Letter from the Editor

The debate over whether a proposed Islamic community center and its mosque should be located two blocks from Ground Zero gives me pause. Not because I oppose the project—I do not—but because of the way phrases such as “the Jewish community feels” and “the Jewish community thinks” have been tossed around.

The key question is this: Which Jewish community are people talking about? The truth is that historically Jews have rarely spoken with unanimity on anything. And with today’s 24/7 news cycle and instant opinionating via the Internet, American Jews, more than ever, do not speak with that illusory, single voice.

If your family is anything like mine, you probably need look no further than your dinner table to know just how much Jews disagree. My family members and friends hold different opinions about who is a Jew, how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be resolved and, yes, whether or not this particular community center and house of worship should be built near Ground Zero.

My opinion? Jews have thrived in the United States because of the protection afforded by the right to freedom of religion. Some of the allegations hurled at the proposed center sound to me like what Daisy Khan, the wife of Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf—the executive director of the Cordoba Initiative, who is heading the project—has called “metastasized anti-Semitism.” While these charges may stem from fear and not hatred, they remind me that anti-Semitism has often been cloaked as fear of Jews. This is my view, not Moment’s, and I certainly do not claim that it is the view of the entire Jewish community. How could I? Some of the people I hold dearest disagree!

Our September/October issue is ample proof of the American Jewish community’s diversity. In its pages, opinions span the political and religious spectrum. We bring you provocative commentary from Eric Alterman, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, David Horowitz and Marshall Breger. I interview the influential Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer about America’s foreign policy. Why such a range? I believe it is important to understand the other, including the other among ourselves.

Speaking of the other, our series on Israel’s Arab citizens continues. In this second installment, New York Times contributor Dina Kraft takes a comprehensive look at the state of Arab public education in Israel. Many of Israel’s young Muslim and Christian Arabs—who make up 26 percent of all elementary and high school students—attend low-performing segregated schools. It makes for fascinating reading because what these students learn and how they integrate into Israeli society could have a major impact on Israel’s future.

The diversity of the Jewish community is well reflected in this issue. We profile author Walter Mosley, best known for Devil in a Blue Dress, part of his Easy Rawlins mystery series. He speaks about the similarities between his Jewish and black heritages. You’ll learn why he believes that Jews are a non-white race unto themselves.

And, as part of our continuing coverage of Israel’s environment, we bring you an eco-adventure, “Hiking the Holy Land.” Join associate editor Sarah Breger as she treks parts of the 620-mile Israel National Trail, the Israeli version of the Appalachian Trail, delighting in this outdoor “crash course” in ecological diversity and history. From there we travel to Aleppo, Syria, via Deal, New Jersey, where I meet Poopa Dweck, author of Aromas of Aleppo, to talk about savory Syrian Jewish cooking and the symbolic foods of the Aleppian Rosh Hashanah meal.

Our book section includes reviews of new biographies of Simon Wiesenthal and Norman Podhoretz, the latest David Grossman novel and 97 Orchard, a culinary history of one New York tenement. Plus, novelist Matthue Roth tells us how he came to write the non-definitive Orthodox novel. We introduce a new section, Bragging Rites: In our inaugural interview, Nancy Falchuk, the national president of Hadassah, gives us the maternal scoop on her son Brad Falchuk, co-creator of the hit TV show Glee.

Moment’s commitment to thoughtful debate and great conversation continues on these pages, online and in person, all over the country. This fall, we are hosting events in New Orleans (see page 11) and Los Angeles (see page 9). But first, I would like to invite you to Moment Magazine’s 35th Anniversary Symposium and Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, DC, on October 24. Our symposium, The Influence of Jewish Thinking on the American Ethos, which I will moderate, has a stellar line up: Writer Anita Diamant; head of the victim-compensation and clean up fund for the BP oil spill Kenneth Feinberg; artificial intelligence expert Judea Pearl; host of NPR’s All Things Considered Robert Siegel; comedian Sarah Silverman; and president emeritus of The George Washington University Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. The honorary chairs for the event are Moment founders Elie Wiesel and Leonard Fein. Your attendance and support will help nurture Moment’s staunch independence and help launch the Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative, which enables promising young journalists to report on modern manifestations of anti-Semitism and other prejudices. For information on how to secure a ticket for this one-time event, please turn to page 13 or contact Amelia Cohen-Levy at (202) 363-6422 or acohenlevy@momentmag.com. This is sure to be a most memorable evening, and I look forward to seeing you there!