Dear Editor:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rabbi Schonfeld for his many articles against Liberalism. Rabbi Schonfeld has the courage to speak his mind. This type of courage is in short supply.
I would like to respond to Warren Hecht’s article, “Go Vote,” and Izzo Zwiren’s article, “The Great Divide.” Warren stated, “Unfortunately, in our current political climate, it is unusual for a person to criticize those who are members of their political party and praise those who are members of another party. An extreme example is the comment from one of the Letters to the Editor – who, I believe, has stated in the past that he is the son of Holocaust survivors – who attacked me for criticizing Marjorie Taylor Greene’s comments that demean those who suffered and died in the Holocaust.” Izzo stated, “However, during this same time period, Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Green decided to release some fresh anti-Semitism of her own.” The paper also put a picture of Marjorie Taylor Greene next to a picture of Omar, as if to say that they are both just as bad.
I am the son of the Holocaust survivors that Hecht is referring to. It is intellectual dishonesty to make an allegation of anti-Semitism against Marjorie Taylor Greene without providing quotes and context of what she said. I guess Warren and Izzo are leaving that job to me.
The truth is that Marjorie Taylor Greene is a strong advocate for Jews and Israel. She has the courage to stand up to the “Squad.”
In her Twitter account, Tlaib states, “Israel targeting media sources is so the world can’t see Israel’s war crimes led by the apartheid-in-chief Netanyahu. It’s so the world can’t see the killing of babies, children, and their parents. It’s so the world can’t see Palestinians being massacred.” Tlaib also compared Israel to Nazi Germany in a previous tweet.
In her response, Marjorie Taylor Greene stated, “Israel was not targeting media, they were targeting the terrorist organization Hamas that is funded $30M/month by Iran, and has been firing over 1,000 rockets into Israel this past week ... Never forget that Obama/Biden sent $1.7B pallets of cash to Iran. Iran funds Hamas jihad $30M/month against our ally Israel.”
Taylor Greene responded to the blood libels of the “Squad” against the Jews and Israel: “You’re responsible for attacks on Jewish people because of your Hate-Israel stance against Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas, calling Israel an apartheid state, and supporting terrorist groups. Aligning yourself with terrorists means you’re a terrorist.
Warren claims that Greene demeans Holocaust survivors. Please show me the quote. However, Warren is guilty of this very crime when he compared Trump to Hitler and Haman in a previous article.
Trump stands up to anti-Semitism. How can anyone make the argument that Trump is as bad as Haman and Hitler. It simply does not make sense.
Warren and Izzo wonder why I say that the Democratic Party does not support Israel. I cannot believe any rational person would say such a statement. Not a single Democratic Senator stood up for Israel. Biden praised Tlaib and the “Squad” for their blood libels against the Jews. Omar stated that Jews are traitors to this country and they only care about money. Pelosi praised Omar for her anti-Semitic comments and stated that Omar is a respected member of our group.
Even Warren admits that Chuck Schumer refused to condemn Hamas for their rocket attack on Israel.
Robert Menendez, the most ardent supporter of Israel, stated, “I am deeply troubled by the Israeli military actions that resulted in the death of civilians in Gaza.”
The Democrats in the House of Representatives blocked a bill that would have condemned Hamas.
The Democrats support Tlaib and the “Squad.” You cannot be a supporter of Jews and a supporter of anti-Semites.
If a Democrat would speak up and say the things Taylor Greene is saying, I would support him/her.
As a closing word, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Manny Behar for his voter guide. It was very informative, and I am sure it took a lot time to prepare.
Martin Berkowitz
Dear Editor:
Moshe Hill continues to make unfounded claims and outlandish statements in his most recent article on abortion and the Catholic Church. Despite what he thinks or wishes to be reality, there is no scientific fact, source, or organization that proclaims a developing fetus to be the same as what we would consider a human being. He later tries to rationalize a pro-life argument by comparing aspects of a second trimester fetus to a human and then uses those comparisons as proof as to why a fetus is a human being, forgetting he isn’t a scientist and doesn’t have any authority to make scientific claims (which can get pretty anti-halachic if you want to go down that rabbit hole of logic). Even if you think abortion is wrong in most cases and should be limited, to pretend that general scientific authority universally agrees with the idea that a fetus is no different from what we consider human, especially when no scientific authority is sourced, is blatant misinformation.
Hill goes on to discuss Catholicism and abortion, and how it’s universally banned for Catholics to have abortions. Obviously, it’s Church doctrine that abortion isn’t allowed, but the topic of how it is allowed in a secular culture and how Catholics deal with it in politics is much more nuanced than it seems. In his Encyclopedia of Catholicism, Frank K. Flinn writes: “The Church recognizes that Catholics may accept compromises that, while permitting direct abortions, lessen their incidence by, for instance, restricting some forms or enacting remedies against the conditions that give rise to them.” Flinn says that support may be given to a political platform that contains a clause in favor of abortion but also elements that will actually reduce the number of abortions, rather than to an anti-abortion platform that will lead to their increase.”
Given this, it seems reasonable to assume that Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosis’ policies fall under what the Church would deem acceptable. Before Roe v. Wade, over 1,000,000 abortions had occurred in the US annually according to the National Abortion Rights Action League; the number now, as of 2018, is a little over 600,000 according to the CDC. Even if you claim that all this doesn’t matter, since the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said Biden didn’t deserve communion anyway, it seems rather narrowminded to rely on one sole organization that makes up Catholicism as definitive proof. By that logic, it justifies how many leftist circles proclaim to involve Jews in their activism and outreach while only reaching out to small groups that are on the political fringes of mainstream Jewish society, like the Jewish Vote or Jews for Racial and Economic Justice.
Moshe Hill brings up how Pelosi in the past has dodged questions in interviews or refused to be clear with her answers, but the justification for that is quite simple. She didn’t give in to reactionary attacks that asserted scientific basis and moral hypocrisy when there was none, and the person who asked the questions knew that, too. Put it simply, she did not reply to questions asked in bad faith, which is always the correct response. This article I’m responding to is no different. After all, why would Moshe Hill talk about the doctrine of the Catholic Church in a Jewish and Torah-oriented newspaper? He clearly isn’t a defender or crusader for the Catholic Church and doesn’t have the knowledge or experience if he even wanted to be one.
I’m barely versed in any sort of Catholic theology, and I was still able to contradict him with a miniscule amount of research. Why does he keep saying “Pro-Abortion,” as if the movement’s goal is specifically to kill children? That clearly isn’t true. Why does he feel the need to posture about how scientific his positions are, when they clearly aren’t? It’s because he wants to find bad faith smears of politicians he doesn’t like and will say anything to make a Democrat sound bad, no matter if what he’s saying is based in reality or not. Even if you don’t agree with the Pro-Choice movement, someone who’s acting in good faith would realize that abortion isn’t just about murdering babies, and science is more complicated than simply saying something is a fact. Most importantly, they wouldn’t use the issue as a mask for their own partisan agenda. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Moshe Hill will be acting in good faith anytime soon.
Jeffrey Chernigoff
Dear Editor:
Like Mr. Hecht, we are all thrilled that the lockdowns have been lifted and can go about our pre-COVID lives for the most part. Mr. Hecht is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts. He intentionally left out a key ingredient in his latest column. He could not thank President Trump for Operation Warp Speed, without which there would be no vaccinations (we have three) and normal life to go back to. His lack of hakaras ha’tov is the height of chutzpah as he glowingly describes his Father’s Day. He spent the good part of 2020 blaming President Trump for every US COVID-19 death. Now that there’s a new President, he takes his cues from the left-wing media and hides the COVID-19 death toll in 2021. Are those deaths Joe Biden’s fault? After all, there are vaccines now. So even more so, those deaths should be attributed to the current President.
He ends his column in a positive light: This year is better than last. In the context of his piece, sure. But maybe he should have chosen his words more carefully. Inflation is at a 30-year high. Gas, cars, lumber, food, just to name a few commodities, are all more expensive than they were last year. Illegal immigration is out of control with no end in sight. Critical Race Theory is front and center in every educational institution in this country, as well as our military. Marxism is on the rise, and the destruction of our democratic republic is beginning to take hold from within. Anti-Semitism and anti-Asian hate are out of control. Crime, specifically murder, in the inner cities (all Democrat-run) is through the roof. While the Democrats scream that that we should follow the science when it comes to COVID-19, they refuse to follow science when it comes to a baby in the womb, that it is a human being, and that there are only two genders. Maybe we aren’t better off than we were last year?
Shalom Markowitz
Dear Editor:
The 2021 New York City Democratic Party Primary Election Day has come and gone. This reminds me of “The Outer Limits,” a 1960s television show. With the end of round-the-clock commercials by politicians, political action groups, and pay-for-play special interest groups, we now return control of your television sets back to you until the November General Election cycle. No more candidates’ campaign mailings clogging mailboxes and weighing down our hard-working postal employees. Finally, some peace and quiet!
Now if only all the winning and losing candidates would pick up all the thousands of campaign signs that litter our streets to help clean up our environment. All can use leftover campaign funds to hire either the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts to collect this litter. They could pay our young people a nominal fee, which I’m sure would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Larry Penner
