Envy in the gutter Lawrence Rifkin, in his magnum opus “The un-Bibi” (Grumpy Old Man, March 13), has done his newspaper a distinct disservice. This was not journalism, but a public voiding of a rancid coil of hatred against our prime minister. For six years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has done his best to run our country. Bearing in mind that he isn't Superman, Iron Man or the much-awaited Messiah, all in all he has done a good job. A utopia Israel is not. But we do possess one of the strongest monetary systems, and our security situation is good. So this bitterness toward Bibi is somewhat perplexing. The answer may lie in Rifkin's self-proclaimed description of himself as a grumpy old man. Might he be sad and disappointed in his own life's achievements? We might have here a simple case of the greeneyed monster, bearing in mind that Netanyahu is one of the most successful men of our time! This column was nothing more than a self-indulgent hate-fest that reduced your newspaper to the value of squalid gutter-press journalism. DAVID S. ADDLEMAN Mevaseret Zion No Lincoln is he Elaine Margolin's “A morethan- civil relationship” (Books, March 13) mentions that in 1864, when Abraham Jonas lay dying, a compassionate president Abraham Lincoln had Jonas's son, a Jewish Confederate soldier, released from prison to be at his father's deathbed. President Barack Obama has compared himself to Lincoln. What a ridiculous comparison. Still imprisoned, convicted Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard was not permitted by Obama to be at the deathbed or funeral of his father, a highly decorated World War II veteran. Obama has promised transparency in his administration. He has kept his word. Even a blind person can see him to be a cruel, arrogant, incompassionate apologist. Certainly, he's no Abraham Lincoln. LEONARD KAHN Zichron Ya'acov Kitchen quarrel Your article about politicians' recipes (“Stirring the political pot,” Food, March 13) before the elections left a bad taste, because it included Ahmad Tibi. The piece itself was a nice idea, as were the recipes. However, Tibi is a very controversial MK because, among other matters, prior to entering Israeli politics he served as a political adviser to Yasser Arafat. If you or your writers wanted to include an Israeli-Arab politician – a good and fair idea so as to be inclusive and democratic – you could have chosen any of several current Arab MKs from the Likud, Labor or what was formerly Kadima. They are much less controversial. Second, the recipes that Tibi provided for home-baked pita and a fresh vegetable salad were not at all interesting or illuminating, especially compared to the others. How many Israelis will actually take the time to make their own pita? Really! As for the vegetable salad, any Israeli child old enough to use a kitchen knife can make such a salad without the recipe. Next time, kindly ask someone else to supply a recipe worth reading. Tibi's salad is equivalent to a US politician supplying the public with a recipe for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. LEAH YERUSHALMI Beit El
