Jews, Christians and the Crucifixion

Re “Pilate, the Jews and Jesus,” May 12: If the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus are divinely ordained, then why do so many like the New York Knicks’ Charlie Ward and Allan Houston and Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad dramatize it to depict Jewish human responsibility and blame? If Jesus was meant to give his life to save the world, why should the Jews or Judas or the Romans be held guilty for his death?

It is obvious that certain Orthodox religions continue to teach blame and fan hatred. Herein lie the awful seeds of Christian anti-Semitism or what Peter Gomes in “The Good Book” terms “Christianity’s original sin.” My work in the interfaith community has given me the insight that piety cannot be exploited as an incitement for the infliction of suffering and humiliation of others.

Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs

Temple Kol Tikvah

Woodland Hills

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Those who blame the Jews (or anyone else) for the death of Jesus Christ should keep two facts in mind: First, Jesus Christ is not dead. Any Christian will tell you that. Second, even if the death of Christ is regarded in the conventional, literal sense of the word, was it not a death that was meant to take place, for the salvation of mankind? Seems to me that Christians ought to respond to those they regard as responsible with love and gratitude, not condemnation and persecution. That the whole matter of blame should be an issue at all is not only shortsighted but sadly tragic.

Tom Orr

Huntington Beach