Community Magazine December 2019

ISRAEL ELECTIONS Last month’s article about the election process in Israel (Israel Elections: What Happens Next? And Why It Matters) was a clear, but troubling analysis. A left-wing coalition, led by Blue & White, does not seem like a reassuring option. It certainly would seem that a right-wing National Unity coalition with delicate complexities and hand-holding is a more realistic option. Yet, it appears that this is not going to happen and new elections (the third in a year) are inevitable. A third election, given the Iranian strategic encirclement threat Israel has to survive, can lead to disastrous consequences for Israel. More elections leads to exponentially greater political and security instability with each election cycle. It certainly seems that Netanyahu is the only person capable of forming a government right now. Morris M. ------------------------------- Considering that Israel is so sophisticated in so many areas – it is quite surprising to see how inept their election process is. Israel could stop its cycle of frequent elections and fragile coalition governments by electoral reform.  Candidates for the Knesset all run at large and voters don’t even vote for individual candidates, but for a party.  The winning candidates are selected from lists determined by the parties.  An obvious reform would be to set a higher threshold for parties to be represented in the Knesset. For example, a party would have to win 5% of the total vote to win seats in the Knesset. This would reduce the number of parties and would probably make it more likely to form stable governments. Jimmy C. STRAIGHT TALK As a woman reading last month’s column of Straight Talk, which discussed the topic of valuing the woman’s role as a mother and housewife, I can totally appreciate women who “choose” to stay at home and raise their children. They are to be valued and respected. I do think that in today’s society the value of the homemaker is underappreciated, and I don’t exclude myself from that category. But in my humble opinion, I thank Gd that I do have the choice to choose a career or choose the typical “homemaker” life. It is also my opinion that those who restrict women to ONLY the homemaker role are not being realistic. The idea that “the woman belongs in the home, as a homemaker” is turning a blind eye to the reality that is the world we live in. What about the woman who is married to a man who is not making enough money by himself to support the family? What about the woman who already married off her children and would like to reach out into the community and “nurture” in other ways, such as teaching or counseling? One must think of the practicalities of life as well as questioning what constitutes a woman’s “proper” spiritual/ social place. Roz T. FAREWELL MOZELLE Even though I’m an adult man (father of 6), one of my favorite features in the magazine is Mozelle Forman’s column, Healthy Homelife. I was disappointed to find out that last issue was her final column. Her voice of reason combined with her articulate way of expressing her thoughts and experiences was something I looked forward to reading every month. Even when I disagreed with her views (which was not often) I respected her opinion. Thank you Mozelle for sharing your wisdom and knowledge with your fellow community members. I’m sorry to see you go, but I do wish you much success in your new career as an artist. Hatzlacha ! Dave E. NOVEMBER 2019 ISSUE Tell us what you really think! Send us a letter! 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. EMAIL: letters@CommunityM.com WEB: www.CommunityM.com FAX: 718-504-4246 POST: Community Magazine 1616 Ocean Pkwy Brooklyn, NY 11223 l tters Salute to theHighSchoolGraduatesof2019 >Page40 VolumeXVIIINumber10 Sivan -Av5779 July 2019 COMMUNITY MasqueradingGreatness WordsofRabbiEli J.Mansour SalutingEliCohen,An IsraeliHero –Part 1 DaveGordon What Are You Going To Do, If You Don’t Know What To Do? KollelOhrHalacha –Training theRabbisofTomorrow >Page48 VolumeXIXNumber2 Why Is ItThat SomeParentsAlmost NeverSeemOverwhelmed? TammySassoon ,M.S.ED A Historical Look at LIFE ALEPPO Cheshvan5780 -November2019 Breaking the ImaginaryChains Wordsof RabbiEli J.Mansour IN 16 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE