Loving The New Speed Limits!
Dear Editor:
My whole community is thrilled about the latest news that the speed limit in school zones is being reduced to a mere 15 mph, and it applies 24 hours a day! We can now scurry leisurely across the street at any time, even before or after school hours when no children will be anywhere in sight.
Mayor Mamdani, you are great for our squirrel community, as well as other constituencies like rats and wild animals, who will have less to fear from unsympathetic motorists.
Our gratitude would be incalculable if only the city would enforce the compost laws, which provide us easy access to all that ready-to-eat food in those familiar brown canisters that would appear on curbs throughout the city.
Keep up the good work, Mr. Mayor.
Respectfully,
Bush E. Tail, Esquire
Legal Representative of The Queens Squirrel Association
The Hidden Value Of Travel Agents
Dear Editor:
The recent uncertainty surrounding travel to and from Israel has taught my family a lesson we won’t soon forget: in an age of DIY online booking, a professional travel agent is not a luxury—they are a lifeline.
In February, we booked our daughter’s flight home from seminary for Pesach. We chose El Al, believing it to be the most reliable option. However, as tensions escalated and flights began to be canceled, we found ourselves in a parent’s worst nightmare. We spent days in a “communication black hole,” receiving no word from the State Department or the airline. We logged countless hours on hold and on WhatsApp, desperate for any way to get our daughter back to New York.
The “convenience” of booking a flight ourselves quickly evaporated. When we reached out to various agencies for help, many understandably couldn’t prioritize us because we hadn’t used them originally. Others offered “solutions” that would have cost us thousands of additional dollars.
It wasn’t until the very day of our daughter’s original canceled flight, on Wednesday, March 18, that we were directed to Joy Travel. Despite having no prior obligation to us, they did what we couldn’t do in days of frantic searching: they promptly secured her a seat on a Friday morning flight to JFK.
The takeaway is clear. We live in a world where travel can be disrupted in an instant by global events. While booking your own flight might save a few minutes or a few dollars upfront, you are essentially on your own when things go wrong. A dedicated travel agent has the expertise, the connections, and the willingness to advocate for you when the automated systems fail.
To my fellow travelers: Do yourselves a favor. For your peace of mind and your family’s safety, use a travel agent. When the “unthinkable” happens, they are truly indispensable.
Praying for yeshuas Hashem in these perilous times,
Rabbi Yossi Azose
West Hempstead
The Ides Of March
Dear Editor:
Julius Caesar was right about the Ides of March. It’s when the tax season, Pesach bills, and property taxes merge into one huge sum. Did I omit the oil bill? March is also 31 days when you try to cram in all of your doctors’ appointments that you have been pushing off for reasons like: it’s snowing, it’s too cold, I haven’t reached my deductible, and this pain will ultimately subside. Well, surprise! It’s time to pay the piper and to get into that paper gown.
Now, here I am cuddled in my leather chaise recliner and ready to share my Oscar thoughts with you. However, did I mention that I haven’t seen one of the nominated movies? The other problem is I tuned in 40 minutes late. Nevertheless, I can still appreciate some of the gowns (despite the lack of tznius) and eagerly await Barbra Streisand’s appearance. Well, there she is! What’s with the frizzy hair? She makes my hair look glossy and good. At least her voice didn’t fail her, and she was able to sing the last line of “The Way We Were.”
What was truly disgusting about the Oscars wasn’t only that Javier Bardem yelled out, “Free Palestine!” but that the Hollywood audience cheered him on. Instead of being upset about Timothée Chalamet’s comment about ballet and opera, Steven Spielberg should have been yelling about that obscene phrase. (By the way, I don’t like opera and ballet.)
Debbie Horowitz
A Scary Moment In Rechovot
Dear Editor:
There was a strike in Rechovot that was about a mile or so from our apartment. Baruch Hashem, we are okay. We actually had a scary incident yesterday when we were on the highway driving back from our granddaughter Eliana’s birthday party in Ramat Bet Shemesh. We needed to pull over as we heard the sirens. There was a barrier that I had a difficult time trying to climb over. This really nice guy came over, helped me climb this fence, and gave us his yoga mat to lie down on the ground. Fred laid on top of me. We covered our heads, heard the booms, and were okay. He then helped us back over the fence and offered us his yoga mat to keep in our trunk. We turned him down for that but certainly appreciated what a hero he was for us!
Anita (Serle) Naider
Rechovot,
Israel
A Call For Clarity And Priorities
Dear Editor:
Mr. Hecht is rooting for our enemies—ours as in America’s and Israel’s. It’s quite disturbing, but it’s true. Let’s not get so bogged down in rhetoric and maybe focus on what’s important: total defeat of the enemy. The regime controlling Iran must be defeated. Our brothers and sisters in Israel are constantly having to run into bomb shelters. Schools are closed. If you’re a patriotic American and an Orthodox Jew, that is the goal. President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu are the only world leaders to confront this. Meanwhile, Warren Hecht is worried about “happy talk.”
Did he worry about “happy talk” when DHS Secretary Mayorkas lied to Congress and the American people that the southern border was closed? What about when inflation skyrocketed to over 9% in June 2022, gas was $5 per gallon, and we were told it’s “Putin’s price hike”? On a weekly basis, Mr. Hecht and David Pecoraro would defend the lies, not criticize them.
The Department of Homeland Security is in a partial shutdown. There is currently no funding for the TSA, Coast Guard, FEMA, and Secret Service. The Republicans in the House have already passed a bill to fund DHS. Democrats refuse to cross the aisle and get to the 60-vote threshold required to fund the agencies. The only rational-thinking Democrat is Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman. To his credit, he has consistently argued that our government agencies should not be held captive in this political war and should be funded. They are citizens with bills to pay, and Democrats haven’t paid them in almost a month. Elon Musk has now come out and stated that he’d personally like to fund the TSA. Only after Elon Musk’s offer did Senator Schumer go to the Senate floor and state that the TSA needs to be funded. Mr. Hecht, do you ever miss a paycheck? Maybe what your beloved Democratic Party is doing to the country isn’t a big deal to you, Mr. Hecht. But it certainly is to the rest of us.
Shalom Markowitz
