Doggone It
“The Jewish Traveler: Los Angeles” (June/July issue) mentioned that “it’s a tradition to line up for an all-beef hot dog at Pink’s,” but there is nothing anywhere in Pink’s stating that it is a kosher establishment. It’s fun and busy (you can easily wait an hour for a dog, depending on the time of day), but not kosher. It is about a mile from Fairfax, where there are numerous kosher establishments.

Lois Black
Peabody, MA

Meaty Argument
I read with great dismay “Israeli Life: Boy Meats Grill” (May issue), in which Esther Hecht de­scribes the ritual of grilling meat on Yom Ha’atzma’ut. I live in Israel, so I know she’s right, but as a vegetarian, I wish we could change this! Yes, the celebrations used to be different, with people dancing in the streets, but now the mangal has taken over.

Haven’t people heard about global warming? Don’t they realize that animal-based agriculture is largely responsible?

Ziva Eliezer
Tzofit, Israel

A Physician Recalled
In Wendy Elliman’s piece on the new head of human genetics at the Hadassah Medical Center, Dr. Judith Melki (“Medicine: Finding Ill-Fitting Genes,” May is­sue), the background infor­mation on the department is incorrect. Dr. Melki is the third chair of the department.

The Department of Human Genetics was founded in 1972 by [my father] Dr. Maimon M. Cohen and not by Dr. Gideon Bach in 1982. During his tenure as chair, Dr. Cohen developed the department into the largest department of human genetics in the Middle East. Dr. Bach was one of Dr. Cohen’s first post-doctoral fellows, and it was during that period of advanced study that [Dr. Bach] discovered the gene that triggers mucolipidosis IV. Dr. Cohen also trained Dr. Rivka Carmi, president of Ben-Gurion Uni­versity of the Negev.

Neri M. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D.
Baltimore, MD

Man of Influence
One important point to add to Sheldon Horowitz’s perceptive review of Lawrence and Aaronsohn by Ronald Florence (May issue) is that Aaron Aaronsohn, in contrast to T.E. Lawrence, was famous before World War I. Aaronsohn’s agricultural discoveries had earned him news­paper and magazine coverage.

With fame came contact with prominent American Jews, including Henrietta Szold, Jacob Schiff and Julius Rosenwald. Louis Brandeis credited his conversion to Zionism to Aaronsohn. We can only speculate what his influence would have been had his life not been tragically cut short.

Charles Primus
Via e-mail

On Supporting Israel
I cannot comprehend the rage Shulamit Aloni feels toward Israel (Profile, May issue). She seems to be equating haredim with all of Israel.

I agree, they should do military service; their ex­emption is inappropriate, especially when Israel is continuously at war. But Aloni’s…publicly expressed, hate-filled, self-absorbed invective toward those she despises only gives ammunition to the jihadists. If she would consider world politics, maybe she would realize that Israel needs every bit of support it can get.

Stephanie Digby
Saint Paul, MN