Letters to the editor

Gratitude to the JCC Maccabi Games’ organizers and volunteers
We are still glowing from an unforgettable week at the JCC Maccabi Campus Games (“JCC Maccabi Campus Games readies for tip-off,” July 25).

From start to finish, organizers and volunteers created more than just a tournament — they created a safe, joyful space where our kids could compete, connect and celebrate who they are. In a time when they truly needed it, you gave them a week filled with pride, laughter and friendship.

Our children came home to us with accomplishments beyond the game — new friendships that will last a lifetime, memories they’ll carry forever and a renewed pride in being Jewish. They felt seen and supported.
They’re already counting down the days until Toronto next year.

Thanks to the Games’ organizers and volunteers for strengthening our community.

Susheela Nemani-Stanger
Pittsburgh

We must not deny Gaza’s humanitarian crisis
It would have been sufficient for Sarah Kendis to assert that Hamas is responsible for the starvation in Gaza due to their violence and inaction — rather than Israel’s responsibility as the military power that is most in control of the territory — and leave it to Chronicle readers to decide the argument for themselves (“Death trap,” Aug. 15). But I found it highly objectionable for her to describe the humanitarian disaster in Gaza as both “libel” and “propaganda.”

The majority of media outlets in the U.S. and Israel — The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Haaretz, The Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post — have reported that widespread hunger and starvation is occurring in Gaza. It is appropriate to debate how to alleviate the humanitarian crisis that exists in Gaza right now. But it strains credibility when a writer chooses to pretend that inconvenient facts do not exist. For obvious historical, moral and journalistic reasons, when a slew of reputable sources informs us that there is a humanitarian crisis going on, we as Jews should believe it, and not dismiss those reports as part of some coordinated campaign to malign the state of Israel.

Rabbi Mark Asher Goodman
Pittsburgh

Ending the war is a moral and strategic imperative
The Aug. 8 issue of the Chronicle carried several letters that expressed pain and concern about the previous week’s full-page ad signed by 82 members of our Pittsburgh Jewish community. That ad was an “Open Letter to the Community,” calling for a permanent end to the war, a surge in aid through recognized agencies and bringing the hostages home. The letters in response expressed their authors’ beliefs that there is not serious hunger in Gaza, and that continuing the war is necessary for Israel’s security.

I know. We want with all our hearts, souls and minds to believe that there is not really starvation in Gaza, and whatever hunger there is, it is Hamas’ fault. Yet we must open our eyes. It has been acknowledged very widely, including recently by the CEO of IsraAid and also in a July 27 open letter of the Union of Reform Judaism, with conferences of rabbis and cantors.
We want to believe that continuing the war serves Israel’s security. Yet on Aug. 3, 19 former leaders of Israeli security agencies — from the IDF to the Shin Bet to Mossad — released an astonishing 3-minute video expressing their conviction that, “The time has come to end this war.” And “It’s no longer a just war.” And it’s a “lie” and a “fantasy” that prolonging the war will free the hostages or defeat Hamas. And a separate group of nearly 600 retired Israeli security officials also wrote to President Donald Trump calling for pressure on Netanyahu to end the war: “It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel.”

Remember Benjamin Netanyahu was charged with corruption before this war started.

He stands a chance of going to jail once this war ends. So why do we believe him when he says that it is Israel, and not himself, whose survival depends on continuing the war?

Israel is in crisis. We, the American Jewish community, have power. If we want Judaism and the Jewish people to stand for the values we cherish, we must stop this war permanently, surge aid immediately and bring the hostages home.

Eileen Kraus-Dobratz
Pittsburgh

AI can pose some risks
I read with interest Adam Reinherz’s great article on AI in Jewish schools (“Once disparaged now embraced, AI receives about-face at Jewish day schools,” online Aug. 15; this issue, Page 2). As an AI consultant, I was a little surprised by the schools’ lack of comments on AI risks. Using ChatGPT, for example, can risk exposing sensitive data, and most schools would already have access to the more secure AI chatbot Google Gemini because most of them use Google already for enterprise email, documents and so forth.

Looking at the tools already included with your nonprofit’s other technology can both save time and reduce risk.

Adam Hertzman
Pittsburgh