After reading “Return conversion to local rabbis” (Perspectives, Jan. 14), I am beginning to wonder, why today, 70 years after the most catastrophic and darkest period in the history of the Jewish People, we the Jews who have survived, and flourished, seem not to understand that we must stand together to face the future.
Being a child of survivors and a grandmother of four, I find it very difficult to fathom why we must segregate ourselves into the categories haredi, Orthodox, modern Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, secular, etc. During the Holocaust, we were all Jews, period. Unless we begin to accept one another’s differences as Jews, we will again be vulnerable to future persecutions.
What qualifies the haredi community to say who should or shouldn’t become a Jew? If qualified rabbis cannot make the decision as to who would make a good Jewish convert, then we have an enormous problem on our hands. One small section of the Jewish community should not be given the powers to decide on behalf of the larger community what legitimate and traditional Torah views should be. In today’s world, we as a Jewish nation need people who want to embrace Judaism and stand proudly beside their fellow Jews, and the Land of Israel. They should be welcomed into the fold.
Miriam Abbou
Thornhill, Ont.

According to the Tanach, 3,000 years ago, Ruth the Moabite, a gentile, married the Jewish son of Naomi (“Rabbi warns of conversion ‘catastrophe,’ Feb. 4). When subsequently her husband died and her mother-in-law urged her to return to her people, Ruth uttered the famous words: “Do not urge me to leave you, or to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Based solely on these words, Naomi, a woman, accepted Ruth’s conversion to Judaism. As we know, Ruth went on to marry Boaz. The Almighty blessed this union, and Ruth became the great-grandmother of none other than King David.  
Had these events taken place today, Ruth’s speedy conversion by Naomi would have been derisively dismissed by our rabbis, haredi or otherwise. The implication, of course, is that neither King David nor the coming of the Mashiach would now be part of our sacred faith. Where have our traditions, the teachings of our sage Hillel gone? What has happened to our compassionate and welcoming nature?
David J. Gabay
Thornhill, Ont.

Let us remember that the application of rights is not defined by religion or culture (“Funding of services for Israeli Arabs,” letters, Jan. 21). In a democracy, all citizens should be regarded and treated as equals. As a Canadian minority we would accept no less. Israeli citizens, Arab or Jew, should expect no less.
My concern for our people – and remember that Arab citizens of Israel are also our people and that West Bank residents under de facto Israeli control are, from a rights point of view, also our people – is that these rights are often denied or absent. It’s possible to balance security and humanity. It is a dictate of Judaism and at the core of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Brian Rothberg
Ardoch, Ont.

Bravo to Gil Troy for planning to nominate Liberal MP Irwin Cotler for the Nobel Peace Prize (“Tory attacks on Cotler must stop,” Jan. 14). No one has done more to bring justice and peace to the world than Cotler. Although Troy outlines some of Cotler’s accomplishments, an entire book could easily be written on Cotler’s active and ongoing involvement in promoting peace and justice at home and abroad.
Cotler has been referred to as “counsel for the oppressed” (by Maclean’s magazine), he has received eight honorary doctorates and he has received the Order of Canada, along with many humanitarian awards.
Regarding Tory attacks on Cotler, could it be that some Tories are willing to go to any measures to discredit Cotler because they know that he is a formidable opponent?
Having interviewed Cotler in 2008 and learned about this honourable mensch, I stand behind Troy and all peace-loving citizens, no matter their race or religion, to support the nomination of Cotler for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Nella Edel
Cote St. Luc, Que.