LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, Sept. 25
By:
An open letter to area families
suffering in aftermath of Sept. 11
To the editor:
I have a different perspective of the tragedy two weeks ago. My first husband, Bill Daniels, was murdered by terrorists on Dec. 21, 1988. He was unlucky enough to be aboard Pan Am 103 when it was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland. Like the rest of America I have been crying every day, but unlike the rest of America I am also in that "select club" of family members who has walked in your shoes.
First, I want to tell all of you how incredibly sorry I am. When Bill died, I swore that I would do everything possible to make sure that this tragedy never happened again to anyone else. I failed miserably. I am so sorry. Our group the Victims of Pam Am 103 has worked tirelessly for almost 13 years to try to increase security at the airports. We wrote letters to Congress and to the different presidents. We have testified to Congress. We have called on our friends in the media to help us get the word out. We have gone on television to spread the word. Sadly, it wasn’t enough. I am so sorry.
When Bill died, I was left with three wonderful children to raise. They were 10, 7 and 2. The oldest is now finished with college and gainfully employed on the West Coast. The second is doing well in college now, but will serve his country in the Air Force upon graduation. The youngest is in high school, and is a beautiful person, both inside and out.
After 6½ years alone, I married a wonderful man who is also a terrific stepfather to my children. The reason I am saying this is to let you know we are still standing. We have been through the worst that life could give us, but we have survived and are happy, functioning people again. My children and I will always have a hole in our hearts, but things do get better. You never forget, but you will survive.
I do know of several people and agencies who can help you. First there is the Office for Victims of Crime, part of the Justice Department in Washington. The office is headed by Kathryn Turman, with Barbara Johnson’s help. They are wonderful people. Next, there is a nonprofit group, "No Greater Love" in Washington, headed by Carmella LaSpada, that was very supportive to us for the first few years. Carmella’s group is geared specifically to the children of parents killed by terrorism and children of fire-fighters and policemen killed in the line of duty. There is also a terrific counselor who lives in the central New Jersey area who has been of immeasurable help to our group of families close by. He has been with us from the beginning. I would personally recommend him, although I hesitate to give his name out in the paper.
Finally the best thing, I think, that you can do is to find each other. Form a group of Sept. 11 family members. Perhaps The Packet or several of the mayors or town councils can be of help getting as many of you together as possible. I would be honored if any of you called or wrote to me, if you wanted to talk, or just wanted these phone numbers.
May God bless each and every one of you. There are many of us out here who have you in our prayers.
Kathy Daniels Tedeschi
Sweet Briar Court
Belle Mead
Surviving parent
must be brave, strong
To the editor:
This is an open letter to a parent who lost a spouse and will be raising a child.
After the events of Sept. 11 and based on my own experience, I want to offer advice to a surviving parent raising a young child. I was born in 1940. In 1942, our home burned, and we (my mother, her parents and I) were rescued by members of the Union City, N.J. Fire Department. Unfortunately, my grandmother, who had been ill, succumbed two days after the fire. At that time, my father was at sea, serving in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Seven months later, his ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic. All were lost.
Those were the circumstances, which my mother related to me gradually and without a lot of details from the time I was about 5 or 6. As you will do, she told me stories and events in the life of both my grandmother and father. She told me that my father was brave. Certainly, a parent whose spouse died resisting the hijackers or serving in the uniformed services that responded will do the same. But all who died that day were brave going to work every day to provide for a family and to contribute to our nation and society is an act of courage. Tell your child that.
My mother never expressed any feelings of anger or hatred, but, for some time after World War II, I did have such feelings for leaders who brought about such events. She always encouraged me to meet each person as an individual, not as a member of a group. In the middle of your feelings of anger, I urge you to prepare for your child’s similar feelings. Teach them not to indict a group for the acts of individuals.
Human loss as a result of deliberate, violent acts leaves behind, I believe, a special grief and sorrow, perhaps because the dead are seen as cheated. As your child grows and matures, the sense of loss may increase. He or she will know the sweetness of life, such as the love and pride that I feel for my wife and daughters, that the departed parent enjoyed only partly or for a short time. I encourage you to talk about these feelings.
Finally, your child, in time and with experience, will appreciate the struggle in which you are now engaged. He or she will admire your courage, and may think of his or her care as a burden. Your child may not speak of this, not wanting to add to your sorrow. Therefore, as my mother let me know in different words, tell your child that the blossoming, irrepressible, uproarious life, barely contained in that little body, not only made the effort necessary it made it possible.
Robert B. Comizzoli
Knickerbocker Drive
Belle Mead
Timing of letter
was not appropriate
To the editor:
This is by no means a criticism of The Packet, but I need to say something to those who saw my letter to the editor about preservation of Berrien City in the Sept. 14 edition. That letter was written and sent several days before the horrors of Sept. 11. I was mortified to see it in the paper on Friday, following right after so many deeply felt and well-written letters about the World Trade Center attack.
Concerns about land-use planning and traffic control may seem significant in normal times. It goes without saying that they pale by comparison with the tragedy that has been visited upon our nation as a whole and, with heartbreaking directness, on so many individual families in our area.
There will come a time when it’s appropriate to return to discussion of all our local controversies and disputes things like the widening of Alexander Road among them. I don’t know when that will be. But whenever it is, we should thank God that we live in a society that values open debate, tolerates difference and includes people willing to risk their own lives to protect the security of others and the orderly processes of community life.
Ron Schurin
Springwood Drive
Princeton Junction
Editor’s note: The Packet agrees with the sentiments expressed by Mr. Schurin and extends a profound apology for running his letter in the Sept. 14 edition.
Terrorist attack aimed
at freedom, not policies
To the editor:
I read Mr. C. Thomas Corwin’s letter to the editor (The Packet, Sept. 18) not with anger or outrage, but with a kind of sad amusement.
One would have thought that with the magnitude of the catastrophe in New York, the classic Jew-haters and Jew-baiters would have waited, I don’t know, maybe a month out of respect for those who lost their lives, before using this monstrous act as a platform for launching their misguided vitriol. But not Mr. Corwin. No, sir. Mr. Corwin virtually sprang out of the closet at the first opportunity to tell us that this tragedy is, after all, and once again, the fault of the Jews.
"No, not the Jews," Mr. Corwin might respond. "It’s Israel, and its policies, not the Jews, that are to blame." Please. In Mr. Corwin’s alleged support of the late Yitzak Rabin, we can clearly hear that tired, old, hollow self-aggrandizing refrain, "I don’t hate (fill in the blank), in fact, some of my best friends are (fill in the blank)."
Let’s get something straight. The attack at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were not about Israel, but were strikes against America and all Americans by extremists who believe that America itself is the Antichrist; not for its foreign policies but for its domestic freedoms. American society is viewed as the antithesis of the strict precepts held by the Taliban, and therefore its greatest threat. Taliban rhetoric against Israel is simply a feeble and increasingly unaccepted attempt to garner support for its actions from the rest of the Arab world.
Mr. Corwin laments that "Israel alternates between right-wing and left-wing coalitions." Gee, why does that sound so familiar? Wait, I know! America alternates between Democratic and Republican administrations! It’s called democracy. And like it or not, Mr. Corwin, that’s what we crazy Americans do. We support democracy around the globe.
Mr. Corwin, you are right, "No decent person would consider trying to justify the atrocities committed on Sept. 11." As you spend the next 10 inches of newsprint trying to justify the atrocities, I thank you for helping us so succinctly define who you are. Using this horrific event as a springboard for one’s personal agenda is disgraceful enough, and a slap at all those who died or are grieving. It can be likened to the attempt made by those seeking to profit by any means from the terrorist attack. But by blaming America’s policies toward Israel, or any other of its policies for the attack on America, Mr. Corwin puts the blame squarely on America and its citizens, and might as well have said, "We got what we deserved." Shame on you. When the line is drawn in the sand, Mr. Corwin, which side will we find you standing on?
Steve Bloom
Providence Drive
West Windsor
Voice opposition to
violence, oppression
To the editor:
I am writing regarding Mr. Corwin’s letter. As an attack on the American policy to support violence, his letter is important and valid. Nonetheless, throughout the letter, his cited reasons remain, curiously, exclusively anti-Israel. This exclusivity leaves open, the interpretation that his is a camouflaged anti-Semitic attack, but in reality I suspect just a poorly and incompletely constructed attack on the overarching American policy to support oppressive and violent regimes whenever and wherever deemed necessary.
Some more obvious examples of this American policy include: the murderous Pol Pot regime in Cambodia supported by America; Saddam Hussein, to whom we sold arms; Osama bin Laden, whom we trained to be a terrorist, etc. If Americans don’t want more body bags, we must be compelled to halt the fracturing of society, not only in Israel, but everywhere. We need to verbalize our opposition to all blind or rationalized support and perpetuation of violence and oppression anywhere.
The ways of truth and love are our only effective device in the pursuit of a lasting peace.
Suda Ran
Mercer Street
Princeton
Terrorists’ objective
is to provoke war
To the editor:
"No decent person would consider trying to justify the atrocities committed on Sept. 11," writes Thomas Corwin, who subsequently parrots the stale justifications terrorists themselves give for murdering innocent civilians. It’s American support for Israel, he says. He distorts facts and attributes terrorism to social duress.
To the contrary, this attack on America was planned at a time when President Clinton was pressuring Israel to give Arafat everything Arafat had previously demanded. The terrorist objective is to prevent peace and to spark a worldwide war. But Mr. Corwin needs to express his pet peeve against Israel.
Mr. Corwin’s letter falsely implies that Palestinian houses get bulldozed without cause, such as their use by snipers or bombmakers. (Does Mr. Corwin think other nations under lethal attack usually evacuate enemy civilians harboring terrorists, rather than simply blowing up terrorist havens with all their occupants?)
It is overwhelming anti-Israel bias to expect Israelis to let themselves be killed by more terrorists shooting from the same house, or making more bombs there. A fair person (not trying to justify mass murderers) could conclude that it is the terrorists who enter Arab houses who victimize the homeowners.
Mr. Corwin labels Ariel Sharon a "butcher," but expresses no qualms about Arafat and other Palestinian Authority leaders. Sharon’s alleged worst offense (if you read the charges) amounts to neglecting to realize that some Lebanese would kill some other Lebanese, unless he took special precautions. (The court concluded that Sharon did not know this would happen.)
On the other hand, Arafat has a decades-long history of depraved terrorist acts against innocent civilians: the murders of Leon Klinghofer (in his wheelchair), the athletes at Munich, etc. Can Mr. Corwin name even one Palestinian Authority leader who is not a proponent or known perpetrator of terror against civilians? Thus, whatever Sharon’s imperfections, he’s an angel compared to the Palestinian Authority leaders (and a loyal friend of America, unlike the Palestinian Authority leaders).
Suicide terrorism is a crime against humanity, like biological warfare. Neither is the spontaneous result of social duress. Both result from moral depravity and careful training. Of the billions of people suffering from injustice and social duress, very few become suicide terrorists or bio-terrorists. The multimillionaire Osama bin Laden is not under social duress, but he is a terrorist anyway.
Suicide terrorists are brainwashed into a depraved terrorist mentality and trained to be effective mass murderers. To end suicidal terrorism, the world needs to take the same forceful action against countries that harbor terrorism brainwashing and training as they would against countries harboring biological weapons development.
It is encouraging that the governments of progressive Arab and other Muslim countries are now taking politically difficult steps to combat terror, despite the presence of their large pro-terror population factions.
Are you willing to bet more American lives that this was a one-time atrocity, Mr. Corwin? How about fighting terrorism instead of encouraging it with your sympathetic moralizing?
The root cause of terrorism is not duress; it’s depravity.
Jonathan Gross
Stuart Lane
West Windsor
Aim war on terrorism
at causes, not effects
To the editor:
In his letter of Sept. 18, Thomas Corwin drew attention to some important truths concerning the causes of the recent attacks against the United States. Predictably, those who do not want to face up to those truths sounded off in concert attacking him in letters published Sept. 21.
It is difficult for Americans to acknowledge that, while we think of ourselves as champions of freedom at home and abroad, our nation’s foreign policy often has the effect of suppressing the aspirations for freedom of people in other parts of the world. In the Middle East, that suppression of freedom takes the form of massive, uncritical support for Israel as it brutally represses the attempts of the Palestinian people to achieve self-determination; the destruction of the physical and social infrastructure of Iraq through continued sanctions; and the propping up of tyrannical, corrupt regimes whose leaders are willing to toe the American line in exchange for goodies from the U.S. treasury.
People in the Middle East don’t care whether or not we elect representatives to Congress, outlaw discrimination, empower individuals or eat at McDonald’s. What they do care about is how our policies affect them, and a huge number of them consider our policies dangerous and destructive.
Most Americans do not comprehend the degree to which Israel’s continued occupation of the Palestinians engenders overwhelming moral outrage throughout the Middle East and, indeed, the entire Muslim world. This feeling of moral outrage permeates every level of society and is as prevalent among those who are educated, modern and forward-looking as among the ignorant and downtrodden. Throughout the Middle East, the United States is viewed as Israel’s backer, supporter and partner in crime. While it would be simplistic to say that support of Israel is the cause of terrorism being directed against the United States, to deny the importance of this issue as the flashpoint of rage is to wear blinders which prevent us from addressing the problem.
For now, our nation’s plans to fight terrorism seem to be limited to military actions abroad and curtailing civil liberties at home. These are popular, active measures which allow everyone to rally round the president. However, it is unlikely that these will end terrorism, for they do not address its causes. Instead, violent retribution, inevitably accompanied by the killing of innocent people, is likely to create more rage and breed more terrorism for a long time to come. Maybe after the smoke clears we will be able to take a good, hard look at our policies and the harm they do. I hope that won’t be too late.
Marilyn Jerry
Terhune Road
Princeton
Simple explanation
misplaces the blame
To the editor:
Thomas Corwin has a simple explanation for the recent terrorist attack on New York City. Much too simple. He attributes it to the United States’ support of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. He points out that the sight of Israel’s strength rankles the Palestinians. He might have added that it frustrates them because it thwarts their desire to push Israel into the sea.
Mr. Corwin puts the onus on Netanyahu and Sharon for impeding the peace effort. Apparently he has not heard of Yassir Arafat, who has consistently violated the conditions that were agreed upon as the steps toward a peace settlement and has promoted terrorist activities that have stalled further peace negotiations. He suggests that the United States should use its influence to override the will of the Israeli people as to who should lead their country. He contrasts the late Prime Minister Rabin with the present leadership and states, "It’s high time American policy took these differences into account. When it does, we will eventually see an end to terrorism."
With this statement coming on the heels of the devastating terrorist attack on the United States, one must conclude that Mr. Corwin accepts that attack not as a barbaric assault on innocent people but as a natural consequence of U.S. support of Israel. How neatly and simply he has it figured out. Too bad he did not articulate this before the attack. He might have alerted the government and saved so many lives that is, if anyone would take his words seriously.
Jerome Kurshan
Random Road
Princeton
Criticism aimed
at the wrong target
To the editor:
This is in response to C. Thomas Corwin’s recent letter criticizing America for its no-strings-attached support of what he describes as "Israeli regimes headed by butchers like Ariel Sharon."
I believe that, in Israel, as in America or any other democratic nation, the duly elected representatives might oscillate between the liberal and the conservative. But just because one disagrees with a party currently in power should not be sufficient reason to remove our fundamental support of that country.
Presumably, the great value of a democracy rests in a people’s ability to vote out any unwanted scoundrel in the subsequent election. This is what helps us avoid bloody coups and revolution. For instance, even though many people were upset about the voting irregularities of America’s last presidential election, no one was literally up in arms because we all knew we’d have another chance four years hence.
Mr. Corwin also complains about the amount of American tax dollars allocated to Israel. Again, I suggest that a majority of our duly elected representatives have deemed the support appropriate. While I might agree with Mr. Corwin’s contention that the Palestinians have a right to be upset about American-made "helicopters strafing their neighborhoods," I ask who are we to point fingers when we look at our own decimation of the Native American into oblivion? Our few remaining aborigines have been relegated to bleak, worthless, unworkable land, where they are mired in poverty and alcoholism, while their memory is simultaneously caricatured, culturally, as sports team mascots.
The United States has long played the role of cops to the world, and we have supported many far less democratic regimes than Israel. Just think of all the undeniably bad "bad guys" we’ve backed, such as Noriega in Panama, Pol Pot in Cambodia or even Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. And then there are all the duly elected democracies we’ve deliberately destabilized, such as Lumumba in the Congo and Allende in Chile. Why not complain about those wastes of billions of tax dollars? I wonder whether the objection here might merely have to do with an underlying anti-Semitism.
Kam Williams
Quaker Road
Princeton
Make special effort
in this tragic time
To the editor:
In this tragic time, we need to give and receive comfort from one another.
As members of Not In Our Town, a Princeton interfaith group focused on anti-racism, we are reminding each other, and all members of our community, to make a special effort to call Arab and Muslim friends to ask if we can help them in any way and to reassure them of our affection and respect.
Equally important, let us greet all of our diverse community’s members, especially Arabs and Muslims, with warm cordiality.
Pat Ramirez
Unitarian Universalist
Congregation of Princeton
Ann Yasuhara
Friends Meeting
Jenny Guberman
Trinity Church
Princeton
People are generous
during time of need
To the editor:
I am writing to thank the community of Washington Oaks and surrounding areas for their generosity. For three days last week, my friends and I have been selling cookies and lemonade along Hutchinson Drive (the main road of Washington Oaks) with all receipts going to the American Red Cross.
Many people stopped just to donate money, amounts ranging from 50 cents to $50, without taking any lemonade or cookies! We raised over $400 in just three days.
It makes us happy to see how generous people are during a time of extreme need. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who donated and purchased.
Andrew Black
Eighth Grade
John Witherspoon School
Princeton
Yesterday and today:
the range of emotions
To the editor:
I would like to start off by saying that I am praying and sending my condolences to all of the families and friends who may have lost someone in the Sept. 11 tragedy. I would also like to say that right now, more than ever, we need to pull together in this time of grievance and help one another get through each day that passes with this feeling of remorse and anger that has overcome many, if not all of us.
Yesterday, I saw just how much hatred there was in this world. So much so that it would make people willingly sacrifice their own lives, and take into their own hands the lives of others, to purposely hurt and destroy something or someone they despise. Yesterday, I saw Fate.
Yesterday, I saw the worst tragedy that has ever happened to this country. I saw the beginning of a war, and the end of the lives it took with it. I saw something that has and will change me forever. Yesterday, I saw Fear.
Yesterday, I saw people risk their lives to save the lives of others. I saw fearless members of this country run into burning buildings, some carrying people out, and some that weren’t so lucky. Yesterday, I saw Courage.
Yesterday, I saw families with tears of joy for their rescued relatives. I saw happiness for those who had been found under rubble that had fallen. Yesterday, I saw Love.
Yesterday, I saw families with tears of sadness for their relatives that weren’t rescued in time. I saw depression for those found under the rubble that had fallen, but were no longer living. Yesterday, I saw Sorrow.
Yesterday, I saw a nation pull together as it never did before. I saw people volunteer to try and save the lives of others. Yesterday, I saw Unity.
Today, I saw what was left of yesterday’s destruction. I saw the people of this country stand up, dust themselves off and take on the new day. Today, I saw hope for tomorrow.
Lina Colon
Jay Street
Plainsboro
1860 House festivities
are open to all
To the editor:
I would like to invite all area residents to the 1860 House All-Community Picnic and Fair on Sunday, Sept. 30, from noon to 5 p.m.
The event is a fund-raiser, with all proceeds to benefit the Cruser Barn, the future 1860 House Performing Arts Center.
There will be continuous entertainment by over 30 local performing groups, including a jazz band, chamber music, flamenco dancing, Morris dancing, ballet, singers performing barbershop, pop, Broadway, Beijing opera and much, much more.
Performances will be presented under a tent on the 1860 House grounds, as well as inside the house, along with activities for children including juggling and craft workshops, story telling, face painting, games, a clown and a petting zoo. There will also be demonstrations of T’ai Chi Ch’uan, fly casting and fly tying, quilting and a quilt raffle at 4 p.m. The galleries will be open, and various artists will be discussing, exhibiting and demonstrating their work. All entertainment and activities are included in the price of admission.
Hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, meatball subs, three-bean salad, couscous, cotton candy, ice cream and more will be on sale. Bring the whole family, come for lunch and stay for dinner.
Discounted advance-sale tickets are available at the 1860 House. For further information, call (609) 921-3272 or visit the Web site www.1860house.org.
Larry Koplik
Picnic Committee Chair
1860 House
Montgomery

