Enough with the Holocaust

An interesting Op-Ed piece from the Boston Globe has been making the rounds lately and it is so a propos that I thought I would share it. Re: Suggestions: Boston Globe, May 9, and every day Dear Editorial Staff: AS you know my husband and I treasure reading your newspaper each and every morning, for many reasons. There are a variety of many interesting subjects, many of which we cut and save for our files. However, you must understand that we do have a valid complaint which rises up from time to time. It is obvious that you are writing your news recalling WWII especially for the Jewish people who like to see the Holocaust mentioned very often. Today, we read two more articles that mention the 6 million in one of their first paragraphs. Whoever is writing on WWII must desperately wish readers to be aware that the most pain experienced in that war was experienced by the 6 million Jews in German prison camps. There are no other groups that are so strongly focused on in your newspaper. Would it be too much to ask that you make an excellent move on your part by giving the rest of us a regular reminder from time to time about the other close to 60 million who were killed and/or incarcerated in WWII? You seem to have a plentiful collection of memories, and we readers are being consumed by stories on Holocaust victims. What about the rest of the world involved in that war? In the Pearl Harbor attack? How many Philipino s were dead? And, worst of all, the horror of the first nuclear bombs in Japan? And how many lives were broken up emotionally and economically by the internment of the Japanese in the western part of the United States? We never hear of the loss of 27 million Russians in the same war. What about a story of the Italians who had to live in caves during WWII, practically starving to death? Could we have a number of Jews who were GIs during WWII? What percentage did they represent? How many American GIs were killed in Germany as a price of war? How many incarcerated by the Germans? How many GIs were tortured and imprisoned by the Japanese? How many prisoners of war did the US torture and keep? Let's have some stories of all of these? These, too, occurred. But we never hear these survivors' stories! Another point to make: why do your photographers (AP) repeatedly print photos of Arabs or Palestinians waving their arms high in the air, but Sharon and his entourage are pleasantly seated at meetings in dignified positio ns? This definitely portrays an unfair idea of Arabs, giving the reader an incorrect picture of them as people who wish for freedom and democracy, also making them appear less than intelligent though many of them are well educated. MAY we make a suggestion? Let's be realistic. There are many non-Jews who read your paper and tire of the "same old, same old." Perhaps you should have a short edition added to the Boston Globe for a lesser price, offered only to readers who care to peruse or study assiduously all the facts about the Holocaust, all of the court cases purporting to collect monies from countries' railroads, banks and other systems, also all of the public oc casions honoring only the Jewish people who died during World War II. We need fair play, giving a balance to the daily news. We are not haters of Jews or Zionists, but the over-extending of Holocaustal writing is becoming nearly ridiculous. There are too many pro-Israeli editorials and op-e ds compared to the few pro-Palestinian views. The long and extended obits for those involved in the Holocaust are extremely interesting and we enjoy reading their histories, but they, too, are seen more often than others. As for the rest of us, we could peacefully take up our morning news without the strong focus on just one subject. This would be a great improvement. Certainly the press would create less resentment by lessening to a great extent this repetitive style of journalism. Also, you might see a great deal less of the anti-Semitism that is written about so very often. Sincerely, Carol Rae Bradford ************ I couldn't have said it better.