Letters to the Editor

Judaism and Zionism

To the Editor:

I was extremely disappointed and offended by Dan Fishback's column ("Zionism and the politics of 'we,'" The Daily Pennsylvanian, 2/11/02). For a columnist whose editorial existence revolves around fighting those who disparage his sexual preference, his article was remarkably hypocritical, as he so readily disparaged those of us who are Jewish and Zionist.

For many of us, our Jewish identity is not rooted in our Bar or Bat Mitzvah parties, nor is it based upon alcohol binges and hook ups over a summer vacation.

Rather, Judaism offers a complete religious and cultural experience. It provides a comprehensive framework for a rewarding and meaningful life.

In the future, Fishback should refrain from projecting his lack of understanding and simplistic notions of religion upon the rest of the Penn community.

Ben Siscovick

College '04

The writer is president of the Orthodox Community at Penn.



To the Editor:

Obviously, even Dan Fishback recognizes that for some reason -- which he cannot understand -- he feels a connection to Israel. His emphasis on the word "we" is ample evidence.

The question of a homeland and of a national identity is a complex one. But Fishback simplifies it into stark black and white terms.

He presents us with a false dichotomy. For him, a connection to Israel can be manifested in two ways: either it is shallow, centered on summer romances, drinking and smoking pot, or it is fundamentalist militancy.

I am a Zionist. I have visited Israel no less than eight times. I plan on moving there soon after I graduate.

Israel provides me with more than happy summer vacations; it provides me with an essential element of my identity as a Jew. I do feel that I have a right to live in Israel, a right to live in the birthplace of my religion. Does that make me a militant and fundamentalist extremist?

There are many options on the spectrum of Zionism; there is much beyond ambivalence and fundamentalism.

I know I feel love, pride and joy when considering my relationship with Israel. I was sorry to see that Dan does not seem to identify with any of those feelings.

Debra Berdugo

College '03



To the Editor:

Where has Dan Fishback found the authority to judge "us" with his broad generalizations?

Some of us, American Jews, that is, go to synagogue while our families do not and enjoy it. Some of us had our Bar Mitzvahs at a small hall with a few relatives because we did not have "fiscal muscles" to flex.

True, for some of us, our Bar Mitzvahs were just big parties. And yet we say "we." And we are still justified in feeling a connection to Israel. We are a part of a people, and Israel is our land -- a land where no one can inflict his or her will on us.

Someone whose father fled pogroms in Russia can surely appreciate the importance of a place that you never have to flee, regardless of how observant you are. Protecting this place is not extremism, and it is certainly not revenge.

There is an alternative explanation of "we." I do not hang on to an arc of justice. I cannot jump that high. But I say "we" because, where I was born, "they" did not like us very much, and it was a group of "us" that got my family out.

I come from a place where the word "Jew" was an insult, because it meant second-class citizen.

It was the Jewish communities of America and Europe who pooled their resources to bring millions of Jews, including me, out of Russia.

I say "we" because "we" are always there for each other and will always help each other, doing things for each other no one else would have, whether we had a big Bar Mitzvah or not.

Gary Altman

College and Wharton '04

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