Letters to the Editor 01-08-2001
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Only A Junior - Israel
Only A Junior
Editor, Times-Union:"A Star Is Born"
The above title, "A Star Is Born," does not justify the magnitude of this particular person, namely Shanna Zolman. It should have read, "A Super Star Is Born" and she is only a junior. This is a tribute to a once in a lifetime happening in our small Milford-Syracuse community.
Every time she appears on the basketball court, she excels in a fashion like no other in the history of this sport in our entire area, and she is only a junior.
With her unselfishness on the court, her noted team play is far overlooked by her critics. I have seen her pass up many, many lay-ups, only to give the ball to one of her teammates in order to preserve unity on the team. Without a doubt, she is the crown jewel of basketball in the entire state and she is only a junior.
I do not know her personally, nor her father, the coach. He had to sacrifice many hours of his time to mentally and physically prepare his daughter for her outstanding performances. The same goes for her, to endure the many extra hours she has spent practicing. She is the prime example of "practice makes perfect" and she is only a junior.
I have attended thousands of high school basketball games (mostly men) in my lifetime and seen all the big stars. Shanna Zolman ranks near the top of all of them and she is only a junior.
Never have I seen a person like her that possesses all the qualities that add up to be a true All-American. Of the many times I have seen her in action, not once did I see her dispute a referee's decision, even though it seemed his vision was impaired. That is another special quality for anyone to possess.
In closing, I wish her nothing but success in her brilliant future and may God be with her for her entire lifetime, because she is only a junior.
Gene H. Stoffel
Syracuse
Israel
Editor, Times-Union:I am writing in response to Cal Thomas's article, "Defining Israel's Annihilation," which was printed in the Thursday, Dec. 28 issue of the Times-Union.
In his second paragraph, Thomas states: "President Bill Clinton, still searching for a legacy that would be his if he had done something worthy of one, has so dishonored his own country he has no shame in dishonoring another one - in this case Israel - by helping Barak help Israel's enemies destroy the Jewish state."
First of all, the enemy of Palestine is not Israel, it is Zionism. Not all Zionists are Jews and most Jews are not Zionists. In fact, most Orthodox rabbis are opposed to Zionism. Secondly, Israel's so-called enemies are not trying to "destroy the Jewish state." Palestine simply wants Israel to withdraw from the land occupied in 1967, which is the West Bank and Gaza, including East Jerusalem and the 28 West Bank districts that are now annexed to Jerusalem. This is only 22 percent of the land originally belonging to Palestine. This means that Palestine is willing to allow Israel to keep 78 percent of the land that rightfully belongs to the Palestinians.
Palestine also requests the right for Palestinian refugees to return to their homes that were confiscated illegally.
Although the land belonged to Palestine, it was Britain that took the liberty of giving the land to Israel, without asking permission of the Palestinians who had lived on that land for centuries. Palestinians were forced from their homes to make room for Israeli settlements. Many of these refugees still have the titles and/or keys to their homes, some of which were destroyed, and some of which are occupied by Israeli families. I have many Palestinian friends, some Christian and some Muslim, who are the children of these refugees. They do not hate Jews or want to destroy Israel; they simply want their family to have the right to return to their homes, with freedoms equal to those of Israel's Jewish citizens.
Thomas states: "The so-called 'right of return' for Palestinians living abroad that is part of the negotiations is simply an invitation for more of Israel's enemies to come in and finish killing off the Jewish state." I am assuming that Thomas has never been forced from his home and deported because his ethnic origin was not the same as that of the occupying force.
The facts are that ethnic cleansing and occupation are illegal under international law and that Palestinian refugees only want what is rightfully theirs.
Thomas criticizes Palestinian Christians and states that they will not have their religious freedom when Arafat runs Jerusalem. Christians, Muslims and Jews had their religious freedom when Palestine was an independent state, and they will have it again. I am not condoning the current violence, but it is important to understand what has happened to make these people believe they have no other choice. Regarding the current violence, Rabbi Michael Lerner states: "The preponderance of responsibility lies with Israel and with an international media that continue to obscure the basic realities facing the Palestinian people, and continue to treat the death of Israeli soldiers enforcing a brutal occupation as somehow more outrageous and barbarous than the killing of many times as many Palestinian teenagers who were resisting the occupation." (See the Oct. 13 issue of the Los Angeles Times.)
On a positive note, I would like to commend Charley Reese for his article in the Wednesday, Jan. 3, issue of the Times-Union, and on his article, "What is it Palestinians really want?" which appeared in the Nov. 16 issue of The Orlando Sentinel. Also, for some more history on the situation, check out "For Israel, Land or Peace" by former President Jimmy Carter in the Nov. 26 issue of the Washington Post.
Lori Goshert
Warsaw
via e-mail
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- Only A Junior - Israel
Only A Junior
Editor, Times-Union:"A Star Is Born"
The above title, "A Star Is Born," does not justify the magnitude of this particular person, namely Shanna Zolman. It should have read, "A Super Star Is Born" and she is only a junior. This is a tribute to a once in a lifetime happening in our small Milford-Syracuse community.
Every time she appears on the basketball court, she excels in a fashion like no other in the history of this sport in our entire area, and she is only a junior.
With her unselfishness on the court, her noted team play is far overlooked by her critics. I have seen her pass up many, many lay-ups, only to give the ball to one of her teammates in order to preserve unity on the team. Without a doubt, she is the crown jewel of basketball in the entire state and she is only a junior.
I do not know her personally, nor her father, the coach. He had to sacrifice many hours of his time to mentally and physically prepare his daughter for her outstanding performances. The same goes for her, to endure the many extra hours she has spent practicing. She is the prime example of "practice makes perfect" and she is only a junior.
I have attended thousands of high school basketball games (mostly men) in my lifetime and seen all the big stars. Shanna Zolman ranks near the top of all of them and she is only a junior.
Never have I seen a person like her that possesses all the qualities that add up to be a true All-American. Of the many times I have seen her in action, not once did I see her dispute a referee's decision, even though it seemed his vision was impaired. That is another special quality for anyone to possess.
In closing, I wish her nothing but success in her brilliant future and may God be with her for her entire lifetime, because she is only a junior.
Gene H. Stoffel
Syracuse
Israel
Editor, Times-Union:I am writing in response to Cal Thomas's article, "Defining Israel's Annihilation," which was printed in the Thursday, Dec. 28 issue of the Times-Union.
In his second paragraph, Thomas states: "President Bill Clinton, still searching for a legacy that would be his if he had done something worthy of one, has so dishonored his own country he has no shame in dishonoring another one - in this case Israel - by helping Barak help Israel's enemies destroy the Jewish state."
First of all, the enemy of Palestine is not Israel, it is Zionism. Not all Zionists are Jews and most Jews are not Zionists. In fact, most Orthodox rabbis are opposed to Zionism. Secondly, Israel's so-called enemies are not trying to "destroy the Jewish state." Palestine simply wants Israel to withdraw from the land occupied in 1967, which is the West Bank and Gaza, including East Jerusalem and the 28 West Bank districts that are now annexed to Jerusalem. This is only 22 percent of the land originally belonging to Palestine. This means that Palestine is willing to allow Israel to keep 78 percent of the land that rightfully belongs to the Palestinians.
Palestine also requests the right for Palestinian refugees to return to their homes that were confiscated illegally.
Although the land belonged to Palestine, it was Britain that took the liberty of giving the land to Israel, without asking permission of the Palestinians who had lived on that land for centuries. Palestinians were forced from their homes to make room for Israeli settlements. Many of these refugees still have the titles and/or keys to their homes, some of which were destroyed, and some of which are occupied by Israeli families. I have many Palestinian friends, some Christian and some Muslim, who are the children of these refugees. They do not hate Jews or want to destroy Israel; they simply want their family to have the right to return to their homes, with freedoms equal to those of Israel's Jewish citizens.
Thomas states: "The so-called 'right of return' for Palestinians living abroad that is part of the negotiations is simply an invitation for more of Israel's enemies to come in and finish killing off the Jewish state." I am assuming that Thomas has never been forced from his home and deported because his ethnic origin was not the same as that of the occupying force.
The facts are that ethnic cleansing and occupation are illegal under international law and that Palestinian refugees only want what is rightfully theirs.
Thomas criticizes Palestinian Christians and states that they will not have their religious freedom when Arafat runs Jerusalem. Christians, Muslims and Jews had their religious freedom when Palestine was an independent state, and they will have it again. I am not condoning the current violence, but it is important to understand what has happened to make these people believe they have no other choice. Regarding the current violence, Rabbi Michael Lerner states: "The preponderance of responsibility lies with Israel and with an international media that continue to obscure the basic realities facing the Palestinian people, and continue to treat the death of Israeli soldiers enforcing a brutal occupation as somehow more outrageous and barbarous than the killing of many times as many Palestinian teenagers who were resisting the occupation." (See the Oct. 13 issue of the Los Angeles Times.)
On a positive note, I would like to commend Charley Reese for his article in the Wednesday, Jan. 3, issue of the Times-Union, and on his article, "What is it Palestinians really want?" which appeared in the Nov. 16 issue of The Orlando Sentinel. Also, for some more history on the situation, check out "For Israel, Land or Peace" by former President Jimmy Carter in the Nov. 26 issue of the Washington Post.
Lori Goshert
Warsaw
via e-mail
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