Letters: Mayor Nutter: the Israel deal

AS DIRECTOR of Government Affairs for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, I was delighted to be an active participant in Mayor Nutter's trade mission to Israel. It was my honor to work with the Commerce Department, the Philadelphia Israel Chamber of Commerce and the Consulate of Israel to develop and implement this very productive and important visit.

In just five days on the ground, valuable contacts were made, innovative ideas were shared and promising business opportunities were realized - culminating in the signing of an agreement between Drexel University, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Hebrew University for a research consortium focused on pediatric research. Members of the Israeli team will be coming to Philadelphia this January to take the next steps.

Mayor Nutter and his delegation also met with Nechemia Peres at a venture-capitalist roundtable. This proved to be the genesis for a symposium that will take place in Philadelphia in the near future.

I know that the various business leaders that participated found this trip to be invaluable in establishing relationships that will benefit them, the City of Philadelphia and their Israeli counterparts.

As Philadelphia's chief executive and head cheerleader, Mayor Nutter did our City proud. He touted the many advantages of visiting and conducting business in Philadelphia wherever he went and with everyone he met.

It was a joy to see the response he received; this kind of good will cannot be created via a phone call or a letter. It is the face-to-face interaction that will benefit our city as it realizes new business opportunities and creates bonds of friendship and cooperation.

Robin Schatz

Director of Government Affairs

Jewish Federation of

Greater Philadelphia

Helen's there

I have been reading Helen Ubiñas' column since its inception. I enjoy reading it because she always comes across as a caring, truthful person who is really concerned about the problems in our city. She is always willing to speak up for people whose voices are not being heard when they are facing problems that are not being addressed by our city agencies.

I decided to call Ms. Ubiñas on Friday, Nov. 1, about the damaged fire hydrant on the corner of 61st and Lindbergh Blvd., which had been gushing water for almost a month after a car knocked it over. The water was running out of the ground and had been reported to the Water Department numerous times by myself, to no avail.

Ms. Ubiñas returned my call immediately and promised to come out on Monday, Nov. 4, at 8:30 a.m., to take a look. True to her word, she was there, on-site by 8:20.

She was able to have the problem corrected in about an hour, while we could not get any response from the city in a month. I am writing this letter to let you know what an asset I feel Ms. Ubiñas is, not only to the Daily News, but to the citizens of Philadelphia.

Thank you, Ms. Ubiñas, for your caring and impressive attitude.

Ellis Gilliom

Philadelphia

Bone to pick about Meatless Monday

I would like to offer a different perspective on Meatless Monday, which was praised by Vance Lehmkuhl in his column.

Meatless Mondays reinforce the idea that animal flesh is morally distinguishable from other animal foods. It isn't. Animals exploited for dairy/eggs are treated as badly as animals used for meat, and they all end up in the same slaughterhouse, anyway. Moreover, if animals matter and are not just things, promoting the idea that we act morally by not consuming some animal foods one day a week is a pathetic response. Would we fight racism through a campaign that sought to stop people from telling some racist jokes one day a week? Of course not!

And Meatless Monday is also promoted by many as an end in itself, to reduce the environmental consequences of flesh consumption or as a health measure similar to reducing alcohol consumption. It really misses the fundamental moral point.

I think we should be clear that if animals matter morally, veganism is the only rational response. If people choose to do less as some sort of incremental program, that should be their choice and not the normative message of anyone who thinks animals matter morally.

I understand that a campaign like this brings in donations for welfarist groups like The Humane League, but they really do very little to shift the paradigm on matters of animal ethics. Indeed, campaigns like this are counterproductive.

Prof. Gary L. Francione

Rutgers University