Redefine Hillel policiesIn response to your editorial "Hillel correct in asserting values" (March 15):

The current criteria that you must support Israel as a Jewish and democratic state runs against Zionists who never wanted a state, and diasporic Jews who see themselves in a continuum with centuries of Jewish challenges to oppression who fought for open societies and social justice for all. It seems that the boundaries set up by a Zionism that is nationalistic erases and forbids other Jewish traditions from being at the table. Perhaps one could argue that their is some anti-Semitism involved in that attack and erasure of other goals that represent the kinds of struggles that Jews waged for centuries and continue to wage in the many movements for rights, equality and justice that do not exclude Palestinians.

-Marla Erlien

Boston

Hillel acted appropriately

In response to your editorial "Hillel correct in asserting values" (March 15):

As Americans, we are so imbued with the concept of "freedom of speech" that we regard it as an inalienable right. The iconic "fire!" in the movie theater proves it to be less than inalienable and Brandeis Hillel's unwillingness to accept Jewish Voice for Peace is much the same.

Let Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, decide for itself what its future path will be. It is inappropriate for American Jewish students, particularly those who do it out of "love," to interfere with the Israeli political and commercial landscape. Would these same students show a similar public lack of loyalty to their parents and siblings? I hope not. It is really offensive that Jews are often their own worst enemies. Kudos to Brandeis Hillel.

-Rosanne Litwak

West Orange, NJ

Atheism can lead to ethical living

In response to your article "Atheists on campus require support" (Forum, March 8):

While I agree it is difficult to form community around religious beliefs that you don't have and religious experiences that you are specifically avoiding, I see atheists as having some positive beliefs above and beyond the mere absence of religious belief. Deliberate, conscious atheism tends to correlate with certain approaches to intellectual inquiry. It makes different assumptions about our origins and our place in the natural world. It comes with a different understanding of how ethics and morality work in the social world and how they are justified. In this way, it leads to Humanism, which is a commitment to ethical living that is based on things that humans understand and control. A secular club that just happens not to focus on anything particularly religious does not meet a need for atheist community. The other members of the club might be theists and might not be open to, or knowledgeable about, discussing anything from an atheist perspective.

-Tucker Lieberman

Waltham

The writer is the editor of Moral Relativism Magazine