6 OPINION
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Re: “Rabbis, JCRC trade allegations
with Jacobs, APT,” Jan. 5, p. 1:
I find it more than amusing that the
Mass Board of Rabbis has defamed and
condemned Charles Jacobs, a critic of
one of its member rabbis as being
disrespectful and untoward. People in
my congregation witnessed the MBR
picketing – arm-in-arm with members
of CAIR – in front of my synagogue
over a panel on national security that
discussed a number of issues relative to
the U.S.-Israel relationship. This is more
than disrespectful and untoward. It is
leadership’s abdication of responsibility
to know with whom one is expressly
allying oneself. The MBR brought
enemies of the Jewish people to my
synagogue’s gates and did so without
bothering to review the content of the
program they were picketing, despite
being given the opportunity to do so.
As the ADL has stated, “CAIR’s
stated commitment to ‘justice and
mutual understanding,’ […] is
undermined by its anti-Israel agenda
[…] and CAIR chapters continue to
partner with various anti-Israel groups
that seek to isolate and demonize the
Jewish State.” How interesting that the
MBR condemns Charles Jacobs and
Americans for Peace and Tolerance
while failing to condemn some who are
accused of anti-Semitism.
In 2009, the FBI suspended contact
with CAIR because of evidence
introduced during the Holy Land
Foundation trial (2007-8), which the
FBI believed demonstrated that CAIR
and its founders were part of a group
established by the Muslim Brotherhood
to support Hamas. The trial ended with
guilty verdicts on all charges against
HLF and five of its officers, including a
65-year sentence for Ghassan Elashi, the
founder of CAIR’s Dallas chapter.
“Until we resolve whether there
continues to be a connection between
CAIR or its executive and Hamas, the
FBI does not view CAIR as an
appropriate liaison partner,” the 2009
letter read. This decision was reaffirmed
by the U.S. Department of Justice in
September 2013.
HEADLINES
FROM THE ARCHIVES OF
100 years ago: Jan. 17, 1918
Two New Jewish Labor Commissaries in Russia
75 years ago: Jan. 15, 1943
Gloucester Man Prisoner of Japs
50 years ago: Jan. 18, 1968
Ohabei Shalom Men Cite Red Sox Jan. 23
Discuss “Hippies” on Temple Israel Telecast
25 years ago: Jan. 21, 1993
Building an Eruv: An Eight-Year Project Completed
The entire 115-year history of The Jewish Advocate is available online, with subscribers
getting a 25 percent discount for access to individual articles.
Go to www.thejewishadvocate.com/common/Misc/Archives.html for further information.
Readers respond to “Rabbis, JCRC trade allegations with Jacobs, APT”
As Shakespeare advised, “Give thy
thoughts no tongue, nor any
unproportion’d thought his act.”
(“Hamlet,” Act 1, Scene 3)
RABBI JONATHAN HAUSMAN
Congregation Ahavath Torah
Stoughton
It is instructive that the Board of
Rabbis and the JCRC do not attempt to
refute a single fact presented by Charles
Jacobs; instead, complaining about his
tactics and his temerity to confront
Jewish leaders.
We should all ask of them to state
clearly that any of the following is
incorrect:
“CAIR has a long record of anti-
Israel activity [and] its leadership has
accused Israel of being a racist state
engaged in genocide”; CAIR partners
with “anti-Israel groups that seek to
isolate and demonize the Jewish state”
and has been “linked to Hamas
activity.” (ADL)
In September 2013, the U.S.
Department of Justice reaffirmed the
FBI policy prohibiting non-investigative
cooperation with CAIR.
The charter of Hamas, which is part
of the Muslim Brotherhood, states,
“The day of judgment will not come
about until Muslims fight Jews and kill
them.”
Rabbi Jaffe tells us that the Muslims
invited to his Temple are associated with
organizations whose history or activity
“may be questionable in the minds of
some.” This is astonishing. Is working
toward the destruction of Jews and
Israel “questionable”?
I am sure that the vast majority of
Muslims in Boston are good people
who do not condone terrorism.
Interfaith dialogue is important. I also
have no doubt that Rabbi Jaffe and all
his congregants are good people with
good intentions. I assume they are also
honest and will therefore thank Charles
Jacobs for pointing out the truth about
the organizations represented in their
synagogue.
GEORGE FLESH
Newton
THE JEWISH ADVOCATE
The postings characterize APT as an
“Orwellian” name. I would argue that
it’s much more Orwellian to bring
CAIR (a Hamas front, organization
dedicated to a destruction of state of
Israel and Jews in general!) to a
synagogue, give them a platform and
credibility, and raise money for them.
Isn’t it a modern-day implementation of
Orwell’s “War is peace. Freedom is
slavery. Ignorance is strength”?
And if bringing CAIR to synagogue
was an honest mistake – please deal
with the mistake as Judah did when he
was confronted by Tamar (“She is right;
it is from me”); this is one of the reasons
Judah was chosen to be a leader of the
Jewish people.
VICTOR ZAK, PH.D.
Newton
Concerning the conflict between
Americans for Peace and Tolerance and
the MA Board of Rabbis and JCRC of
Greater Boston, my wish is that our
Jewish organizations work as hard to
build bridges between Jews with
different opinions as they do to build
bridges with the Muslim community.
Charles Jacobs is called a “hater” and
his tactics are questioned but his
concerns are real. The website
“thereligionofpeace.com” for the week
of Dec. 23 – Dec. 29th lists 32 Islamic
terror attacks with 241 killed and 164
injured in 12 countries.
I challenge the congregations of each
synagogue to invite Dr. Jacobs for a
panel discussion with people holding
different points of view. Isn’t that the
way we all talk about handling our
differences … why don’t we actually do
it instead of name calling?
LINDA MCGRATH
Hampstead, N.H.
It was distressing to read about the
sniping at Charles Jacobs.
Charles Jacobs is driven
compulsively to advocate on behalf of
our Jewish community and our Jewish
homeland, where he is greatly
appreciated by those who are aware of
The Jewish Advocate encour-
ages letters from our readers.
Letters should be no longer than
250 words and sent exclusively
to The Advocate. Please include
your name and town, and a tele-
JACOB De HAAS 1902-1917
JOSEPH G. BRIN 1917-1952
ALEXANDER BRIN 1917-1980
his activism. That passion sometimes
leads him to say and write things that
may make some uncomfortable, but
those made to feel uncomfortable
would best serve us all with some
introspection.
I’ll admit that I have sometimes
wished Jacobs had been less blunt, but
that’s something that comes with the
territory when someone is as passionate
as he is. The Jewish people would be
better served if our rabbis and JCRC,
rather than criticizing Charles Jacobs,
put that effort into figuring out how to
cultivate more Jews to be as committed
as he is.
ALAN STEIN
Natick
The Rabbinate has banded
together to criticize one man, Dr.
Charles Jacobs of Americans for
Peace and Tolerance, who calls upon
our community to look upon the
world with realism, uncluttered with
the slogans of political correctness,
and take action to identify our
enemies and ally with our friends.
The vilification of Jacobs by the
Rabbinate is an example of moral
narcissism based on political
liberalism in which the compulsion
to be so perfectly tolerant is so
powerful that it obliterates any
Jewish self-interest and ignores the
duty to protect our own people and
even our own children.
Hillel’s ethical statement, “If I am
not for myself, who will be for me?
But if I am only for myself, who am
I? If not now, when?” is familiar to
us all. We have probably heard it
from the same rabbis who oppose
Jacobs. However, what the rabbis
have done is ignore the first question
and acted as if the only important
lesson is to be for our enemies. The
critical point is that the criticism
hurled at Jacobs is conclusory; the
usual labels favored by political
correctness, and neglects to actually
debate the real issues; i.e., the
objectionable lesson plans and
speakers. Ironically, the rabbis have
LETTERS POLICY
phone number (for verification
purposes, not for publication).
We will withhold your name and
address upon request.
We reserve the right to edit
letters for length.
PUBLISHERS
JOSEPH G. WEISBERG 1980-1984
BERNARD M. HYATT 1984-1990
GRAND RABBI Y.A. KORFF 1990-
JANUARY 12, 2018
concentrated on trying to deprive
Jacobs of his right to free speech.
The chorus of rabbis has been
graded by the 2013 Pew Research
Center study of Jewish
demographics that should have been
a call for self-evaluation.
ROBERT SNIDER
Christians and Jews United for Israel
In 2007, the Muslim American
Society assumed full control of
ISBCC, and the real name for
ISBCC is Muslim American Society-
Boston.
The Muslim American Society
was a proud sponsor and supporter
of the Jerusalem Forever Capital of
Palestine Rally that occurred this
past December in Washington. The
fact is that the Muslim American
Society refuses to recognize Israel’s
right to have Jerusalem as its capital.
The fact is that the Muslim
American Society refuses to
recognize the Jewish connection to
the Temple Mount. The Muslim
American Society is no friend of
Israel and the Jewish people.
The JCRC has demonstrated its
complete political impotence by
failing to enact anti-BDS legislation
in Massachusetts, and it is far past
the time to abolish the JCRC. The
Massachusetts Board of Rabbis on
its website makes the exceedingly
presumptuous claim “to speak with a
single voice on behalf of our Jewish
community,” and unbelievably, on
that website is a statement declaring
solidarity and support for the
viciously anti-Semitic Black Lives
Matter movement. It is clearly
evident that the MBR failed to
perform even the most perfunctory
research regarding the ISBCC, and is
totally ignorant regarding the
policies of the Muslim American
Society. Judaism is a religion, not a
set of political beliefs and Rabbis
should stay out of politics.
ANDREW M. GORDON
Newton
Email letters to
Editorial@TheJewishAdvocate.com
or mail them to The Jewish Advo-
cate, 15 School St., Boston, MA
02108.