LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Deserving Recognition

To the Editor: I, like Reuven, am an observant Jew who enjoys participating in "secular events" such as concerts, movies and parties. One difference, though, separates me from Reuven. Most people that I encounter have no way of identifying me as a Jew. I often talk about Judaism and its importance to me, but a stranger would be unable to distinguish me from a WASP or a Catholic. In April, 1993, I went on a tour to Poland where five thousand Jewish individuals walked from Auschwitz to Birkenau to commemorate the Holocaust. Because of the group that I walked with and the blue jackets that we all wore, my Jewishness was apparent. For the first time in my life, walking down the streets of a foreign country, I experienced anti-Semitism first hand. I knew that hatred toward many different ethnic and racial groups existed all over the world, but encountering anti-Semitism in a country so far from home almost made the horrific experience more bearable. Hearing Reuven's story about hatred so close to home is a reality kick. I wonder now, if I had been in Reuven's place, alone and vulnerable, would I have been confident enough to wear a kippah at the concert? A kippah is such an obvious display of the pride that one takes in his Judaism and I respect and laud Reuven for wearing his kippah, despite the crowd or circumstances surrounding him at the moment. I am not asking the traditional question, why do people hate. I have pessimistically concluded that hate among ignorant people is inevitable. However, I want to thank Reuven for being a devoted Jew and for taking pride in his Jewishness. I admire him greatly for the strength which he so clearly exhibited and exhibits daily. Elyse Dorkin College '97 Not Exactly To the Editor: I would like to correct impressions left from the DP's article about the chimney fire at The Palladium last Friday ("Chimney fire drives patrons from Palladium," DP 4/10/95). First, our awning was not "ablaze," as your photo of the intact awning after the fire clearly shows. Embers did come down on top of the awning and burn some holes in it, but, because the awning is made with a fire retardant material, no fire broke out. Second, it is not true that our chimney had not been cleaned: It is cleaned out professionally more than once a year. As for the students at the Castle Coffee House who supposedly "applauded as the Palladium's awning burned," it's sad to think that they want to applaud destruction. If a fraternity had acted this way, the DP might have written an editorial criticizing their behavior. Roger Harman Palladium co-owner