Zionism isn't a religion; it's a purely political issue

Zionism isn't a religion;it's a purely political issue
EDITOR:
I strongly object to Rabbi Kolko's article being the feature article on the Religion page last Saturday because it was not about religion at all but was pure political propaganda. The religion of the Jews is Judaism (which was not even mentioned), not Israel (which is a political entity).
The article made many erroneous assertions. If Israel respects the law, as Kolko asserts, it is only because the laws of Israel were created to favor one group, the Jews, above all others. Key positions not only in government but also throughout society are reserved for Jews only. For all others and especially for Arabs who are native to the region, there is a glass ceiling. Even the liberal Ha'Aretz newspaper does not have even one Arab reporter on its staff. Israel is an apartheid state that reserves rights and privileges to those of the Jewish faith. It cannot be called a democracy.
Not only that, but for almost 40 years now Israel has ruled over an entire people, the Palestinians, who have never been allowed to vote in an election, even though they pay taxes. I have seen how the inhabitants of East Jerusalem have to hire somebody to pave their streets out of their own pockets. Meanwhile, the new Jewish settlements that took Palestinian land are being completely refurbished by the state, including lovely parks and strolling lanes in a gated and walled community.
It is true that the court decision handed down in the case of the separation wall that Kolko refers to granted some Palestinians a sliver of justice, but there is much more that remains to oppress them. The World Court correctly voted to condemn this wall as a grave injustice and a crime against humanity. The occupation of Palestine and the oppression and imprisonment of an entire people that this wall amongst other measures seeks to accomplish is the greatest threat to peace in the world.
The Christian Zionists, as they call themselves, who support and encourage these brutally oppressive measures here in America would love to impose the same kind of "democracy" here at home. That is what the Patriot Act is all about. The Constitution would apply for only a chosen group while the rest of us would have to put up with a police state such as we see now in Israel. Israel has become a kind of experiment in democratic oppression. It is founded upon a system of predatory colonialism which goes way beyond the colonialism that was experienced in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This is not what democracy looks like!
ROGER LAFONTAINE
Youngstown
Infighting will usher inthe demise of Playhouse
EDITOR:
It is with deep and unbridled sadness that I have been watching the current events unfolding at The Youngstown Playhouse. As a volunteer and performer there for over 20 years, it hurts to see the bickering taking place now.
The Youngstown Playhouse was a place where you could socialize with old friends and meet new ones. We had a large extended family there.
Now, the atmosphere is like a Civil War. You have friend turning against friend all in the name of a common cause - saving the Playhouse.
If this is the true purpose, why can't everyone work together? Why must one person have total control? The theater is in the shape it is now because total control has been tried in the past, more than once. It did not work. Absolute power corrupts!
If everyone says that we need to preserve the Playhouse, then we better learn to work together the way we did in the past.
United we stand, divided The Youngstown Playhouse will fall. Let's stay together!
SUSAN McQUEEN
Youngstown