Letters to the Editor
Comments should be sent to our editor-in-chief Adena Potok
at editor @ pjvoice.com. Please
include name, address and phone number for identification
purposes.
Danish Cartoons
It seems that each week there is a new report of violent
demonstrations in protest of the "Danish
Cartoons" of Mohammed. American papers have exhibited
uncharacteristic restraint (or is it self-censorship) in refusing to
print all but perhaps the most inflammatory cartoon. As a result,
the American people remain victims of propaganda rather than
recipients of information. The media are the direct cause of this.
We rarely hear whether those rioting against the cartoons have
actually seen them. Of course, they have not. We don't really
know how they would respond to the actual images, and we are not
likely to find out. The riots and deaths are not due to the
cartoons. They are due to leaders who invoke an unseen evil and prey
on the xenophobia of their ill-informed constituents.
If the media are to appear even slightly credible they must stop
referring to the evil outcomes of the cartoons. The cartoons are an
excuse, not a cause, for the rioting. Responsible media would
uncover the truth and report it, not merely repeat the stories they
are told.
-- Dr. Kenneth J. Gorelick, Newtown Square, PA
Publisher's note: Elsewhere
in this issue of the Philadelphia Jewish Voice, read more
thoughts of the Danish cartoon controversy.
Literally Living Judaism: Organ
Donation With LifeSharers
More than half of the people who need an organ transplant in the United States will die before they get one. Most of these deaths are needless. Americans bury or cremate about 20,000 transplantable organs every year. Over 6,000 of our neighbors suffer and die needlessly every year as a result.
There is a simple solution to the organ shortage -- give organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.
Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. About 60% of the organs transplanted in the United States go to people who haven't agreed to donate their own organs when they die. People who aren't willing to share the gift of life shouldn't be eligible for transplants as long as there is a shortage of organs.
Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. They do this through a form of directed donation that is legal in all 50 states and under federal law. Anyone can join for free at
www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. LifeSharers has 3,818 members, including members in all 50 states and teh District of Columbia. Over 300 of our members are minor children enrolled by their parents.
-- David J. Undis, Executive Director, LifeSharers, Nashville, TN
No Vote On Alito
I know that this article may have a few readers who agree with the author (may). I can only
hope that I am wrong, and I have been wrong before. There has been more than a hesitancy
on the part of many Jews to give the Republican party the benefit of the doubt so it would not
surprise me that this is another example if for no other reason than a
Republican nominated
this judge. But that is a very poor reason to doubt someone with such credentials as this man, and who has never demonstrated any extremism as the opposition party is implying.
Would any fair minded Jew suspect this man as having any part whatsoever in the increase
of children dying from Asthma as Senator Kennedy implied in a recent ranting on the senate floor? As ridiculous as that sounds, the lack of sound reasoning clouds the actions of many
Jews today. Judge Alito does not represent a threat to Judaism, to separation of church and
state, and certainly not to the size nor growth of government. And for Jews who still intend to
vote predominately for Democrats and the Democratic party, why? Do you really think that
the protection of Jewish interests is better off in Democratic control, or Republican control?
I can tell you this, the nation of Israel is not confused about that question. Israel knows that
they have true friends that they can depend on in the Republican party.
-- Paul Joseph, Solon, Ohio
The Philadelphia Jewish Voice welcomes the submission of articles and letters to
the editor editor @ pjvoice.com. We cannot
publish every submission we receive. We also reserve the right to edit
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never intentionally distort the author's intent.
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