viewpoints » S end letters to: letters@thejewishnews.com Nutritionally Speaking By Barbara Beznos, RD/LD/N Integrated Nutrition, LLC for openers DEAR BARB, Orchestrate Your Speech Can you tell me what to do with my child of 6 years old, who needs to lose weight? How do M usic is well said to this person never hesitates to be the speech of pipe up. angels,” according You are aware that as par- to Thomas Carlyle, Scottish ents we try to drum into our historian and writer. Though offspring the proper way to do many of us fall a bit short of things. Of course, we have to the angelic, there is, no doubt, work to snare their attention. a lot of music in our everyday I do not want to toot my own Sy Manello speech. horn, but I am often eager to Editorial Assistant How “instrumental” are trumpet the news when some- you in contributing to this? thing good happens to someone Consider, if you will, the following refer- somewhere. I try not to harp on it. ences. Though, heaven knows, good news is The voice itself is a beautiful instru- often hard to come by these days. ment. Sometimes, however, you will be Have you ever been tempted to fiddle aware of a certain pitch or timbre that around with a project? Doing something makes you believe the speaker has hit a different is a good way to keep your sour note. Someone whose voice grates interest in what is going on; it keeps one really has brass to speak up publicly. vibrant. When talking with others, be Being unaware of the sounds produced, sure to chime in with your latest accom- plishments — not bragging, of course. When seeking new adventures, try whatever rings your bell. Be wary, though of new purchases that are costly because of all the bells and whistles attached. If I were given to the use of puns — (what?) — I might offer this: At work, if you were to issue to the personnel a brief memo, then it might be said that you gave the staff a half-note. (Oh, stop that groaning and compose yourself!) When it comes to conversation, never be afraid to play along. What you learn may be music to your ears. * guest column Jews And The Left Reconsidered O n Sept. 12, the New York Times Communist Party of Poland in 1930, for published an op-ed piece by example. In addition to participating in Dr. Dave Rich, an associate general leftist movements, Jews organized research fellow of the Pears Institute a number of explicitly Jewish socialist par- for the Study of Anti-Semitism. Dr. ties before the Second World War. Rich’s op-ed describes notable changes Why were so many Jews sympathetic in the voting behavior of British Jewry to left-wing causes at an earlier point in in recent decades and quotes history? Explanations revolv- from an analysis written by the ing around the purported racial British historian Dr. Geoffrey characteristics of Jews, the impact Alderman: of Jewish religious ideas and the “Anglo-Jewish political atti- marginality of the Jewish popula- tudes and loyalties, which were tion have been expounded by substantially Liberal for much of prominent scholars. However, the 19th century and substan- there is reason to question both of tially Labour in the mid-20th,” the first two of these explanations. Jack Jacobs Dr. Alderman noted, “are now The notion that Jews are a race substantially Conservative.” has long since been discredited by The tendency mentioned by Drs. Rich reputable social scientists. The idea that and Alderman is part and parcel of a Judaism per se is intrinsically progressive broader trend. Jewish political opinion is not tenable. Jewish religious beliefs can has shifted away from the left not only and have led some to deeply conservative in Great Britain, but also in major Jewish political positions. But explanations for the communities around the world. one-time link between Jews and the left Jews played highly visible roles, over revolving around marginality have a great an extended period of time, in the leader- deal of merit. Jews were regularly marginal ship of socialist, communist and anarchist to the societies in which they lived when organizations. Rosa Luxemburg and the left came into being and in the era Ferdinand Lassalle, Leon Trotsky and during which it developed. The rejection Pavel Axelrod, Alexander Berkman and of Jews by mainstream society contributed Emma Goldman were all Jewish. to their sense that a dramatic change was In the first half of the 20th century, both desirable and necessary. significant numbers of Jews were also However, the Jewish socialist parties evident in the rank-and-file of specific that had been active in the Russian Empire left-wing political parties. Jews constituted did not long survive the Bolshevik consoli- some 35 percent of the membership of the dation of power in the U.S.S.R. And most of the Jews sympathetic to the non-Jewish leftist parties of Central and Eastern Europe, or to the Jewish socialist move- ments in those lands, suffered the same fate as did the rest of the Jewish popula- tion during the Second World War. The bulk of the European Jewish leftists who remained in Nazi-occupied Europe during the War died or were murdered during the course of that conflict. The arc of Jewish ties to the left in the United States was ultimately parallel to that in Europe — though the reasons for the decline of these ties were, I hasten to add, markedly different. In 1979, Professor Arthur Liebman wrote in Jews and the Left that the economic and geographic mobility of American Jewry had led to a “socioeconomic metamorphosis,” which “could not but be damaging to the Jews’ commitment to socialism.” The trends described by Liebman have continued and help to explain the continu- ing decline in ties between American Jews and the left. In the 21st century, leftist anti-Zionism and other factors have also contributed to further reductions of support for leftist causes within American Jewry. To be sure: American Jewry is more liberal than many other American ethnic groups. American Jewry is, however, not currently identified with the American political left, but rather with mainstream American political institutions and ideas. More American Jews were supportive of continued on page 6 I approach this? Thanks, Ruthie I have some solutions of Guidelines for Parents ‡ Provide your child with lots of love and attention. Don’t pressure your child to lose weight. ‡ Have regular meals and snacks. Try to discourage eating at other times. ‡ Let your child decide how much to eat. Don’t limit the amount of food a child can eat, or make a child clean the plate. ‡ Serve the same healthy food to all family members. Don’t put your child on a special low calorie diet. ‡ Have appealing snack foods available…like popcorn, frozen fruit juice bars, string cheese, and frozen low-fat yogurt. Don’t have lots of high fat snack foods like chips, cake, pie, ice cream, cupcakes and doughnuts. ‡ Expect your child to grow into his/ her weight. Don’t expect your child to lose weight. ‡ Encourage your child to be more active by playing with toys like balls, Frisbees, jump ropes, and bicycles, by joining a sports team, by taking gymnastics, swimming, tennis or other lessons, by walking the family dog, or by joining a 4-H club, Girl Scout, or Boy Scout troop…don’t let your child spend a lot of time watching TV or playing video games. ‡ Go on family outings that include hiking, swimming, and going to parks and playgrounds where everyone can play actively. Don’t let your family become “couch potatoes”! Contact Barb At: Integrated Nutrition, L.L.C. 31731 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 105 E Farmington Hills, Mi 48334 Phone: (248) 538-8050 E-Mail: rds@integratednutrition.com Web: www.integratednutrition.com 2097330 November 24 • 2016 5