Opuscula Musical chairs At 30,000 feet

 

ISRAEL'S EL AL airline is being sued because a flight attendant, nee' stewardess, asked an 81 year old woman to change seats,

She was offered another seat in the same business section of the plane when an extremist, and ignorant, black hat objected sitting next to a woman.

IN TRUTH, I empathize with the woman. If the black hat objected to sitting near a woman, HE should have been moved even if that necessitated moving him to the "cheap" seats although on El Al, even the "cheap" seats are expensive.

The woman suggested that El Al, and perhaps all other airlines flying to Israel, have a haredi (extremist black hat) section.

During the seat selection process, passengers would be asked:

I'm a man [ ] woman [ ] who

  (a) only will sit next to another man [ ] woman [ ]

   (b) will NOT sit within 2 rows of children

   (c) must sit close to the lavatories/betai shemush

   (d) doesn't care where I sit as long as I sit by the window [ ] on the aisle [ ].

  (e) does [ ] does not [ ] want to sit next to my family

Not all black hats are ignorant extremists; some are downright delightful and reasonable people. No, they won't shake hands with a person of the other sex nor will they willingly listen to a woman's voice in song - they are nice people who simply never learned to control their sexual proclivities (or perhaps even to acknowledge them).

The suit against El Al is not the first complaint against the company regarding seating, nor is El Al the only company to suffer the extremists' folly. It seems that Delta also is being victimized by the black hats.

Perhaps the airlines should offer "haredi only" flights and treat them as charter flights meaning that the plane stays on the ground until all seats are sold. The flight could offer three seating options:

  (1) All men and boys

  (2) All women, girls, and pre-bar mitzvah age boys

  (3) Family

Sub-divisions might be needed in the mens' section accommodating different minyan start times: HaNetz, Chabad, etc.

The charter airline would need "regional" feeder flights from major black hat concentrations - Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami - to New York where they would board a jumbo for the flight to Israel where they could board segregated buses to Mea Sharim or Bnai Brak.

Recently there have been several stories that "made the Web" concerning black hats on flights to places other than Israel (London, as case in point). Perhaps the flights to Israel could be routed via one or another European center, e.g. London, Madrid, Rome, Warsaw.

Israeli passport control, instead of being divided into citizens and non-citizens would be divided for these charter flights into either Men and Women with children or by black hat sect, there seem to be one for each European shetel.

At least the charter company would not have to worry about meals; each black hat community seems to have its own level of kashrut that, of course, is "higher" than any other black hat group's kashrut. (Even El Al's kashrut is too casual for many.)

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ALSO SEE

Woman, 81, sues El Al for moving her at haredi man's request

When a Plane Seat Next to a Woman Is Against Orthodox Faith

Delta Flight Delayed After Ultra Orthodox Jews Refuse To Take Off Until Women Are Removed From Their Rows

Opuscula Arming Israel

 

UNTIL RECENTLY, the average Israeli was prohibited from owning a firearm.

There were some exceptions, the main one being that a person who wanted a license to own/carry a firearm had to be an active or reserve IDF officer.

However, since Israel's neighbors in Hamasland and the "Palestinian" areas insist on attacking Israelis, there is pressure to loosen the restriction on firearms.

Shlomo Cohen cartoon from Israel HaYom online news

THE CURRENT thinking, which is opposed by the Left, is that soldiers should take their weapons home with them.

The Left claims that terrorists will steal the guns and use them against Israelis.

But consider:

* The terrorists already have ready access to weapons - guns and knives and vehicles

* Back in the day - circa 1975 - soldiers routinely took their weapons with them off base. In point of fact, they were told to keep their weapons with them when they left base.

I well remember one of my brothers-in-law shelping his weapon - an Uzi - with him when he visited his parents 'Course his parents lived in Bet Shean, up against the border with Jordan and this was before the Israel-Jordan peace agreement.

(Even then, the only gun a civilian might be allowed to own was a "two-two" a .22 caliber).

What I fail to remember is the theft of soldiers' weapons. I'm sure some weapons were stolen or otherwise "lost," but that was the exception rather than the rule.

I don't know when soldiers stopped taking their weapons with them when they left the base, and I am not privy to WHY the rule apparently was changed.

I do know that the police are woefully under staffed to the point that they are next to useless to prevent a terrorist attack on an unarmed Israeli (Arab, Jew, or other).

I also know that when citizens are legally armed - as they can be in most U.S. jurisdictions - crime rates, including attacks on persons - drop. I am aware that there are far too many shootings in the U.S., but more than 90% of those shootings are by criminals with illegally obtained weapons.

I don't live in Israel now so I won't try to tell the government what to do about soldiers taking their weapons on leave - or anything else for that matter - but it seems to me returning to what used to be when I DID live in Israel might prove a deterrent to some terrorists; if not a deterrent to people willing to die for their brand of Islam, then at least an armed citizen might be able to send them on their to Allah before they can harm an Israeli (Arab, Jew, or other).

Opuscula Donald Trump And the Jews

 

FOR NON-OBSEREVANT, REFORM, and many Conservative Jews in the U.S., Israel either is not an issue of concern or is way down the list of their personal concerns.

For observant Jews - with a few hasidic exceptions - Israel is the #1 issue.

After Obama proved repeatedly that he was no friend of Israel, 65% to 70% of American Jews voted to re-elect him to continue his anti-Israel record. (See citations at end of article.).

I DON'T BELIEVE we - Jews - should be "one issue" voters.

Israel IS important. Most of us have relatives living there.

But unless the U.S. has a strong government, Israel won't have a strong ally.

It may SOUND provincial, but U.S. Jews MUST consider all the issues with which the president must deal.

Having a president of one party and a Congress dominated by the other does NOT mean nothing will be accomplished. Many presidents have had a Congress of the other party and some got a great deal done.

The above an excerpt from Congress, the President, and Policymaking: A Historical Analysis by Jean Reith Schroedel Successful presidents with opposing-party congresses

From the New York Times

When the Republicans took Congress in 1994, for the first time in almost a half century, Bill Clinton, facing re-election, searched for ways to cooperate with Republicans on domestic policy, such as an overhaul of welfare and the quest for a balanced budget.

After losing the Senate in 1986, which gave the entire Congress to the Democrats, Ronald Reagan worked with the opposition to achieve arms control and other foreign policy measures that helped to end the Cold War. To some extent, Reagan was following the 1947 playbook of Harry Truman. After losing Congress to the Republicans, Truman worked with the other party to enact the foundation stones of his containment policy against the Soviet Union, such as the Marshall Plan and aid to Greece and Turkey.

Because the U.S. has a three-prong government - executive, legislative, and judicial, all of theoretically equal power - the leadership of at least the executive and the legislative branches must - if progress if to be made - work together, even if the executive and the legislative bodies are of different political parties.

A number of presidents have had "opposing party" congresses, and many of them have managed to get progressive legislation passed. Lyndon Johnson, a former senator, was a master of getting his New Frontier bills into law, without resorting to executive orders.

The question facing voters in 2016's presidential race - for both parties - is "Can the nominee work with Congress?"

A same-party president and congress does NOT guarantee an agreeable relationship.

Could Trump work with congress? LBJ was at least as politically INcorrect as Trump, and he was said to be the most successful president in dealing with congress. Trump has no political experience, but he has negotiating experience that will be necessary in dealing with congress if he is elected president.

Rubio and Cruz are senators so they SHOULD know how to deal with congress; that was the basis for LBJ's successes; Johnson was a former senator.

On the other side, Sanders is a long-time senator while Clinton spent 8 years in the Senate before briefly becoming Secretary of State for Obama. Sanders is an avowed Socialist (as was Hubert H. Humphrey) while Clinton is an opportunist (she moved to New York only to run for the senate vacancy) who also violated federal law (emails) and is responsible for the disaster at Benghazi.

Despite their politics, the majority of U.S. non-observant, Reform, and Conservative Jews can be expected to vote against Israel and for either Sanders or his opponent.
REGARDLESS of which candidate eventually moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the new president will have to understand that divisiveness over the last 8 years has severally damaged the nation; it will be the new president's job to find common ground with the congress. Likewise, the congress must be prepared to work with the new president.
America has suffered enough.
Resources:

JStreet

Jewish Week

New York Times

Saint Valentine's Day is "just another day" T"u b'Ab Is Jewish Day of Love

 

SUNDAY IS FEBRUARY 14, the day retailers devote to selling the idea of love, love, love.

For jewelers and restaurants, February 14 is an important sales date.

But it is NOT a Jewish holiday.

It IS, however, a significant date in Jewish history - and U.S. history, too.

THE FIRST "CLUE" we have that Valentine's Day is NOT a Jewish holiday is its name: SAINT Valentine's day. There is speculation there are more than one "Saint Valentine." Perhaps the most popular is the one about St. Valentine of Rome. Since a person canonized as a saint must be Catholic, the Catholic Online should have the best information about the fellow.

Jews remember Saint Valentine's Day not as a day of love but as a day when the French massacred Jews in Strasbourg, France.

According to the web site History Headlines:

In 1349, only a year after an epidemic of Bubonic Plague (Black Death) had devastated Strasbourg, a tide of hatred swept over the city, and public hysteria blamed Jews for “poisoning the wells.” In “retaliation,” about 1,000 Jews were burned to death! (In comparison, only 6 gangsters were murdered in Chicago on February 14, 1929.) What was left of the Jewish population was kicked out of the city.

As if the mass murder was not enough, laws were then enacted that forbade Jews from being within the city after dark, and the 10 o’clock p.m. curfew was sounded by a special horn to ensure this! Incredibly, this policy lasted all the way until the French Revolution! And if that was not enough, a special tax was levied on Jews for any horse they brought into the city, supposedly for pavement maintenance!

In the U.S., probably as forgotten as December 7 (1941), The February 14th of 1929 massacre in Chicago IL when as history.com relates:

(S)even men associated with the Irish gangster George “Bugs” Moran, one of Capone’s longtime enemies, were shot to death by several men dressed as policemen. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, as it was known, was never officially linked to Capone, but he was generally considered to have been responsible for the murders.

When do Jews celebrate the "lovers' holiday"

Jews celebrate the lovers' holiday on t"u b/Ab (the 15th of Av). It's a major change of attitude falling as it does only 5 days after one of Judaism's most prominent days of mourning (9 Ab).

Unlike the common solar calendar, Jewish events are marked according to the lunar calendar; translation, the month of Av typically falls in July or August.

According to the My Jewish Learning web site:

Tu B’Av, the 15th Day of Av, is both an ancient and modern holiday. Originally a post-biblical day of joy, it served as a matchmaking day for unmarried women in the second Temple period (before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.). Tu B’Av was almost unnoticed in the Jewish calendar for many centuries but it has been rejuvenated in recent decades, especially in the modern state of Israel. In its modern incarnation it is gradually becoming a Hebrew-Jewish Day of Love, slightly resembling Valentine’s Day in English-speaking countries.

There is no way to know exactly how early Tu B’Av began. The first mention of this date is in the Mishnah (compiled and edited in the end of the second century), where Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is quoted saying, “There were no better (i.e. happier) days for the people of Israel than the Fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur, since on these days the daughters of Israel/Jerusalem go out dressed in white and dance in the vineyards. What were they saying: Young man, consider whom you choose (to be your wife)?”(Ta’anit, Chapter 4).

The Jewish "lovers' holiday" precedes the Catholic saint's day by several hundred years. On the other hand, the Catholics may have "adopted" the pagan Lupercalia festival; only the name was changed "to protect the innocent." "Converting" pagan festivals to Catholic saints' days (e.g., Easter, Christmas) or Jewish events (e.g., New Year's Day, known to Catholics as the "Feast of the Circumcision," most certainly a Jewish event) in order to make potential converts (before the choice was "the cross of the sword") feel more comfortable in their new religion.

Opuscula Spirit Vacations Address a secret ?

 

I recently wrote (see Walkin' Flyin' to New Orleans) that Spirit Airlines over-charged me for a stowed suitcase (blog entry for February 9, 2016).

I complained to Spirit's Customer Service.

Apologizing for the several days delay in responding to my snail mail letter in which I carefully set out my complaint I got an email stating that Spirit Customer Service couldn't work with me.

Why?

According to a CSR, I have to contact Spirit Vacations; her group won't deal with vacation packages. I was provided with a phone number.

I noted that my letter had been passed around and asked the CSR if the letter carefully documenting my issues couldn't be forwarded to to Spirit Vacations.

Impossible.

Well then, how about a physical address; I am loathe to phone and try to explain to a CSR who may, or may not, (a) have a command of English or (b) care about a customer.

The CSR's reply:

Is the address for Spirit Vacations a state secret?

The address of Spirit headquarters easily is found on the Internet
Spirit Airlines, Inc.
2800 Executive Way
Miramar, FL 33025

The web site Consumerist shows COO Martin Harrison and Tony Lefebvre, SVP of Customer Service working at the HQ address. It also includes their emails, emails that it is safe to conclude are filtered by Executive Assistants.

As of January 6, 2016, according to The Motley Fool web site, Ben Baldanza, CEO from 2006, is out and Robert Fornaro, former CEO of AirTran Airways is in.

Spirit's Management web site lists 17 executives, leading off with new President Chief Executive Officer, and Class III Director Robert Fornaro. Neither Martin Harrison nor Tony Lefebvre, SVP of Customer Service appear on the company's list, and absolutely no contact information other than the HQ address. The only executive with contact information (address, phone number, and email) is DeAnne Gabel, Sr. Director, Investor Relations. Ms. Gabel's name does not appear with the other executives; she's a "director," the others on the page are VPs or higher.

No Customer Service VP is listed on the airline's web site.

To be fair, a Google search for Spirit Airlines VP of Customer Service did turn up, on elliot.org, the name of Heather Lenahen, Director of Customer Relations & Luggage Resolution at the HQ and gave her email as heather.harvey@spiritair.com . Is Ms. Lenahen still with Spirit? Apparently it is hard to know "who's on first" with the company. If she still is a Spirit employee, will she know the Spirit Vacations secret address?

Several pages of complaints about Spirit Airlines may be read at the Corporate Office Headquarters' web site. I'm not sure all of the complaints are valid, but as the old saw goes, Where there is smoke, there is fire.

I'm not complaining about the 2 two-hour flights; they were not exceptional in any respect. I would prefer to ride on a Boeing rather than an Airbus; I have more confidence in the former. My initial complaint was being over-charged for the stowed bag. Now, however, that complaint has been joined by Spirit's Customer Service - nice, polite, but absolutely useless.

3 days in NOLA Walkin' Flyin' To New Orleans

 

THE SPOUSE WANTED TO SEE New Orleans' French Quarter. I had passed through NOLA several times, but never spent any time in town.

So we checked many of the travel sites and ended up with a Spirit Airlines' flight-lodging-rental car package.

diSPIRITed

The fun started when we arrived at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), an airport located neither in Fort Lauderdale nor Hollywood, but in Dania Beach, Broward County's first city.

L-O-N-G lines to get to the Spirit counter to drop off a pre-paid ($30) bag to be stowed in the belly of the Airbus A320 that was to take us to the Big Easy, a/k/a NOLA, Crescent City, and New Orleans.

When we worked our way to the Spirit counter we were told by Agent 65015 that the $30 I paid to get the bag on board was for only one "segment." Since the flight from FLL to New Orleans' (actually Metairie) Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is non-stop, there can be only one segment.

Agent 65015 told me she would "do me a favor" by charging me "only" $20 making the bag price now $50, the amount Spirit charges to check a bag at the counter.

Since arguing with a clerk serves no purpose, I paid and went to await my flight.

A snail mail letter was sent to Spirit HQ in Miramar, FL on our return.

Spirit Customer Service responded with an email telling me that since we had a "vacation package" we would need to contact Spirit Vacations. For how THAT went, see February 10's blog entry: "Spirit Vacations' address a secret?"

The lines for TSA wound outside the terminal, but they moved along rapidly and we were at the gate before the Airbus A320 to New Orleans and Houston arrived. The laptop remained in my backpack and my shoes remained on my feet (unlike the return trip: out with the laptop out and off with the shoes).

Trivia The three letter identifier for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is MSY. It stands for Moisant Stock Yards.

We made it to the "stock yard" on time and collected the rental car from Hertz.

(Almost) Painless Hertz

We rode an open golf-cart type shuttle from the main terminal to the rental car garage and found our way to the Hertz counter. Late January is chilly in the Big Easy.

The woman behind the Hertz counter recommended an upgrade (from my 2015 Kia Rio) to a Chrysler 300; if she'd offered a Dodge Charger I might have reconsidered, but I stayed with the Kia.

Since we have two Hyundai Elantras - from the same stable and equivalent to the Kia Rio - I was happy with Spirit's and Hertz' selection. Comfortable car with a good heater and it took all the street construction in stride. (Winter is roadwork time all across "no snow" regions.)

When I returned the car Hertz informed me I owed more than $55 to cover taxes on the rental. Between state and parish (county) taxes, buying or renting anything in Metairie, where I airport is situated, incurs the local combined tax rate

Louisiana State	4.00%
Jefferson Parish	4.75%
Metairie City	0.00%/TD>
Total	8.75%

If the tax on a Kia was in excess of $55, imagine the tax on a Chrysler 300!

As bad as that is, New Orleans' sales tax is 9%.

Gasoline near the motel in Metairie was $1.41/gallon; Hertz' price was $1.56/gallon. We filled up before returning the car.

Renovating Ramada

Spirit booked us into the Ramada on South I-10 Service Road, a place I found after several hours of misdirections.

Fortunately we were expected; what I did not expect was a "temporary" charge of $200 to cover any damages, losses, or calls made during our stay. The day clerk assured us the charge would be cancelled in "5 to 7 days" - I was left wondering who was collecting the interest.

The room was "OK," if you discount the cold air seeping into the room through the balcony doors (single pane glass?), the noise of the nearby I-10 (single pane glass?) and the renovations within the building. Maid service was fine - once we begged the maid to clean the room. The "continental breakfast" offered a variety of items at the adjacent Ihop - the only problem was that some items, such as dry cereal, were unavailable. Fortunately, the room included both a mini-fridge and a microwave, so a visit to the nearby kosher deli-and-market took care of "dining in" for breakfast and lunch.

I had access to the business center where I could print out the return flight boarding passes.

Curious: Before cell (mobile) phones were carried by everyone from 1 to 100, motels used to generate a good bit of revenue from guests using motel phones for calls. A $5 or more fee for a local call was not uncommon. Now with cell phones, the motel loses the revenue. How does it make it back?

Kosher in "New Orleans"

New Orleans is famous for its crustaceans - crawfish, oysters, and a whole menu of things prohibited to observant Jews - so "going native" was not an option.

We were told there are about 11,000 Jews in "greater New Orleans." Most are Conservative or Reform. The majority of observant Jews reside in Metairie (met-a-rie), a suburb between New Orleans and MSY.

There are four (4) "Orthodox" congregations (of which I am aware) - ubiquitous Chabad (Chabad houses in New Orleans and Metairie), Beth Israel in Metairie, and "Anshe Sfard in New Orleans ." Anshe Sfard is "nusach Sefard"; I'm not certain what that means, but it is not Sefardi or Mizrachi and the Ashkenazi rabbi speaks Ashkenazi - vs. Israeli or Sefardi - Hebrew. Chabad has mikvehs for men and for women.

There are two (2) places in Metairie and one (1) in NOLA that are under supervision: one restaurant, and one deli-market (Metairie) and one waffle place (NOLA); they are listed at http://tinyurl.com/zxnvy93.

We tried two of the three and realized how good we have it in southeast Florida.

To be fair, we have a "slightly larger" observant community here compared to southern Louisiana. (My house is within walking distance of six "orthodox" congregations, two of which are Sefardi; there are at least as many places to eat - both dairy and meat - within the city limits, and three or four kosher markets, also within the city limits.)

NOLA has the "sixth oldest synagogue in the country" in the Touro Synagogue, The original synagogue was built in 1828, 25 years after the Louisiana Purchase. While NOLA was French - the entire city being what now is the French Quarter - only Catholics were allowed to live in the city. (Presumably slaves were not required to be Catholic.) Touro started as a merger between two orthodox congregations: the German Jewish Shangarai Chasset congregation, and the Portuguese (Sephardi) Nefutzot Yehudah congregation. It has been a Reform congregation since 1891.

Seeing the sights

Driving around New Orleans can be complicated, even with a GPS.

NEVER ask anyone for directions. We did and took a 48-mile detour trying to get to the lodging, crossing the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway both ways before ending up back in Metairie where the motel was located. According to Guinness Book of World Records , The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest continuous bridge passing over water, the waters of New Orleans's Lake Pontchartrain to be exact. The bridge is so long that for 8 of its 24 miles, you can't see land in any direction.

We did, eventually, find the motel, but not before experiencing a great deal of frustration.

The best way to get an overview of NOLA is from the top of a Hop On-Hop Off bus - unless, of course, if the day is particularly windy or there is a deluge, both of which occurred during our stay. (There also are seats inside the bus.) A 3-day pass is $39/person - remember, 9% of that is tax - geezers get a $3 discount. All the tours include a knowledgeable docent; catching a different bus, getting off at a stop and getting back on a little later, gives tourists a different docent and that docent's unique perspective. We heard three, the last was best, but all were good.

There is nothing "Jewish" on the ride; in fact, the words "Jew," "Jewish," "Hebrews," and "synagogue" were never heard despite the fact than Jews were present in NOLA from 1757 - until the Spanish kicked them out in 1769; the foregoing compliments of the Virtual Jewish Library.

Keep in mind that "New Orleans" when the first Jews arrived - during French rule - consisted only of the French Quarter - an area well covered by the Hop On-Hop Off tour. The docents were knowledgeable, but I wonder if they even knew about the Jewish presence "back in the day." (If you visit NOLA and ride the bus, ask the docent if he or she knows about Isaac Rodriguez Monsanto or Judah Touro.) The location of the "new" - built in 1908 - Touro synagogue is about 10 blocks west of the Saint Charles - Louisiana avenues tour bus on/off stop.

Big Brothers are watching

The motel provided free WiFi to the rooms and since I'm an Internet junkie, I spent some time online (on line? on-line?)

I normally use Google's Chrome as my browser, with IE as a back-up for the few sites that, foolishly, are IE-specific. I have gmail which I POP down to an email consolidator.

I couldn't get gmail and the consolidator to communicate. Reason: Google was afraid I wasn't me. Why? Because I was logging on from Louisiana rather than my home.

Likewise, my credit card company got nervous when it received bills from someplace other than south Florida. It didn't REJECT any purchases, but it did leave me a phone message to either go online to check the purchases or to call an 800 number to have the purchases verified.

I suppose I should be glad that someone is watching out for me, especially in this day and age of cyber crime. Maybe I should tell gmail and the credit card company that I will be traveling, but that, too, is a (personal) security issue. Caught between the hammer and the anvil or, if you prefer, a rock and a hard spot. Still, Google should be more flexible and understand that people DO travel.

Opuscula Move to Israel, Live dangerously

 

AN "OP-ED" in Israel HaYom titled "No more illusions: Come home is concerned with the dangers Jews face in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and North America.

Written by Isi Leibler, an expat Australian now residing in Jerusalem, we are told that the only safe place for Jews is Israel.

He may be right about Europe, Africa, and Latin America, and perhaps even Canada, but I think he's wrong about Jews in the U.S.

I NEVER WILL WRITE that there is no anti-Semitism, no anti-Jewish feelings, and no anti-Israel groups and individuals in the U.S.

That would be stupid and a blatant lie.

At the same time, it would be equally stupid to write that Jews are safe from the same people - including fellow Jews - in Israel.

So why stay in the U.S.A.>?

Because in the U.S. Jews are able to defend themselves.

Because there is a police presence in the U.S. that is lacking in Israel.

The first "Because" unfortunately does not apply equally across all 50 U.S. states (and Puerto Rico). According to Conservapedia.com, "Only six cities in the United States ban handguns: Washington, D.C., Chicago, and four of its suburbs."

The same source noted that in the author's former homeland, "In Australia, where gun ownership was less widespread and the gun control measures were less strict, there was an immediate increase in robbery and armed robbery after the gun control went into effect in 1996.

The Quora web site disputes this, noting that while there are no outright bans on gun ownership in the U,S., Chicago (Obama's town), New York, and Washington D.C. have regulations that make firearms ownership so onerous that they are essentially bans.

Wikipedia lists gun laws by state.

The only people who are allowed to carry sidearms - revolvers and pistols - in Israel are active or retired IDF officers. A few settlers recently have been allowed to carry weapons, but they are the exception, not the rule.

In the Several States, most citizens are allowed not only to own rifles, shotguns, and sidearms, but they are - after being vetted by the state in which they reside - permitted to carry a concealed weapon. Some states - and more are considering the option - also allow "open carry" - where the firearm is carried where is can be seen.

There have been studies after studies that allege that places where citizens have the right to own - and carry - firearms have LESS crime than places with strict gun control (e.g., Chicago, New York, Washington D.C.). Most anti-gun people - and that includes many Jews - have to admit that most crimes committed with weapons are committed with stolen weapons. The anti-gun people will suggest that the weapons were stolen from the homes of persons legally allowed to own the weapons, ignoring the fact that many weapons, in particular assault rifles and automatics, were brought over the boarder illegally.

Regardless, in most places in the U.S., citizens are allowed to own guns and are allowed to defend themselves with those guns. Even in areas that ban carrying guns, weapons may be kept in homes for self-defense.

That's more than allowed in Israel.

Again - no guns, few police.

Israelis who obey the laws are easy victims of people wielding knifes, guns, and large rocks.

Attackers in Israel know that they have an excellent chance of escaping from both the crime scene and prosecution.

For me, it's not so much the political belegan nor the frequency of Histridrut strikes - admittedly fewer than when I lived in Israel (1975-79), or even the tax bite (that new olim can avoid). It's not even the language, especially for English speakers. Don't misunderstand, those things do bother me, especially the politics.

But here in the Several States I am one of many observant Jews who own a firearm and who know when - and when not - to use it. Because I live in an area with too much violence to the south of us and too much violence to the north of us, many members of the congregation, including the rabbi, have applied for, and received, concealed carry licenses.

(I don't know why some Jews are so anti-gun; perhaps they fail to study history, both modern and ancient. )

No, Mr. Leibler, until I can defend myself and my family, I won't even consider living in Israel again.

Visit, of course. But take up residence? Not the way the laws are now.