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May 19 , 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels March 2, 2004 Editors note: Because of the many letters taking issue with a guest forum by Marie Arvette, we run those letters today, and in fairness allow her a brief response. Observations of Jews are wrong In Marie Arvette's Feb. 20 letter to the editor, she states "the majority members of our Defense Department and those who promoted and directed the war in Iraq are Zionist Jews." Actually, there are very few Jews in senior policy positions and none among the very top foreign-policy decision makers: Bush, Cheney, Powell, Rumsfeld, and Condoleezza Rice are all Protestants. British PM Tony Blair, the most influential non-American, is also Protestant. As for the general public, before the war, polls consistently showed Jews slightly less in favor of the war than the overall population. However, Jewish intellectual and political figures could be found in both pro-war (eg. Elie Wiesel and Sen. Joe Lieberman) and anti-war camps (eg. Noam Chomsky and Sen. Carl Levin). Ms. Arvette's facts about and representations of Jews are simply dead wrong. Eliza Kauder Ashland Article reveals ignorance Marie Arvette (2-20-04) attempts, in an article occupying three columns, to demonstrate her knowledge of religion. Unfortunately, she reveals her underlying ignorance by expressing her contempt for Jews. Maynard Telpner Ashland Forum was an anti-semitic tactic Do I detect in Marie Arvette's remarks in her letter of 2/20 about "Jewish Ideologues," an attempt to characterize Jews by the reputation of a few of their co-religionists? Something akin to the small number of Jews "offset by the broad power of" Jewish international financiers like the Rothschilds or the "broad power" of communist Jews like Marx and Trotsky. It's an old anti-Semitic tactic to associate Jews with a political enemy so as to reap a benefit from a universal prevalence of judophobia. Shades of the Protocols of Zion. Kenneth Wilson Talent Tidings was wrong to publish Last week, Joschka Fischer, Germany's foreign minister said, "We must never have a situation where an anti-Semite can threaten Jews without the majority standing up and protesting". He was addressing a Brussels conference called in response to fears that anti-Jewish prejudice is again rising dangerously across the continent. In this spirit, I thus stand up and protest the classic anti-Semitic stereotypes about Israel and the Jews including conspiracy theories and the age-old myth of Jewish power and influence contained in Marie Arvette's Letter to the Editor on Feb. 20. While the European press has been filled with anti-Semitic references, it was disconcerting to see them in a mainstream U.S. newspaper like the Ashland Daily Tidings. David Folmar Ashland Arvette, not faith objectionable Marie Arvette declared, "Religion per se is not objectionable." Well, thank God. I am comforted. And thank God, too, for giving some Jews the brains to do the neuroscience that turns her on. Gerry Mandell Ashland Judaism unfairly characterized Judaism has shunned proselytizing and conversion throughout its long history. In fact, rabbis are instructed to place obstacles before those wishing to convert and to discourage those interested in doing so. It is quite odd that Ms. Arvette in her Guest Forum on Feb. 20 would bring up such a false charge when the usual argument is that Jews and Judaism are so closed and exclusive. It is this charge which has been used repeatedly over the centuries to justify attacks upon those of the Jewish faith for their sense of separateness. Looks like a case of damned if you do and damned if you don't. Carol Sunahara Ashland 'Anti-semitic' out of context Relax everyone! I am not, nor will I ever be, anti-Semitic. Because Michael Hays took issue with my placement of Judaism in competition with Christianity and Islam, I cited as one example of Jewish influence in our society the large number of Zionist Jews holding powerful positions in our government. Space limitation here precludes a lengthy exposition of facts showing that hard-right ideologues, Jews and non-Jews alike, direct U.S. foreign policy following the blueprint for America's global dominance produced by the Project for the New American Century. An Internet search of PNAC will yield a surfeit of articles detailing the strategy involved and identifying participants in this dangerous world domination enterprise. (Start at Google.com.) The thrust of my argument is that people blinded by political or religious ideologies select "facts" supportive of a policy or belief and reject all assertions that do not support a preconceived outcome. Science, by contrast, starts with a logical hypothesis, unencumbered by prior beliefs, and rejects that hypothesis if it does not fit the facts. Humanity is best served, it seems, by building on a body of knowledge that has a firm foundation in reality rather than perpetuating dogmas that for centuries have contributed to backwardness and unnecessary suffering. Incidentally, I greatly admire Jewish intellectuals, including Noam Chomsky, and especially those making important contributions to science. Marie Arvette Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams