Queens Jewish Link
Connecting the Queens Jewish Community There have been many pillars of society who, before Trump became president, acted as if they were...
Although this is the introduction to my column and not my main topic, it is more important. On Sunday, June 2, from 11:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. between 62nd and 74th Streets on Fifth Avenue will IY”H be what was referred to as the Israeli Day Parade and Celebrate Israel Parade but is now called Israel Day on Fifth.
There have been comparisons made between what is going on at college campuses today and during the Vietnam War. For example, on April 30, 1968, the police were called in to remove students who occupied Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, and the same thing happened on April 30, 2024. On May 4, 1970, four students were killed at Kent State University when the Ohio National Guard shot at protestors. There are some now requesting that the National Guard be brought in to quell the current protests. The 1968 Democratic Convention was in Chicago and the Democratic Convention is going to be in Chicago in 2024. In 1968, the administration was supporting a war that was unpopular with the protestors, and today the Democratic administration is supporting a war that is unpopular with the protestors.
I, among other individuals, have made comparisons between what is going on in our country today and what happened in 1968. I have taken the position that 1968 was worse, since back then both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated within two months of each other. I was speaking with someone a few years older than I who takes a contrary position. He says it is worse today since back then we had leaders who were respected.
Former Harvard professor and independent presidential candidate Cornel R. West was recently asked by CNN’s Abby Phillip about the Hamas attacks. He response was, “But you don’t start with those voices without coming to terms with the vicious killings and occupations that’s been going on for 75 years, and then you get a counter-terrorist response to that.” Phillip asked him to clarify if he referred to the October attack on southern Israel as a counter-terrorist response.
One of the shortcomings of those who criticize Israel’s conduct in Gaza is their inability to consider Israel’s response in a historical perspective. The same can be said for those who criticize Biden’s latest action. Many claim it’s the worst thing a president has done to Israel during wartime.
I try to avoid writing about a topic if I know a fellow columnist will also be writing about it. Since I saw Susie Garber in a shul in Albany, I expect that she will also be writing about it. However, it was such an amazing unique experience that I feel the need to write about it.
