Readers Respond

ANINTERFAITHMAGAZINE? When I first realized that Tikkun was moving beyond its original focus on Judaism and becoming an interfaith magazine as well, I was quite unhappy. For years I’ve loved the magazine, though I must admit to reading it primarily on the newsstands as do thousands of others, I’m sure (probably not much help to you, since we get the benefits without paying our fair share). Still, I feel part of the Tikkun world. In fact, I often feel quite proud because I hear people talking about Tikkun and its ideas, people who are not Jewish and who I would never dream read the magazine (but they do, even though their names are not on your subscription roles). Anyway, when I saw the May/June 2007 issue, I realized I should stop worrying . On the one hand, you have some of the most exciting religious thinkers in the country—evangelicals like Tony Campolo and Glen Stassen, Buddhist David Loy, and even the most famous and respected teacher of Catholic spirituality, Richard Rohr. On the other hand, you continue your tracongresspeople and senators to read this ad and act upon it. Unfortunately, for all his so-called Christian piety, Bush and his cohorts act more like the anti–Christ than like “Christians.” Eli Hruska Many congratulations on the magnificent ad you placed in the New York Times. This could truly initiate a watershed moment, a metanoia, in our public discourse about Iraq, especially if the peace candidates— starting with Kucinich, Gravel, and Ron Paul—endorse it. But imagine what will happen if one of the frontrunners (e.g., Obama) finds the moral courage to endorse it as well! Blessings, Thomas I. Ellis, Ph.D. Hampton, VA Iconsiderthebelief(which youapparentlyhold)thata state—muchlessanimperial stateliketheUnitedStates— willevengiveseriousattentiontomoralprinciples , muchlessgivethemprimacy, tobenaivetothepointofirrelevance .It’slikeimploringa horsetomeow.It’snotinthe natureoftheanimal.That’s notwhatstatesareabout. Anyconsiderationtheydo givetomoralprinciplesstems Readers Respond LETTERS dition of solid politics with the feature on torture, and provide us with some very stimulating thinking on Judaism by Or Rose, Erik Gleibermann, Jacob Feinspan, and Melanie Kaye Kantrowitz. As we say, yasher ko’ach (congratulations/ keep strong). You are pulling it off even though I doubted that was possible. And I love the color. Sandi Cohen Bronx, New York Editor responds: Because our particular approach to Judaism is one of a global Judaism that sees the common strands in all the various religious traditions and refuses to privilege Judaism as being on a “higher” plane or more “chosen” than any of the other major traditions, we have no difficulty in seeing ourselves as both continuing to be a Jewish magazine and also being an interfaith magazine. Both/and rather than either/or thinking is part of the path for the future of humanity. N.Y.TIMESAD On May 17 the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP) bought a full page ad in the New York Times to advocate for “An Ethical Way to End the War In Iraq.” Thank you for the New York Times ad. It expresses exactly how I feel. Hopefully others will pressure their J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 0 7 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 3 Thissectionincludesletterswereceivefromsnail mailandfromresponsespostedonourwebsiteto specificarticles.Wemayshorten,edit,orchange somewordsforgreaterclarity.Weonlyprintasmall setofthelargesupplyoflettersandemailswereceive .Allletterssenttousareread,butonlyafew canfithereinourlimitedspace. Sendletterstomanagingeditor@tikkun.org orto2342ShattuckAve.,#1200 Berkeley,CA94704 4Letters_final.qxd 6/5/07 11:47 AM Page 3 “The Need Not to Know” [Tikkun Jan/Feb 2007], I am struck by the strident tone and one–sided nature of his presentation. Slater’s analysis provides barely a hint that there are two sides that have continually made mistakes and committed wrongdoing in this conflict. He is sure that Ben–Gurion only accepted the UN partition plan for tactical reasons, with the intention of embarking upon ethnic cleansing when presented the opportunity. There are quotes that support this view, but he totally ignores the historical words and actions of the Mufti Hajj Amin al–Husseini (an active ally of Hitler during World War II) and other Palestinian leaders of that era, which substantiate their intention to destroy the Palestinian Jewish community . In the initial months of battle 100,000...