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<DIV>RAM wrote: "I suspect the answer is in his last line there: It just doesn't
feel right. Nowadays, no one relates "Tamuz" to avodah zara, but queasiness over
"Christchurch" doesn't surprise me a bit. "El Salvador" probably depends on
one's familiarity with the Spanish language.<BR><BR>Could it be that we're
dealing with a social issue, and not a halachic one?"<BR></DIV>
<DIV>I suspect that this analysis is the correct one. And if it so, it
very well might be that it applies to Mumbai as well. I wonder how many of
us knew, before this thread started, that the name Mumbai was
derived the name of a Hindu goddess. I'll be the first to admit that
I didn't. I use the name not to honor a goddess but because I believe in using
the names for cities and countries established by the governing authorities of
such places. And, if Israel decided that the official English name of
Jerusalem was Yerushalayim, I would expect the New York Times, other media and
our and other governments to respect that decision and use that name.
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>To be trite: sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Joseph Kaplan</DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>