For What it’s Worth: Warren Hecht

The ADL came out with its annual report of antisemitic incidents, which reached an all-time high of 2,717 in the United States last year.  The ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979. 1,776 incidents were categorized as harassment, either verbally or in writing, with antisemitic conspiracy theories, slurs, or stereotypes. This increased 43%, up from 1,242 in 2020.

I know some people who are not interested in hearing or reading criticism of their positions. I find it helpful to read or listen to others who may disagree with what I write. This past week is a good example. Someone mentioned to me about my comments relating to Supreme Court Justice Thomas and his wife’s texts with then-Trump-Chief-of-Staff Mark Meadows. He thought it was unclear as to who wrote the texts and, in any event, why should a husband be responsible for his wife’s activities? It sounds sexist.

Say what?! That was my reaction when I saw the article below my name in the Pesach issue of QJL. It was Goldy Krantz’s column, which was also under her name in another part of the paper. Considering how empty the streets were during Pesach, I doubt many people even read the paper. The correct article is in the online version if anyone is interested. Since it was about Passover, I cannot use it this week and must write something new. (Editor’s note: We apologize to Mr. Hecht for that terrible error and will be more careful in the future.)

In January 2016, Donald Trump famously declared that “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” An updated version of this statement should be, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I would not be charged with a crime.” Twice in the past ten years, the District Attorney of New York County (where Fifth Avenue is located) overruled senior prosecutors of his office, and decided not to bring charges against Donald Trump or members of his family.

Passover has arrived, and it is time to put the activities that consume our time aside. Thus, I am not writing about politics or other topics I write about throughout the year. Instead, I will focus on the Seder night on Passover.

Since the beginning of Russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24, the spot price of oil has been like a jumping jack. On February 18, the WTI (West Texas Intermediate) price was $91.07, and it was the highest on March 8, at $123.70. It went down on to a low of $95.04 on March 16, and on March 18 it was $ 104.70. I am using February 18 since it was a Friday, and the government survey of gas prices, which comes out on Monday, lists the average price for the prior week.