Community Magazine November 2008

14 Community magazine cover somehow equated the two men. Notwithstanding the overwhelming out- pour of concern that some readers would misunderstand the cover, based on all of the feedback we received and inter- views which have been conducted, the theory that readers would actually come to think that there was some common- ality between Obama and Osama, did not bear out. It seems that our readers are too sophisticated and well informed to be lulled by a simple juxtaposition of photographs of Senator Obama and Osa- ma Bin Laden. So while I encourage our schools to continue to teach tolerance, based on the feedback we received, I can’t agree with the suggestion that our community is insensitive to racial bigotry. For the record, the cover imagery was not designed or intended to equate or associate Senator Obama with Osama Bin Laden. Neither the design- ers who worked on the cover graph- ics nor I, had any intention to imply anything other than an adversarial relationship between Obama and Bin Laden. Perhaps because the photo of Bin Laden doesn’t make him look sin- ister enough, or maybe because Sena- tor Obama has been accused of being a Muslim and an Arab so many times, some people got the wrong impression. Thetruepurposeofthecoverwastoevoke questions about how Senator Obama would deal with three of the issues most important to our community: yeshiva education, the economy, and terrorism. We also recognize that many readers were not pleased to see a likeness of a scoundrel like Osama Bin Laden on the cover of Community. The purpose of using such imagery was to emphasize the criticality of the war on terror, which had taken a backseat to the economy, in the presidential race. Aside from the economic and social issues at stake in the November elections, we continue to face a very real existential threat from a hideous criminal who remains at large. While we regret if anyone was offended by the image, we hope that the wide attention garnered by the cover served its ultimate purpose of reducing voter apathy and prompted our community to vote in greater numbers. COMMITTED TO COMMITTEES I read with interest Mr. Hidary’s [letter about co-ed committees]. He is absolutely right that men and women need to act with professionalism in every situation, including volunteer work, social occasions and so on. However, anyone who has ever worked with hesed committees knows that there are rarely enough members to establish the suggestions he is proposing. It is hardly feasible to have a husband/wife team on even the largest committees. More often than not, one spouse’s membership in a committee means that the other needs to stay home to hold down the fort…And the time slots Mr. Hidary suggested for women – weekday afternoons – are totally impractical for both working and at-home moms. The letter also seems to focus only on the problem with organizations employing men and women volunteers. However, men and women have to know social boundaries in all situations – something they need to learn well before they join any committees... L. F. COUNTERPOINT: Though it's true that Mr. Hidary’s proposal to separate co-ed committees represents a compromise on convenience, it may be insulting to suggest that most volunteers are not committed enough to their cause that a little bit of extra inconvenience for the sake of propriety would shake their re- solve to help their chosen organization. It should also be pointed out that in the proposal, the men’s and women’s com- mittees would meet at a different times so that there would always be someone around to “hold down the fort.” SEND YOUR LETTERS TO: MAIL: COMMUNITY MAGAZINE 1616 OCEAN PKWY BROOKLYN, NY 11223 FAX: 718-504-4246 EMAIL: letters@community m .com Letters submitted become the property of Community Magazine and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Letters may be edited and revised for length, style and grammar before publication. All submissions are considered for publication unless otherwise requested. Preferential consideration is given to brief comments and insights that relate directly to published content. L E T T E R S