Common ground
Two articles caught my eye in the Nov. 12 edition of NJJN. Pim Valkenberg was speaking about Nostra Aetate when she said that “Jews do not like the appeal of Abraham as our common, (meaning both Catholic and Jewish) father because it undermines their insistence on the particularity of each religious tradition.” (Opinion: “What Nostra Aetate teaches about dialogue”). Jews like all groups have divergent views; personally, I am more than pleased to mention a commonality. There are more than enough differences to discuss, and I don’t take offense at all.
An article in the same issue discussed efforts aimed at “Opening the ‘tent’ to Jews of all stripes.” This must include Jews who are black and blacks who are Jews.
The term, “Jews and blacks,” used periodically in your paper, implies the two groups are mutually exclusive. Nothing could be further from the truth and the term, which is exclusionary, should not be used in any article.
Ellen Rubin
Somerset
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