Turning Into Your Parents
Dear Editor:
There’s a funny TV commercial for an insurance company trying to stop people from becoming their parents. If the major theme of all your conversations revolves around the weather and prices, you have become your parents. “Can you believe we can expect an inch of snow this week?” (Duh! It’s February.) “Where can I get eggs for less than $6 a dozen?” (Stop baking so much.)
If your major purchase at Costco is 24 rolls of toilet paper, you’ve either become your parents, or you need to see a doctor. Why shlep 24 bottles of water when the water you get from the sink is good enough? Do you really need another winter jacket even though it’s only $59? Then, there’s the endless queue. (If you’re using that word instead of line, you’ve become your parents.) Most of the time, you can finish War and Peace in the time it takes you to check out. What about looking at other people’s carts and remembering the 20 cans of tuna that you might need if the weather prediction is correct.
Then, there’s the issue of time, of which King Shlomo knew a lot about. (If you’re humming the Byrd’s song, you are your parents.) How long did it take you to get to the wedding in Lakewood? How long did it take you to get back? How do you do the drive to Baltimore in four hours? Why does it take 11 hours to get to Israel and 12 hours to get back (or the other way around)? What time do they serve “The Early Dinner Special” in Florida? Why does Shabbos end later in New Jersey? How long did the davening take when it was Chanukah and Rosh Chodesh?
I’m sorry, but I have to end now because I have to spend two minutes putting on my sweater, vest, hat, and gloves. Then, I have to walk 4-5 blocks to shul. Should I take 70th Road or Jewel Avenue? Wait a minute. I’ve turned into my parents, but maybe my kids are turning into me. “Maasei avos siman l’banim.”
Debbie Horowitz
Dear Editor:
I am relieved that the US Department of Education will finally investigate Columbia University for its continued failure to address anti-Semitism on its campus. Columbia has shamefully become the face of anti-Semitic hatred and intimidation in higher education across the United States. For far too long, Jewish students have faced harassment, discrimination, and threats to their safety – all while university leadership has unconscionably failed to act.
I expect Columbia’s full and unwavering cooperation with this federal investigation. It is imperative that the university take responsibility for its failure to protect Jewish students and uphold the values of safety, inclusion, and respect for all.
Furthermore, I demand real consequences for Columbia’s administration, as I am confident a proper investigation will reveal that Columbia will be found to have neglected its duty to provide a learning environment free from hatred and hostility. No institution should be allowed to willfully turn a blind eye to such blatant violations of student rights.
Above all, we demand justice for the Jewish students of Columbia. They deserve a campus where they can learn, express themselves, and participate in academic life without fear of being targeted because of their identity. This moment must be a turning point – not just for Columbia, but for all universities – to take a firm and unequivocal stand against anti-Semitism in any form.
I will be watching this investigation closely and will continue to advocate for accountability, meaningful action, and lasting change to ensure that Jewish students in New York City and across the country are protected.
Council Member James F. Gennaro
District 24, Queens
Warren Hecht’s Criticism Of Trump’s Pardons
Dear Editor:
While I agree with Warren Hecht’s column in criticizing the pardons and commutation of the January 6 rioters, I must take exception to his criticism of the pardon extended to the drug traffic facilitator who created the “Silk Road” website.
At first sight, it might seem paradoxical that the President who screams loudly against Mexicans and Canadians as being the cause of our drug problems should grant a pardon to Mr. Ulbricht, there is a clear logic to his decision. Mr. Ulbricht was born in Texas and is therefore an American citizen. American addicts should buy American and keep profits in the USA. America First!
David Segal
Kew Gardens Hills, New York
Dear Editor:
I understand the instinct some people have to defend Elon Musk for the gestures he made at the inauguration. However, I think there are several points that are worth keeping in mind:
- As of this writing, Elon himself has failed to directly explain or defend his actions. Now he’s probably the type of person whose ego prevents him from acknowledging mistakes, even inadvertent ones, but that has still led to a situation where people are rushing to defend him in ways that he has declined to do for himself.
- What Elon did was, in form, a perfectly executed Nazi salute. That might not have been his intention, but that’s what it was. So, when conservatives share still pictures of Democrats with their arms extended, when video shows that what they were doing was in no way comparable to Elon’s actions, it comes off as a little disingenuous.
- Soon after the inauguration Elon appeared virtually at a campaign event for AfD, the far-right German party he supports, and said that in Germany there is “frankly too much of a focus on past guilt and we need to move beyond that.” Make of that what you will.
- It’s a fact that under Elon there has been a sharp increase in unchecked overt anti-Semitism on Twitter, both Israel-related and not. There have been times I have seen something repulsive in my feed, which I’ve clicked on, expecting to see some pushback, only to find general agreement and approval (which is exacerbated by the visibility boost Twitter gives to those who pay for it). And of course, that just causes the algorithm to show me more of the same. It’s exactly the type of content that the old regime at Twitter tried to suppress, however imperfect their efforts might have been. Now you might argue that this result of Elon’s “free speech” philosophy is an acceptable trade-off for the unrestricted allowance of other types of viewpoints that were previously somewhat censored, but that is not exactly comforting when you come face to face with it. (And it should be pointed out that despite Elon’s stated principles, he pretty clearly, both anecdotally and by analysis, put his thumb on the Twitter scale in favor of President Trump in the run-up to the election.)
- It’s troubling that Elon has essentially been able to buy his way into a prominent role in the Trump administration. It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence when you see stories like the one about how a long-time and well-respected non-political member of the Treasury was forced to resign after resisting Elon’s attempt to gain access to a sensitive internal government payment system. There are similar stories about Elon’s associates exerting their will at other government agencies. Now I’m sure that the crowd that contorts themselves to defend anything Trump does will try to justify all of us. But even if they really are carrying out Trump’s own wishes, there are more transparent and legitimate ways to do it than giving carte blanche, with seemingly no oversight or accountability, to his largest donor, who is unelected, unconfirmed, or even an official part of the government. He’s just a private citizen (DOGE isn’t a real agency) with a host of conflicts of interest (for example, try to find what Elon the free speech absolutist has said about China, as opposed to other countries that he has criticized) who is taking control of whatever established government office he sees fit.
Regards,
Yaakov Ribner
What’s the Deal with the Deal?
Dear Editor:
Eliezer “Chayni” Marom’s recent remarks about Israel’s ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas hit a nerve – and not the good kind, like when you find an extra pita at the bottom of the bag. As a retired Navy commander and former Northern Project Coordinator, Marom isn’t just some guy shouting opinions at the falafel stand. When he raises concerns, it’s worth pausing, and maybe even putting down your coffee (but only for a second).
Marom suspects there may be hidden concessions buried in the fine print of the deal – you know, the kind of details they don’t mention until after you’ve signed. His point is simple but unsettling: Why is Hamas suddenly acting like they’ve hit the jackpot? Their recent “generosity” feels less like goodwill and more like that awkward moment when your kid volunteers to clean his room without being asked. You just know something’s up.
He admits he doesn’t have all the details (because apparently, national security doesn’t come with a group chat for retired commanders), but he’s right to ask: Did we unknowingly hand Hamas a lifeline? Or worse, a get-out-of-jail-free card?
Israel’s strength has always been in its resilience and clarity. We shouldn’t have to squint to understand what’s in a deal that affects our future. If there’s nothing to hide, great – let’s hear it. But if there is, well, that’s not just Marom’s concern. It’s everyone’s.
After all, when it comes to national security, surprises are great for birthdays – not hostage deals.
Am Yisrael Chai!
Shabsie Saphirstein
Trump’s Real Accomplishment
Dear Editor:
President Trump is in the midst of a honeymoon period with Americans, enjoying his highest approval ratings. One would think the self-proclaimed “very stable genius” has accomplished amazing things over his first two weeks. He has not. A review of some of his more notable accomplishments include declaring that there are only two genders, judging people by their work product instead of their skin color and/or genitals, banning mentally ill people from the military, declaring that drug cartels that kill 100,000+ people a year are “terrorists,” and that a country is only a country if it has borders.
One is left to wonder why Trump omitted Executive Orders declaring water as wet or a new recommittal to having 1+1=2. If someone would have told you in 2008 that any of the above-mentioned actions would be necessary by a sitting President of the United States, you would have thought he was insane. Well, folks, thanks to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the country was set on an unsustainable path to insanity.
I can understand why Trump supporters believe his actions are brilliant, but they aren’t. He has merely restored some sanity by setting the country back to pre-2008 norms.
Jason Stark
Dear Editor:
When a football team is losing at halftime, the coach will make some adjustments for the second half of the game. It appears that neither the Democratic Party nor Mr. Hecht does any introspection at any point. Mr. Hecht spends eight paragraphs dissecting President Trump’s pardons of political prisoners. When it comes to President Biden, he writes a mere two sentences, simply stating that it sets a bad precedent. He quotes a partisan hack federal judge who was more than willing to throw the current President in prison for the rest of his life and was chomping at the bit to do it.
Mr. Hecht, US Attorney Graves was a disgrace with the prosecutorial overreach and this was not equal justice. I do not see Mr. Hecht criticizing the lack of prosecutions for arson, looting, or murder following the death of George Floyd? But if someone was just standing on the lawn of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, he was hunted down by the FBI and given hard time.
It doesn’t matter that the Democratic Party got badly beaten this election cycle. Their foot is on the accelerator no matter what. Despite their unfavourability being 25% points higher than their favorability right now, they still think they represent illegals and criminals instead of the everyday citizen. They voted against the Laken Riley Act. They do not seem to think that an illegal who commits rape or murder should be immediately deported from our country.
Our Senior Senator, Chuck Schumer, who was one who voted against the Laken Riley Act, also has not come out (not shocking) in support of President Trump’s latest Executive Order, which is to include Jews in the minority category. This now instructs the Civil Rights division of the DOJ to go after all the universities and colleges who are violating Jewish students’ civil rights by not protecting them sufficiently. For someone who just “wrote” a money-grabbing book on anti-Semitism, you’d think they’d be supportive of this. This pathetic Jew also voted against sanctioning of the ICC for their anti-Semitism and attack on Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pete Hegseth is cleaning house in the Pentagon. Marco Rubio has already flown to Guyana to meet with their Prime Minister to discuss aggressions of Venezuela and their move to grab land that doesn’t belong to them. Kristi Noem is strapping on a bullet-proof vest and going on early morning ICE raids in New York City to clean up our cities of illegals. Real leadership is back in Washington, DC. It will take some time, but we are on the right track.
Shalom Markowitz
Dear Editor:
To address Jason Stark’s comment on my letter (QJL 1/23): Sorry to say that his analogizing a second Trump term to a bad marriage, divorce, and ultimately remarriage to the same person is a poor one. If a first marriage ended due to problems that are not repairable (e.g., violence, extortion, repeated infidelity, etc.), then it would not be advisable to get remarried to that former spouse. Trump’s attempt to steal the election and remain in office in 2020 thereby dismissing democracy, certainly qualifies as a reason that he should never have been able to hold public office again. It certainly should have been an end to his political career. If Republican senators did not fear being primaried (or worse by his cult members), the majority would’ve voted to convict him following his second impeachment.
I agree that Biden’s term was a disaster, and it was time for a Republican successor. However, several sane, talented, and accomplished candidates ran for the Republican nomination in 2024. There is no reason that Trump should have won the Republican nomination (for the third time) following his reprehensible behavior following Biden’s election.
Sincerely,
Arlene Ross
Forest Hills, New York
