Open Letter To Oskar Deutch : HATE EVIL AND LOVE GOOD

 

o.deutsch@ikg-wien.at

office@ikg-wien.at

Dear Mr Deutsch,

"Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate… Let justice well up like water, righteousness like an unfailing stream." - Amos 5:15,24“You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” – Pirkei Avot 2:21

I hope this message finds you well. I know you are receiving other messages, and trust you understand that their intent is not to bombard or overwhelm you, but to show the depth and extent of passion for those who know, love and support Beth Alexander, and our belief that there must be some resolution to her awful predicament. I hope it shows the emunah that if only enough of us with good intent could come together, there could be some righting of wrongs which have taken place.

I was at Cambridge University with Beth. She was the first person to greet me at the Jewish society and as an older student, only showed kindness, welcome and sweetness to me. I was at her wedding to Michael, and we watched a young couple who seemed so in love.

We now know that people are not how they seem. Whatever your perspective, robbing a loving mother of access to her children is unjust. As a mother of two small boys, I cannot begin to put myself in Beth's position. The decision to alienate Beth from parenting her children has been perpetuated by the Austrian courts to the point that they are intransigent to reconsider. Nevertheless, the legal system is not an impenetrable bubble, and pressure can and must continue for a re-examination. The Jewish community has a strong voice, and I ask that you do whatever is in your power to exert pressure for the case of Beth to be with her sons.

Additionally, in this year of the twins bar mitzvah, what the Jewish community can control is how to facilitate a meaningful opportunity for Beth to be with the boys, be part of their bar mitzvah preparation and celebration. As a community organiser myself, who has worked with bar and bat mitzvah occasions where parents are separated, the lessons learnt are that both parents must be equally involved, communicated with and given a meaningful part in the celebrations. Anything else makes the Jewish community complicit in parental alienation.

I am grateful in advance for all you can do to right some of the wrongs that have taken place, and alleviate some of the suffering.

Best wishes

Miriam Lorie