Dear Ms. Cruz:

I am writing this letter to voice a concern regarding an article that was published in The Daily Sundial on September 27, 2010. As editor in chief of this publication, I feel the need to share my concern with you, as a statement included in the article affects many students attending California State University, Northridge, including myself.

In the article “Activist Speaks about Corruption in the Catholic Church” the following statement was made:
“‘We are wonderful at creating enemies, because our people are in a cult, just like the Catholic Church is a cult that praises pedophiles,’ Bonpane said.”

I find the last part of this statement very troubling because many students attending this university, including myself, are members of the Catholic community.

In the official Mission, Values, and Vision Statement, CSUN states:

“We aspire to behave as an inclusive, cooperative community. Our behaviors, policies, and programs affirm the worth and personal dignity of every member of the University community and contribute to a campus climate of civility, collegiality, tolerance, and reasoned debate.”

By allowing the publication of this comment, I feel that you are contributing to a campus climate at CSUN that does not exhibit the above stated values, but rather, exhibits scapegoating, irreverence, and prejudice.

As an avid reader of the Daily Sundial, a student at CSUN, and a member of the Catholic Church, I was personally hurt by the above statement. I ask that something be done under your power as editor in chief to keep such a lack of civility and tolerance for religious diversity from occurring again—not just because of me, but because of the potential that exists for other members of the CSUN community to find similar comments about the religion they practice detrimental to their self worth and personal dignity.

Sincerely,
Elianne Perez
Student

Dear Editor,

With only 79 days until my retirement, I had hoped your newspaper would be merciful and not print your annual Israel-bashing opinion piece.  Instead you have continued this shameful legacy, but the piece by Matthew Soldad on Sept. 28 must rank as the most repulsive, creepy piece of “journalism” you have ever printed.

Soldad’s syllogism (if it can be followed at all, it is so rambling) seems to be that “Nazis were Jews, Nazis created Israel, ergo: Israel is a Nazi state.”
Soldad speculates that Hitler and Ahmadinejad have Jewish origins.  Be it true or horrible canard, the fact is that much of Europe has such origins, most especially in Spain and Portugal.  The current Prime Minister of Britain has Jewish “origins,” as does the soccer player David Beckham.  Jewish genes have made it into most everyone’s family, and probably into Mr. Soldad as well.

Soldad then tells us that Zionists had a secret alliance with the Nazis.  What he is actually referring to is a trade agreement (not at all secret) between the World Zionist Organization (WZO) to allow the Jews in Germany to transfer their wealth out of Germany, and in exchange the WZO would not join the American-Jewish boycott of German goods.  Chaim Arlosoroff, who promoted this deal, was assassinated by his fellow Jews in Palestine.  It is important to remember that in 1933, Hitler was seen as just another fascist like Mussolini.  This was not 1942 when the Holocaust began.  The “Transfer Agreement” was about money, not people as Soldad states.

Soldad fails to tell your readers that Palestine was already on track towards Jewish statehood due to the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which then became the League of Nations Mandate. This was long before World War II.  Nor does Soldad tell your readers that the state of Israel was created by a successful Jewish rebellion against British colonial rule after World War II.  Ultimately World War II had nothing to do with the creation of Israel.  Even the United Nations vote in 1947 had nothing to do with its creation.  The state was won through blood, shed first with the British and then the Arabs.
Soldad’s last paragraph is total madness: “A secret Jew at the head of a foreign government” pretends to hate the Jews, so that his “policies will ultimately benefit Zionist interests.”  In other words, Jews kill Jews so Jews will benefit.  Hitler killed 6 million Jews (one million of them children) so Israel would be created.  Ahmadinejad is now going to do the same.

In my opinion, Soldad is obsessed with Jews and conspiracies.  And sadly, so is the Sundial.

Sincerely,

Wayne Cohen
Staff