Letters to the Editor: Paid Op/Ed, Spirituality, Pessimism, New Leaf, Circumcision

Published on July 5, 2011

Paul Jeser did the right thing in buying an ad in The Jewish Journal (“I am the Guy who has Been Sending the Mails Calling for a new Editor-in-Chief”, July 1)

Marty Kaplan: Pessimism is the last taboo

By Marty Kaplan
Published on June 27, 2011

If you pay attention to the news, the prospects for the future look grim.

The Doctor Is In

By Bill Boyarsky
Published on January 1, 2004

Listening to Howard Dean reminds me of going to a doctor who starts out the visit by saying, "Bill, you really look sick."

Maybe I do, but I don't want to hear it expressed quite so bluntly. Just like I didn't want to hear Dr. Dean saying in Los Angeles Dec. 15, "The capture of Saddam has not made America safer."

Dean's pessimism was hard to take, especially right after the bearded villain was hauled out of the ground by American troops.

Polls Find U.S. Jews Worried but Calm

By James D. Besser
Published on January 30, 2003

's been a busy few weeks for pollsters who study the Jewish community -- and for the politicians who turn each new survey into partisan fodder. At least three major surveys focused on different issues, but beneath the statistical mumbo jumbo, they pointed to the same thing: the U.S. Jewish public is worried about the unsettled state of the world but not panicked.

The statistical blitz offers hints that Jewish political allegiances may be softening, but despite the best efforts of the political spinmeisters, there is little sign of any wholesale political upheaval. Jewish voters may be receptive to new political messages, but right now they are listening, not buying.

In the American Jewish Committee (AJCommittee) 2002 Survey of Jewish Opinion, two conclusions stand out: fears about anti-Semitism are strong and pessimism about the Middle East peace process is growing.