Condoleezza Rice appearance on Nov. 8‏
From: charles turchick (cturchick@hotmail.com)
Sent: Fri 10/23/09 7:42 PM
To: alexander@bethelsynagogue.org; gjkrupp@gmail.com; lindag@bethelsynagogue.org

Dear Rabbi Davis, Dr. Krupp, and Ms. Goldberg:

We humans are quite the species, aren’t we? We have this powerful facility for communication, and yet we engage in wars where we kill each other by the thousands, if not millions. We all remember opposing groups negotiating whether to negotiate, debating on the size and shape of the negotiating table, and worrying about who enters the doorway first.

In this spirit, we will take the first step. To date, we have exchanged e-mails, written newspaper opinion pieces and letters about one another, and perhaps inadvertently built up some walls. So what we all would like to do now—and everyone in our group feels the same—is sit down with you and discuss our differing viewpoints about your invitation to former Secretary Rice.

Among the things we feel we might discuss are whether the Sec. Rice invitation was indeed a good idea; what facts we and you feel are relevant in making that determination; what we intend to do at our demonstration on November 8th; and what you intend to permit and not permit with respect to the parameters of our demonstration.

We would be willing to have two or three of us meet with you at a time and place of your convenience to discuss these matters. We would also invite you to join us in various radio and television events we have already begun pursuing to discuss the difficult issues surrounding this event.

Please do not take this communication as any lessening of our resolve to demonstrate our opposition both to the illegal and immoral policies that Sec. Rice was instrumental in pursuing, and to Beth El Synagogue’s giving the Secretary a platform to justify those policies.

We look forward to your response to our invitation.

B’shalom,

Chuck Turchick
On behalf of Tackling Torture at the Top

Reply to your invitation‏
From: Gary Krupp (gjkrupp@gmail.com)
Sent: Fri 10/30/09 9:23 PM
To: cturchick@hotmail.com
Cc: Alexander Davis (alexander@bethelsynagogue.org); Linda Goldberg (lindag@bethelsynagogue.org)

Dear Mr. Turchick:

Please inform your organization that we accept your invitation to meet with two or three representatives to exchange ideas and different viewpoints in the hopes of understanding one another better – after Dr. Rice’s visit to our community on November 8.

Let’s discuss details of the meeting – the date, place, etc. – the week of November 16 or sometime thereafter.

Most sincerely,

Gary Krupp
President,
Beth El Synagogue

When it comes to “dialogue,” Beth El Synagogue and I have very different dictionaries.

I would love the opportunity to ask Secretary Rice how she can continue to say that the U.S. did not torture when the rest of the world by any standard recognizes our actions as torture.