I applaud Martin Raffel for his Opinion piece, “Seventy Years After WWII, Time To
Honor Our Vets” (Jan. 2), in which he expresses the unfortunate reality that the
American Jewish community does little if anything to recognize Jewish
American war veterans.
Our prayers in the synagogue, weekly sermons and
commemorations rarely acknowledge the debt of gratitude all Jews — those who
immigrated here and those born here — owe to the men and women who served this
country. It is because of their sacrifices that we in America have been able
to raise our families, establish businesses and educate our children.
My father, Irving Pruslin, z’l, proudly served in the U.S. Army in World War II. He never spoke of the atrocities he witnessed on the front lines but we owe him and all those who served honor and recognition for their service.
On the Shabbos before Veteran’s Day last year I sponsored a kiddush in my synagogue in honor of my father and in gratitude to all those in the congregation who served in the American armed forces. Thirty-four congregants were honored and all those veterans in attendance were given an aliyah. The weekly sermon included specific mention of the contributions and sacrifices veterans made so that all American citizens could enjoy the freedoms available in the United States. I encourage other synagogues to do the same. That is the least the Jewish community can do.
Fresh Meadows, Queens
