Letters to the Editor: Nov. 16, 2018

Letter to the editor:

Response to: Letter to the editor, published Nov. 2, 2018

After reading the Atlanta Jewish Times issue of Nov. 9, I am still grieving with the entire nation regarding the attack on the synagogue in Pittsburgh.  I have been reflecting on the shameful and terrible comparison of Jews to Nazi Brown Shirts in the letter to the editor published in the Nov. 2 issue of the Atlanta Jewish Times.

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This comparison is an insult to every Jew on either side of the political spectrum, including the writer’s own parents who did survive the Holocaust and those of my own family, along with 6 million other Jews, who did not.  Also insulted were the 70,000 mentally and physically challenged of all religions that were murdered. We do not forget the 250,000 Jews who fought in World War I and the 550,000 Jews who fought the Nazis and Brown Shirts in World War II.

I know that writer was not alive during World War II, but I was, and for the last 10 years have been leading tours and have studied this period in history.  The Brown Shirts (Sturmabteilung, SA Storm Attachment) was a Nazi paramilitary organization that played a large role in Hitler’s rise to power.

To compare fellow Jews who oppose her political views to Nazis Brown Shirts and “thugs” is an unforgivable insult.  David Duke, Robert Bowers, Louis Farrakhan, David Irving and the BDS Movement would cheer her on as they continue to fuel more lies and tragedies.

Instead of being a voice for these extremist groups, I recommend that you visit local Jewish museums, Jewish exhibits, talk to your rabbis and join other Jews in our fight against anti-Semitism, rather than degrading fellow Jews and their heritage.

John Karp, Atlanta 

Letter to the editor:

Faith

A morning we rise up like any other day

Only to find out 11 were taken away

They had gone to gather, to pray and to sit

Yet one’s hatred had to explode, take them away, and that was it

Moments of grief, hurt and pain

Continue as the endless reports try to make political gain

Sure, there are things we can fight and vote to appeal

But have you stopped to realize what those with the stars around their necks truly feel?

Weeks have passed, and I still get calls

Another anti-Semitic encounter makes them feel like their heads were punched into walls

Another friendship lost and another threat created

While the ignorant remarks add up and continue to be stated

Pain keeps coursing through our veins

As we scrape every bit of proudness for our faith that keeps us to sustain

The warmth of tears upon our cheeks remains to be fresh

But all we want to do is come together as one and mesh

Differences make us beautiful and that we should cherish

Not the things that tear us apart and make our people perish

Don’t let fear take away beliefs and roots that have made you proud

Now more than ever you should shout them out loud

Here’s to a future of being unapologetically Jewish in every way

As we hold our children close and tell them of this day

Arielle Berlinsky, Atlanta