8 June 13 • 2019 jn continued from page 5 online comments Rabbi Tamara Kolton’ s opinion piece (page 8, May 30) about the abortion issue prompted comments on the JN’ s Facebook page: Jim Van Eaton: “With today’ s emphasis on science, when are we going to start caring about the MOST vulnerable of us, the unborn children? Anyone who has seen an ultrasound knows there is a person in there. It’ s not just tissue. To equate pro-life with patriarchy is the highest hubris I could imagine. Killing children is not feminism.” Ambre Abbott: “Nice article. But to be clear, it’ s not just ‘ late-term abortions’ that’ s become a hot topic. Any abortion, six weeks or even in cases for rape, is trying to be overturned.” Lissa Zack LoVasco: “Pro-choice is not equivalent to pro-abortion. The so-called pro-life people seem to only care about the zygote/child pre-being born. If all the people who are pro- life supporters took the time to help children in need (who have already been born), the world would be a much better place.” Steven Seiler: “It’ s not about power of the ruling class and more to do with destroying human life! You can twist the subject all you want by going back to slavery and the Salem witch trials. Please take a long look at yourself, and I will pray that you change your ways!” Frances Swoish: “Any man who comments against abortion rights has no idea whatsoever.” Max Rohtbart: “Wow, [this piece] really misses the mark. More centered on religious or philosophical arguments from the pro-life side and liberty or practicality arguments from the pro-choice side. Lots of passions on both sides, which is understandable since it really is a complex issue which both sides rationalize into simplistic talking points.” Laura Hearshen: “Jewish pro-life female moderate Democrat survivor of sexual assault. Thank you for the article.” The Jewish News welcomes reader feedback. Feel free to comment on thejewishnews.com, our Facebook page or send a letter to letters@renmedia.us. views publisher’ s notebook Father’s Day Mir hobn, kinder, Mother’ s Day Mit bloomen, dinner, that’ s OK. But what about your Tate, too Un alle things er toot for you? Mein kind, that’ s all ich hob to say. Mir hobn: we have Kinder: children Bloomen: flowers Tate: Father Un alle: And all Er toot: he does Mein kind: my child Ich hob: I have — By Rachel Kapen Yiddish Limerick possesses more of the skills necessary to participate in the country’ s high-tech economy — and reap its benefits — than the Haredi Jewish population. The Taub data show that 62.2 percent of non-Haredi Jews and 36.9 percent of Israeli-Arabs possess good or very good English skills. This compares to 27 per- cent of Haredi Jews. For Israeli-Arab girls studying in high school, 68 percent said their coursework includes math, 57 percent physics, 56 percent computer science and 56 percent electronics. In general, these numbers are about twice as high as the overall Jewish population, and substantially higher than the Haredi population. Further, the data show that about 3 percent of Haredi girls and 1 percent of Haredi boys are on high-tech education tracks. The high cost of living in Israel places added pressure on the bulk of the pop- ulation. According to the Taub Center data, prices in Israel are 14 percent higher than the average OECD country. They are 40 percent higher than the U.S. And with Israeli prices as the bench- mark, only two countries — Chile and Latvia — are more expensive than Israel. Behind the startup nation curtain, 18.6 percent of Israeli households fall below the poverty rate. Among Israeli Arabs, the poverty rate is 49.4 percent and 45.1 percent among the Haredi Jewish popu- lation. It is 13.3 percent for non-Haredi Jews. When measured using disposable income, Israel’ s poverty rate is the high- est among all OECD countries. None of these data detract from the miracle that is Israel, its high-tech savvy and its regional and global achievements under overwhelming external military, political and economic pressure. But car- ing about Israel’ s future requires looking beyond the allure of “start-up nation” and remembering there are millions of ordinary Israelis from all walks of life who struggle daily to make ends meet in a high-cost, low-disposable income country. The Israeli government must prioritize and address these fundamental dispari- ties, equipping more of the current and future labor force with the educational and English-language skills needed to compete and succeed. Jews in the diaspora have an ongoing role to play, too. One notable example is the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit’ s Partnership2Gether achievement in teaching critical English language skills to thousands of children residing in the Central Galilee region. With reliable data and trusted insights from the Taub Center, closing the gap between Israel’ s haves and have nots is not rocket science — that’ s reserved for moon shots. It will, however, require the same now-legendary focus an d deter- mination that are the underpinnings of “startup nation.” ■