COMMON GROUND?

Pamela Peled writes about her exhilarating vacation in Lapland, sharing with her readers the breathtaking sights and sounds of the Arctic Circle (“Lapping it up,” April 19). Alas, her venomous anti-Orthodox stance is never far behind, as she writes about her favorite refrain – the hypocritical behavior of Orthodox Jews.

Peled contrasts the thousands of altruistic secular Israelis with the “plenty of people who wait between milk and meat and batter their wives or cheat on taxes.” I suspect that the government authorities will be most interested in obtaining her list of religious wife-beaters and tax evaders. Perhaps a scoop for

The Jerusalem Post?

Peled appears to have an unbearable chip on her shoulder against Orthodoxy. She boasts that she can “daven Minha and

Ma’ariv” with the best. At the same time, she has no problem partaking of delicious Scandinavian lamb stew and eschewing the unappetizing kosher food served on the trip.

I’m not sure how many of the Post’s readers enjoy Peled’s vicious, unsubstantiated attacks on Orthodox Jews. I, for one, will forego her next adventure, and remind myself to skip her column and turn the page. KENNY FISHER Jerusalem Writer Pam Peled responds: It’s always humbling to me how my words are twisted or misunderstood by some readers; am I that unclear? I thought I stated pretty categorically that after a week of total immersion in a religious way of life (one that’s familiar to me), I could see the attraction and solidarity in keeping kashrut and Shabbat. My point was to question why that warmth doesn’t spill over into Israel – why here the secular are often so bitterly antireligious. My hypothesis was that when religion becomes religious coercion, it turns people off.

I never said secular Israelis are altruistic while Orthodox are wife-beaters. Revisit the piece: I said I admired the wonderful (religious) people in the group; but just as religion cannot be mandated, nor does it necessarily make people good. People are people – religious or secular – some good, some less so.

I stand by my opinion. I invite Mr. Fisher for a (kosher) cup of coffee to find common ground; surely he can at least acknowledge we have a problem here?