Home
In this issue
May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review July 2, 2004 /13 Tamuz, 5764

Rivers of Babylon Piece Creates Flood of Reader Letters —Here's My Answer to a Few

By Nate Bloom

Printer Friendly Version

Email this article


http://www.jewishworldreview.com | I have received quite a few e-mails since the first piece I wrote on Jewish soldiers who died serving in Iraq was published on JWR. More than half were from people, Jewish and non-Jewish, who simply thanked me for highlighting the life (and heroic deaths) of the 9 soldiers.


Three letters standout in my mind as worthy of further comment. The nice thing about the Internet is that, unlike newspapers, "space" is never an issue and I do have the space to follow-up.


First, one gentleman, who identified himself as a pro-Israel Catholic, asked whether "my tears" were only for Jewish soldiers. Sadly, he misread the thrust of the piece. Personally, of course, I honor and mourn all American and allied soldiers who were killed-in-action in Iraq or Afghanistan. Their lives are of no lesser value than the life of an American Jewish soldier. I would venture to say that virtually everyone in the American Jewish community feels the same way.


The title of the piece: "More Tears By the Rivers of Babylon" was an allusion to the very famous line in the Bible (Psalms 137:1-6):


"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, we also wept, when we remembered Zion..."


The mourners in the above quote were the Jews of ancient Israel who were forced into exile in the land of Babylon (situated in today's Iraq) when Babylon conquered ancient Judea in 586 BCE. The Babylonians destroyed the First Temple in Jerusalem and carried away most of the population into Babylonian exile. (In 538 BCE, the ancient Persians conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to what-is-now-Israel and re-build the Jerusalem Temple).


Obviously, ancient Jewish exiles in Babylon were not in the same position as American Jewish soldiers dying in what-was-once Babylon —but the poetic parallel was so obvious —"more tears in Babylon" — that I used the allusion. It certainly did not mean that I did not mourn the deaths of non-Jews.



Donate to JWR


As I told the letter writer, I originally wrote this piece for a largely Jewish audience — the readers of the Forward, a Jewish newspaper. Newspapers for smallish minority groups naturally tend to focus on the actions of members of that group. I am sure that publications for groups as various as Armenian Americans and Japanese Americans have covered the Iraq war from the perspective of their group (soldiers fighting in Iraq — that sort of thing.)


My purpose was simply to spotlight and honor a particular group of soldiers that, naturally enough, are of special interest to a largely Jewish audience. Really, it is not much different from the purpose behind the monument near the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington that honors the women who served in Vietnam. I am sure that the people who worked to erect this monument did not mean to imply that the combat deaths of the men who served in Vietnam were "lesser" — or to exalt women above men. The monument was simply meant to put a spotlight on the service of a particular group.


The second letter came from a woman who asked me to also list the Jewish service personnel who won the Purple Heart (i.e., were wounded) in Iraq. I told her that this was an impossible task. As stated in the piece, the Defense Department no longer keeps records on the religion of military personnel. However, full obituaries on those killed can be found on the Internet and often an obituary will mention that someone is Jewish, Catholic, Baptist, etc. —in connection with the funeral notes. I found a few Jewish soldiers through these obituaries. Also, three of these soldiers were profiled in Jewish newspaper pieces. Two others were mentioned in a general newspaper article about New Jersey Jewish War Veterans post being re-named in their honor. I also eventually compared notes with the Jewish War Veterans and we shared names.


As you can see, it took some work just to "find" these nine soldiers. Newspaper articles about the wounded virtually never mention the faith of the wounded soldier. One exception is Army Specialist Joe Kashnow, of Baltimore, an Orthodox Jewish soldier who was severely wounded in Iraq and helped found an organization called "The Jewish Soldier Foundation." which aims to help Jewish service personnel in a variety of ways. His site is found at http://www.jewishsoldier.org/


I also recommend "Jews in Green", a site for Jewish military personnel. They happen to link to my JWV Iraq article, but I discovered that after discovering the site. An article on Joe Kashnow can be found on this site, too.


Mentioning the above sites is not meant to diminish, in any way, the great work that the Jewish War Veterans do on behalf of active and retired Jewish military personnel


The third letter is short enough to post in full. The author, "James," took issue with my quotation from Cheryl Waldman of the Jewish War Veterans, who said that some "Jewish service personnel are flying under the radar because it might cause problems in their unit or, more seriously, become known to the enemy."


"James" writes:


"I served in Iraq for one year and met many Jewish servicemen and women. In fact, a very close friend of mind is Jewish, served with me in Iraq, and she did nothing to hide her faith but rather proudly proclaimed it. More to the point, at least as the 101st Airborne Division was concerned, our Jewish Chaplain gave Jewish services openly, in front of thousands of non-Jewish soldiers, in the Mosul International Airport Terminal. Believe me, in a combat zone the last thing you are worried about is the religion of the guy next to you. On the other hand, I knew that many of our Jewish servicemen and women did not reveal their Jewishness to the Iraqis. Iraqis are notoriously anti-Semitic and believe everything is a "Jewish conspiracy". With that said, if our soldiers were suspect of any particular religious group among our soldiers, it was the Muslims. This was even more so after one of our own Muslim Soldiers, Sergeant Ackbar, attacked the 101st Airborne Divisions 2nd Brigade in Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait. Just wanted to set the record straight."


As I told "James," I was simply quoting Ms. Waldman. The piece was originally written for the Forward and space is an issue in a newspaper. I couldn't really qualify her remarks about "problems in the unit" in the space that I had.


My sense from Ms. Waldman, and from articles in the Jewish press interviewing Jewish soldiers, is that "problems in the unit" appear to be almost non-existent. Moreover, "James" is quite correct: Jewish services for military personnel are held openly in Iraq.


However, let's take a common sense perspective that most American Jews know from personal experience and I think it was the type of situation/mindset that Ms. Waldman was most alluding to.


Unless you live in a heavily Jewish enclave, most American Jews are bound to hear a few anti-Semitic remarks in their life. Most are made when the speaker doesn't know a Jew is present. Mostly it is stuff like he "Jewed me down." But even in this day and age, some Jewish kids have a hard time with bullying —especially when they are, say, the one or two Jewish kids in their high school. I can think of three young Jewish American entertainers who grew up in mostly non-Jewish towns who have told interviewers that they experienced hateful remarks while in school: Paul Rudd (best known as Phoebe's husband on "Friends"); Sarah Silverman, a well known comedian/actress; and Debra Messing, of "Will and Grace."


Well, there is no denying the fact that Jews are a small minority in any American military unit. Let's assume you are a Jewish guy with no religious training and Jewishness is not that important to you. You want to avoid any possibility of being the butt of one idiot anti-Semite in your unit —or standing out as different in any way — so you "fly under the radar." Or maybe you were one of the people, like the actors above, who experienced bullying in school. So you decide that while in the military — you'll "stay in the closet" and avoid any possibility of dealing with 'crap' again.


Likewise, there is no question but that Jewish military personnel, Jewish journalists, and other Jews in Iraq face the real possibility of harsher treatment if captured by the insurgents. Well, maybe some of the Jewish service personnel keep their Jewishness secret in case they are captured. That way there is no one who is captured with them who is put in the horrible position of "giving them up" under duress. If their combat buddies don't know they are Jewish, they have no secret to give up.


How many Jewish service personnel "fly under the radar" because of this factor? It's impossible to say.


However, I should say that the letter from "James" was wonderful and I believe that he is representative of the vast majority of American service personnel. The only part that troubles me is that Muslim-American soldiers are subject to some suspicion by their peers. I understand the point and it is not totally irrational. Still, I am a bit troubled by the image of a patriotic Muslim-American soldier having to "doubly" prove his patriotism. Perhaps, without letting down our "rational guard," we as Americans should resolve to give all Americans a fairly large benefit of the doubt in regard to their patriotism — until such time as their words and/or actions raise really rational doubts. (Recognizing, of course, that there is much more room for "patriotic dissent" in civilian life than in the military.)


Today, July 1, I read the obituary of a Muslim-American soldier who was just killed in action in Iraq. Yes, of course, I mourn his death.


From the time of Washington's Continental Army — which we remember on July 4th — until the present day —the American military has been a great crucible of "Americaness." Americans of all backgrounds get to know one and other and the sacrifice of each "new" immigrant group to America —in the form of war casualties —earns them respect among other Americans. It is very hard to maintain that this group, or that group, should be treated unfairly in civilian life when they have bled on the battlefield for this country.


To the best of my knowledge, no American ethnic group (including Native Americans) in American history has not "stepped up to the plate" and failed to sacrifice their sons and daughters when called "to the colors." Therefore, it is not rational to believe that the Sergeant Ackbar that James refers to is representative of the vast majority of Muslims currently serving in the armed forces.


Wars both unite and divide nations. If we remember the sacrifice of all the Americans in the military —of whatever religion or ethnicity —perhaps we can resolve to treat each other with less suspicion and with more civility as we debate political issues. After all, the right to disagree is part of the Constitution that these fallen service people swore an oath to defend.

Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributing Nate Bloom is editor of www.Jewhoo.com, a web site that covers famous Jews in the arts, sports, and sciences. A long planned overhaul of the site will begin in the not-too-distant future. This may include a name change.

Comment by clicking here.

© 2004, Nate Bloom.