The Chariotte Jewish News - November, 1995 - Page 2
perspectives
by Harvey Cohen
On Speaking Out
When I taught Public Rela
tions at UNC-Giarlotte last fall, I
told the class that if they wanted to
learn what was on the minds of
people without getting into a lot of
expensive research, read the Letters
to the Editor in any newspaper.
From anger to outrage to warm,
fuzzy letters of appreciation, you'll
find everything there. I think "Mind
Speak" or "Heart Speak" would be
a good sub-title for the Letters col
umn because that's what people
truly do...they say it like they feel.
There was a time (if you're old
enough you'll remember) when Jews
hardly ever spoke out publicly on
issues that affected them directly and
personally. It's encouraging to watch
the change. Holly Levinson's letter
is only one of many that have ap
peared in the Observer over time.
Some of the time and space that
Lloyd Scher, a Jewish, Mecklenburg
County Commissioner, gets in the
media is Jewish related, for example,
his stand on Council meetings that
fall on Jewish holidays.
There's another letter that ap
peared in the Charlotte Observer I'd
like to share with you. It appeared
on October 9, one day before the
deadline for this issue. (Whew!) Fm
going to assume the writer, Jeffrey
Summers, is Jewish al^ough I didn't
fmd any Summers listed in the
Hadassah Directory. Here's what he
had to say:
Who*s hypocritical about
dietary laws?
"In response to “McDonald’s,
Jenisalem-style: Israelis hypocritical
about foreigners” (Sept. 28 Forum):
"Thomas G. Haynes’ attitude
that the Israelis should relax their
dietary and woiidng laws to “accom
modate foreigners” is ridiculous. No
other country does this, why should
Israel?
"About the Summers work
week: Pertiaps Mr. Haynes cannot
reach Orthodox Jewish workers on
Saturday, but I can’t reach any
workers in this country on a Sun
day, specially on a Sunday morning.
And I’m sure he can find American
Jews expected to work here on
Saturdays and American Muslims
THE CHARLOTTE JEWISH NEWS
5007 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28226
366-5007 Fax 365-4507
Published by:
Jewish Community Center Alan Feldman, IMrector
Editor Harvey Cohen
Advertising Coordinator Rita Mond
Advertising Rep Larry Levy
CJN Executive Board
Co-Chairs - Bob Abel, Bob Davis, Rosalind Taranto
Evelyn Berger, Leora Itzhaki, Ann Langman, Linda Levy, Dr. Selwyn Spangenthal
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Letters to
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USA 290
required to work on Fridays, their
holy day.
"Israel is a religious country
and has certain religious-based laws
(as do all countries). Getting a
cheeseburger in Israel is easier than
getting a beer in Morocco and only
slightly harder than getting a good
cup of coffee in some parts of Salt
Lake City. But dietary laws closer
to home also limit the cuisine choices
of foreigners. For instance, there is
a Korean dish which is supposed to
be topped with a raw egg, but in this
country you can’t get this dish pre
pared properly because of dietary
laws. Please recall that Kosher laws
were created for health reasons (Ko
sher is the Hebrew word for
“clean”).
"My advice to Mr. Haynes: If
you can’t be happy in another coun
try and enjoy it as it is, stay home."
JEFFREY SUMMERS
Charlotte
I would encourage you to
"get it out" in print. In fact, for
some, it might almost be theraputic.
I would also hope that you feel com
fortable enough to write to this pa
per. Whether you're feeling angry or
h^py or sad or glad cm* you just want
to get something off your chest,
write to us. We'll be happy to print
what you write, but please don't
write the equivalent of War and
Peace. Whatever you have to say,
try to keep it to about 200 words.
To give you an idea of what 200
words look like, the Levinson letter
in the next column is about 200
words. Although your letter will be
edited for length. I'll work hard not
to edit out the essence of what you're
trying to say. And please don't send
an ad unless you're ready to pay for
it. Do send what you have feelings
about...good or bad. Watch your
language, after all, this is a family
newspaper. Your letter must also be
signed. Oh yes, be sure it gets to me
on time. The deadline for any given
issue is the 10th of the month pre
ceding that issue.
I look forward to hearing from
you.
Ed. note: This letter appeared on
the Charlotte Observer's Forum
page on October 5, 1995. / felt it
was worth reprinting.
Others’ religions:
first, let*s learn
As the wife of a Jewish hus
band, a mother raising my child in a
Jewish home and a participant in the
Jewish community, I read with in
terest religion columnist Ken
GarHeld’s “ ‘They’re smiling but not
open-minded’ “ (Sept. 30).
Undoubtedly, many Charlotte
citizens don t know the basics of the
Jewish faith. Nor do they know what
within this faith is important to their
Jewish neighbors and friends, or
how that faith helps define the es
sence of the lives of these Jews. My
family and I, and probably many
other Jewish families, often confront
this indifference.
We should all “work for
brotherhood by learning about our
neighbors’ different journeys of
faith.” This pursuit presents a chal
lenge to the Charlotte Jewish com
munity as well. Sure, almost all Jews
know about Christmas and Easter -
in our society it’s impossible not to
be aware of these holidays. Most
Jews also understand that Christmas
celebrates, the birth of Christ, the
Christian Messiah, and that Easter
commemorates his death and resur
rection. But how many Jews also can
describe what the life and teachings
of Jesus Christ mean to their Chris
tian friends and neighbors or how
these Christians incorporate their
religious beliefs into their daily lives?
We can all leam firom each other. By
exploring the beliefs of each other
we may realize that, despite our dif
ferences, we all are pursuing many
common goals.
HOLLY H. LEVINSON
Charlotte
School issues
As a candidate for the school
board I have spent the last several
weeks attending campaign forums
and discussing the issues with vot
ers. I am very disappointed by the
lack of interest in the bond referen
dum and the lack of knowledge re
garding the school system and its
achievements. The fault lies partly
with the media who believe diat only
bad news is news, and with the citi
zenry.
The educational reform pro
gram instituted by Dr. Murphy has
been responsible for a major part of
this improvement and has laid the
groundwoiic for continued improve
ment in the future. The program is
based on decentralizing the school
system by pliK:ing decision-making
power in the hands of principals and
reducing the power of the down
town bureaucrats. Teachers and
principals are rewarded when their
students do well. Students are in
duced, even [xessured, to study sub
jects that go well beyond the mini-
mums required for graduation. The
watered down courses in core sub
jects are being eliminated. As a re
sult of these efforts, 82% of last
years graduating class went on to
higher education. The number of
students taking and passing Ad
vanced Placement Courses has in
creased by more than 250% in the
past four years. Charlotte-
Mecklenburg public schools now
have the largest international Bac
calaureate program in the world. Its
S3 graduates last year earned an
average of i30,000 in scholarships.
I believe that if we continue
this education reform program the
greatest gains will be made when the
current third and fourth graders
reach high school. In a recent na
tional reading assessment test for
fourth graders conducted by the
U.S. Department of Education,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg public
schools scored well above the na
tional average. For an urban school
system to sc(Mre that well is a truly
outstanding result.
I encourage you to carefully
consider your vote in the school
board races, particularly in Districts
1 and 6 as well as in the at-laige race
where candidates who are hostile to
the very idea of public education are
showing strength. Even mrae impOT-
tant is the fact that a yes vote on the
bond issue is now an absolute ne
cessity. The issues of J(^ Murphy’s
salary and personality and the per
ceived grievances against past
school boards must now be put
aside. They cannot be changed by
the passage or failure of the school
bonds. The facts are that we have
some schools in a shocking state of
disrqMur, 3,000 students per year are
entering the school system and need
a place to sit and leam.
I believe the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg schools have earned
your support. I cannot urge you
strongly enough to vote for the
bonds. FRED MARSH
Charlotte
Ed. Note: Mr. Marsh is not a
candidate in either District 1 or 6.
Deadline for the
December issue is
Friday, November 10!
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