JP Letters

Here are three letters, edited versions of which appeared in the Jerusalem Post letters column on the dates given:

Dec 12, 2006: Borat self-denigrator
Dear Editor:
Can you conceive of a member of any other ethnic group producing such a self-denigrating satire? Only a Jew would be so self-loathing as to make such a picture of Jews for members of other ethnic groups to laugh at. This is the corrosive influence of anti-Semitism, that it makes Jews grovel in stupidity in order to be accepted by the rest. Would there be a movie made by an Italian containing a "running of the Italians" or throwing money at bugs that are Irish or Arab made by a member of these groups? No, it is only funny if Jews are degraded in this way. The best response is not to go see the movie. Let Cohen do something truly funny but not anti-Semitic in order to redeem the shame heaped on our Jewish name.
Jack Cohen
Netanya

Jan 15, 2007: Netanyahu no bigot
Dear Sir:
Larry Derfner is way out of line calling Bibi Netanyahu a "bigot" just because he discussed the Arab demographic problem (Jan 4). This has been a major issue in Israeli politics for years, and has been discussed publicly by PMs Sharon and Olmert, and their policy of selective withdrawals from Gaza and elsewhere, called disengagement and other euphemisms, was precisely based on trying to reduce the Arab population in Israel. Any Israeli leader who does not address this issue would be considered irresponsible.
Jack Cohen
Netanya

Jan 21, 2007: Israel/Holocaust misconception
Dear Editor:
Jim Walker is incorrect when he asserts (letters 17/1/07) that "the fundamental impetus for the creation of an independent Jewish State was the Holocaust." This is a popular misconception that needs to be challenged.
The "creation" of the Jewish State occurred during the period 1880-1939 as a result of mainly non-religious Jewish emigration from Eastern Europe. During that period the Jewish settlement in Palestine (the Yishuv) expanded and grew in size and sophistication until it was capable of becoming a Jewish State. Between the period 1939-1945, when the Holocaust occured, the status of the Yishuv remained more or less static. Between 1945-48, very few of those who survived the Holocaust in Europe actually arrived in Palestine, mainly due to the British blockade, and even fewer participated in the fighting that developed into the War of Independence. Once the State was proclaimed in 1948 only then did significant post-WWII European Jewish immigration occur. So the concept that the Holocaust was the "fundamental impetus for the creation of the Jewish State" of Israel is a misconception, that maybe satisfies the Christian guilt complex. Whereas in fact, the Holocaust made it finally clear to all concerned that there was no viable place for Jews in Europe.
Many had come to that conclusion long before, including Theodor Herzl when he experienced the anti-Semitic response to the false accusations against Captain Dreyfus in France in 1894, that motivated him to establish the Zionist movement. Those Jews that left Europe for Palestine in the period 1880-1939 were the ones that built and fought for the creation of the Jewish State, those that survived the Holocaust, having made the unfortunate mistake of remaining in Europe, were their beneficiaries.
Jack Cohen
Netanya