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| Opinion | |||
| Written by Jewish Chronicle Readers | |||
| Friday, 03 July 2009 11:00 | |||
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Baruch Dayan Haemet We were shocked and saddened by the sudden illness and subequent death of 1-year-old Menashe Koppel Cohn, son of Naomi and Todd Cohn. How could this happen? The family had gone to a wedding in Chicago, and this tragedy happens. Why? Koppel’s illness brought two communities, separated by 500 miles, together — Chicago and Kansas City. His illness brought out the best in people from these cities, people like Brenda Rosenthal, Hillel & Rivkah Efron,Andi & Avi Belson, Hikie & Jay Schulman, Rabbi Daniel & Dr. Ayala Rockoff, Karen T. and Bruce Smith, rabbis from the Chicago area, and others. They showed what two communities can do to work together, help ease pain, help families, bring food and provide much needed emotional support. Additionally, literally thousands of individuals from all over the country and all over the world, ranging from South America to Israel, came together to pray, say Tehillim (Psalms) and ask G-d to give strength to Koppel’s parents and siblings, Elie Meir, Leora and Tamar. This outpouring speaks volumes to the impact Todd and Naomi have had on the lives of so many. G-d’s plan was to lend Koppel to us for a short time so that Koppel could carry out His mission. When that mission was fulfilled, G-d took back this precious gift, Koppel, so that he could work with Him again in the future. Mission accomplished, Koppel. You were with us for a brief time. Your wonderful influence and memory will be a blessing for us forever. We love you. Eva & Morris Tulchinsky Overland Park, Kansas Interfaith Council supports Jews The Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council is aware of the recent anti-Semitic actions and hate crimes directed toward the Jewish community, specifically Fred Phelp’s Westboro Baptist Church’s picketing of Congregation Ohev Sholom in Overland Park and the terrible killing at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. The Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council extends our support and affection to our Jewish friends and neighbors. We particularly honor the Jewish members of our Interfaith Council, Ms. Susan Choucroun and Ms. Sheila Sonnenschein. Their commitment and contributions to the Council are greatly valued. In addition, we appreciate the many members of the Jewish community who have staunchly supported the work of our Council, through their participation in our programs and their financial contributions. Members of the Interfaith Council stood in solidarity with our Jewish friends at Ohev Sholom on June 6 as a sign of our commitment to making Greater Kansas a welcoming place for people from all religious traditions. As Karta Purkh S. Khalsa, Sikh member of the council, so eloquently stated in an email to the council members and friends, “all was in order and God’s will for the world was very much in evidence. The few who stood against our common vision of all people of spirit were like weak ripples against the rocks of our inner divinity…There was the steady gaze of knowledge and truth in response to anger and fevered unrighteousness… Their concepts so gravely wrongheaded had no resonance and almost no existence ... but there they were ... and so we had to be there too, as evidence of God’s sweet will for what humanity can be.” Shannon Clark Executive Director, GKCIC A different view In an article, “Local groups to host Brit who justifies terror,” The KC Jewish Chronicle makes allegations that divert attention from the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The article would have better served the paper’s readers by focusing on the objectives of the July 2 fundraising event, which is to provide relief for the people in Gaza. In December 2008, Israel began a military campaign that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said caused over 6,800 Palestinian deaths or injuries, nearly half of the casualties were women and children. Thirteen Israelis were killed, including three civilians, 35,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes and 20,000 Palestinian homes were destroyed or damaged in the 22 days of attacks. Mona El-Farra, a Palestinian physician and women’s rights activist, wrote one week after the attacks that “medical staff and people [are] still shell-shocked although cars and people [are] on the streets again but all people have the memories of the events of 20 days bombardment, charred bodies and probably no family is intact.” The Israeli blockade of Gaza that started two years ago continues today. The stranglehold of Gaza threatens the lives, livelihood, and human dignity of 1.4 million people by severely limiting basic goods and reconstruction supplies from being transported to Gaza. Human Rights Watch calls the blockade “collective punishment of the civilian population.” The ICRC described conditions as a “full blown humanitarian crisis.” Oxfam International calls for Israel to “allow unrestricted access for all goods and people” especially for “those who seek medical treatment.” The organization also calls on the U.N. to enforce resolutions requiring Israel to open the crossings to Gaza. As The Jewish Chronicle article points out, in March 2009 Viva Palestina, a British grassroots organization, along with George Galloway led a convoy of 100 vehicles to donate $2 million worth of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. However, food and medicine are lacking today due to the illegal and immoral blockade. Viva Palestina USA will shortcut this blockade in July by delivering medical supplies to the people and caretakers of Gaza. Given the Israeli government’s unwillingness to allow humane levels of supplies to pass to Gaza, as well as U.S. government reluctance to provide assistance, the only choice for concerned Americans is to support humanitarian relief through organizations like Viva Palestina USA. For more reading on this subject, see the Oxfam Briefing Note, “Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics,” June 2009. Matt Quinn Citizens for Justice in the Middle East Fadi Banyalmarjeh MAS Freedom
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