only exist if women and children lived there all week throughout the summer and dads drove up from NYC on Fridays and back to the city to work on Sunday evening. Once women stepped into the workforce in greater numbers, the necessary rhythm of the bungalow colony was broken.

I hope the rich history of the Catskills’ bungalow colonies will be included in the Borscht Belt Museum.

Ellen Rosenblatt, MD
Beachwood, Ohio

Brevity

I thought the President of the Board of Deputies might like to see what in my opinion constitutes a brief letter.
Lord Leigh of Hurley
House of Lords