Dear Editor:
As COVID-19 continues to be a risk, it is important for people to understand the parameters and effects it has on not just those who get it but the families of those infected with it. Although there is some controversy of whether people should wear a mask, in the Jewish community people look to their leaders for guidance during these trying times. Those leaders should set an example for their communities and not dismiss the importance of looking out for others. Rather, they should follow the rules and encourage others to do so, as well.
I think it is a chilul Hashem when rebbeim do not wear a mask or social distance, since they are implying that it is okay to socialize as we did before the pandemic. It seems as if they don’t trust the experts in the medical field. I have heard from different people who say that it’s not so bad, or that herd immunity is good, or that they don’t know anyone who has passed away, so they don’t feel the need to mask and social distance. Some people just find masks uncomfortable and therefore choose not to wear them. Are people really waiting for someone they know to pass away in order for them to start wearing a mask?
Hashem sends out signs to each and every one of us in good and bad times. Do we really need a death as a sign from Hashem to change our ways? We should all consider that these people who are getting sick and sometimes dying are part of someone else’s family. Think about how you would feel if that person was a close friend of yours and you might have been unknowingly responsible for infecting him or her. There has been a recent spike of COVID-19 cases in Jewish communities in Queens and Brooklyn. There is already anti-Semitism in the world. Let’s show the non-Jews that the Jewish people care about the lives of their fellow man. Let’s be considerate of one another by wearing a mask and observe social distancing.
A Concerned Citizen
Dear Editor:
This past week witnessed the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or RBG as she became known. As expected, a flood of messages glorifying her legacy on the bench started pouring in immediately. I certainly concur that the admiration, respect, and honor expressed by her family, her friends, her fans, her colleagues, politicians, academics, and students of the SCOTUS is all well-deserved: She was a legend in her own time, with many firsts in terms of accomplishments.
However, like your article indicates, she relied too heavily on her “own good judgment.” That was a big mistake that will probably result in the Top Court leaning heavily into conservative majority, for many years to come – something that pained her greatly when she realized that she had missed a priceless opportunity.
Had she been receptive to President Obama’s, as well as Senator Pat Leahy’s, implicit suggestions for retirement, she would have set a historic movement in motion to change the leaning of the Court.
I am sure that the realization that she had missed a golden opportunity, for a perfect legacy, haunted her ever since, and influenced her decision to remain on the Bench till “death do us part,” despite her age and poor health. RIP, RBG; you’re also human – a great one!
Jacques Hakim
Bayside
Dear Editor:
I can’t wait to read the second part of the “Dating Today” article, “My Extended Family.” I am in the same situation as Pinny, being a single father. My ex and I get along pretty well, but I have my kids half the time and I’m looking for help, and there doesn’t seem to be any except to “get your kids enrolled in therapy.” Been there, done that.
I feel for Pinny, but it sounds like there’s a solution to the problem of single parents not having where to turn.
Goldy, you are a find! A gem! Love your column. Continue the good work!
G’mar Chasimah Tovah,
Barry Stein
Dear Editor:
Thank you, Queens Jewish Link, for publishing Goldy’s column. I always read it when I get the paper on Fridays. I love it.
She didn’t disappoint this week. I read weeks ago that she is working for a new agency. This must be it, because it says how the letter changed her life. If the letter she published about the abandoned family has anything to do about her new job and how she loves it (I know Goldy’s cousin for years), then I can’t wait to hear how she helped Pinny and others like him – because she tries to generalize and not just address one person and one issue.
I look forward to her answer in the next issue.
Estee Berger
Dear Editor:
In Warren Hecht’s column (September 24 issue), he gives a moving tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg and some moving thoughts on how we should approach Yom Kippur. Unfortunately, he ruined it all with his attack on Trump and the Republicans. He said that the Republicans are hypocrites for not having confirmation hearings for Judge Garland (Obama pick) close to the elections, and holding hearings for Amy Coney Barrett (Trump pick) even closer to the elections. My response is that it is the Democrats that are the real hypocrites.
#1: Nadler and his fellow Democrats railed against the Republicans for impeaching Bill Clinton without bipartisan support. The Democrats then impeached Trump on frivolous charges without any Republican votes. Warren supported this impeachment.
#2: The Democrats made phony harassment allegations against Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh. They said that a woman must always be believed when she accuses a man of sexual misconduct. However, when Biden and Bill Clinton were accused of harassment, the Democrats said that the women were lying. Keith Ellison, a known Farrakhan supporter, beat up his girlfriend and he is now attorney general of Minnesota. According to the Democrats, abusing women is fine – as long as a Democrat is doing it.
#3: Warren and the Democrats attacked Trump as disrespectful to the military because an anonymous source said that he made a disparaging comment two years ago. The fact that 26 people have debunked the story was ignored. When it came to Flynn, an American hero with a great military career, the Democrats with the help of the corrupt FBI set him up with false allegations. When the DOJ dropped the charges, Judge Sullivan decided to prosecute the case himself. The Democrats all supported this travesty of justice, even though they know that a judge cannot act as a prosecutor. Warren is a criminal defense lawyer. He does not care about Flynn because he is a Trump supporter. Suddenly, it is okay to destroy the life of a military man if he supports Trump.
#4: Warren and many frum Jews support the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party stands for forcing people to accept gay marriage. The Democratic Party stands for partial birth abortions. The Democratic Party stands for Farrakhan, who believes that Jews are termites and should be exterminated. The Democratic Party supports Iran, the leading supporter of terrorism. The Democratic Party and Warren support funding suicide bombers. The Democratic Party supports letting out violent criminals and life imprisonment for an innocent man like Rubashkin. Biden, whom Warren loves, says “Pollard will be released from jail over my dead body.” Trump is against all these things and Warren hates him. That is not the way of the Torah.
#5: The Democrats believe that BDS is free speech. BDS is anti-Semitism. How is that free speech? If you are against racist speech you cannot be in favor of anti-Semitism.
#6: The Democrats believe in the Black Lives Matter Movement. The Democrats kneel to the ground in support of this movement. Black Lives Matter stands for murdering police officers even if they are black. The Democrats want the police defunded but they want protection for themselves.
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. No Democrat should accuse anyone of hypocrisy. If Warren needs my help is improving his articles, I am here to help. I wish everyone a good year, which will focus on Torah values not Democratic Liberal values.
Martin Berkowitz
Dear Editor:
There is more to the MTA & NYC Transit issuing new rules and regulations for riding the subway. Until the early 1960s, subway riders respected authority. There was a ten-cent fee to use station bathrooms. That generation of riders did not litter subway stations and buses, leaving behind gum, candy wrappers, paper cups, bottles, and newspapers. They didn’t spit, urinate, or defecate on subway platforms or cars.
Today’s riders are reluctant to use subway station bathrooms, even when available. Many stations have no working facilities or are closed. Who wants to deal with the lack of toilet paper, soap or hot water, unhinged doors to stalls or finding a mess left behind by the previous patron? Who wants to find others using it as a safe place for consumption of drugs or other inappropriate activities? Homeless people afraid to go to shelters end up using the bathroom sink to shower in an attempt to maintain hygiene. Why not assign a matron to each male and female bathroom.
Ask any local business, college, or hospital to adopt an adjacent station bathroom to help cover the costs of staffing. In exchange, give the sponsor free advertising space at the station. If necessary, charge a nominal fee to use the facility.
Sincerely,
Larry Penner
Dear Editor:
Last week, we saw the ugly anti-Semitism of the radical left and our left-wing extremist mayor, Bill de Blasio. On Tuesday, September 22, de Blasio singled out six neighborhoods in NYC (Borough Park, Flatbush, Williamsburg, Midwood, Kew Gardens, and Far Rockaway), five heavily Jewish, for allegedly having the highest uptick in new COVID cases. However, the publicly-available data from the City contradicts this. Now, our bigoted mayor has put Orthodox Jews in his crosshairs once again. He just held a very public press conference in a Borough Park park, alleging the uptick in new cases was connected to private schools. His choice of venue was as subtle as singing Horst Wessel while waving a red flag with a black swastika! Our racist mayor was once again trying to blame Orthodox Jews for COVID, just like he has made them the scapegoats in many of his debacles. His naked bigotry and hate was on full display for all to see.
In the past week, de Blasio and his intolerant cronies shut down multiple Orthodox private schools for alleged COVID outbreaks. At his Borough Park press conference, de Blasio used his claim to justify not opening up public schools. Yet we all know this to be false and lies based in anti-Orthodox bigotry and anti-Semitism. None of the Orthodox schools shut down by the City had outbreaks, defined for schools by the State as either 5% of the student body or 100 students (whichever comes first). In fact, none of these schools even came close to that number. One Orthodox school in Far Rockaway of 2,600 students was shut down by de Blasio for an “outbreak” of just two students. I may not be a mathematician but 2 is 98 less than 100, and that 0.07692% is far, far less than 5%.
It is through these fake numbers and lies that de Blasio attacks the Orthodox Jewish community, and shame on the media in NYC for eating up his hate-filled propaganda without ever actually checking the facts or looking into the veracity of his claims. Furthermore, de Blasio informed the mainstream media of his press conference, but left out the Orthodox media. Additionally, prior to his ad hominem attack on the Orthodox Community and their schools, the mayor did not inform, talk to, or even meet any of the over 200 Orthodox Jewish leaders in the Five Boroughs. They were left out in the cold and only learned of this when the press conference started. All of them have noted that they follow every state guideline and every city guideline, but de Blasio changes the rules on Orthodox schools at whim and without warning - a double standard used to attack Jews. Shame on the media for ignoring these critical details.
Further, I call out all the Democrat politicians who have not come out to condemn de Blasio; only a handful have ever even attempted to call him out on his past bigotry and discrimination, and even fewer this time. None of the elected Democrats in my district have come out in defense of the Orthodox community. Not a single Councilmember, Assemblyperson, State Senator, or my opponent, Congresswoman Grace Meng. Meng, who claims to be a friend and ally of the Orthodox community, has been quiet to de Blasio’s target and malicious discrimination for years, and has even helped coved up anti-Semitism within her party. She is placing loyalty to party leadership over the people in her district and I call her to the floor today to choose a side: our religious and racially diverse community in the New York Sixth Congressional District, or stand with the racist and bigoted de Blasio.
I, and my campaign, stand firmly with the Jewish community, especially our Orthodox neighbors against de Blasio’s blatant hate and attempts to stir up violence against the Jewish community. We call on all New Yorkers to call out the mayor on his lies and hate. We stand with the Jewish community of this city; we stand against racism in all forms. A racist attack against any of us is an attack against all New Yorkers. Join us in support of our Jewish friends and neighbors against the attacks of de Blasio. I have been an ally in the fight against anti-Semitism for years, from back in my days as a union activist and organizer until today, in my helping the Bukharian community deal with discrimination. I will always put the people of the district first, I will always put the American people first, and I will always stand against all forms of racism and anti-religious bigotry.
Tom Zmich
Candidate for New York’s 6th Congressional District
Republican Party, Libertarian Party, Conservative Party, and Save Our City Party
