Letters from Our Readers

On “Reclaiming the Covenant of Fate”
I relate to Peter Beinart’s grief at the fractures now cracking the surface of Jewish communal life. But in painting the picture of a bridge that needs crossing from two sides, he provides a deeply unsatisfying solution to the critical issues at the heart of this divide. While I appreciate Beinart’s insistence that Jewish institutions “grant a platform” to the... more
Stefanie Fox
Seattle, Washington
On “The Rise and Fall of the Coops”
I just finished reading “The Rise and Fall of the Coops” and I thought it was a great, well-written article. I was born and raised in the Coops, so it brought back many memories. They really captured the true picture. Workers built these houses for a better life. The Jewish culture and history was the mainstay of the buildings and... more
Brenda Neuman
Bridgeport, CT
The year given in the caption of the photo of the Coops kindergarten on page 102 of your Fall 2020 edition is in error. The year was 1934 or ‘35, more likely the latter. I know because I am the child seated in the front row, center, to the left of the blond youngster. In the year given, 1932, I... more
Hershl Hartman
Los Angeles, CA
On Geographic Chauvinism
The recent Housing issue of Jewish Currents suffers from the same malaise as much of the magazine’s commentary: a narrow focus on greater New York City. One cannot generalize definitive knowledge about urbanization under capitalism from just New York’s case. At this juncture in history, mulling over displacement, gentrification, and housing organizing in the five boroughs does not constitute a... more
Stephen Averill Sherman
Houston, TX
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