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I don’t usually spend time responding to my “fans” who write letters to the editor, because if I did, I would not have the timr to write a regular column. However, due to feedback from others who saw T.F. from Great Neck’s letter to the editor, I will give a short response.  If T.F. thought that their letter was proper in tone and content, why did they hide behind their initials? Sorry, T.F. I ain’t going anywhere. The name of this paper is the Queens Jewish Link. It is not the Queens Jewish Republican Link or the Queens Jewish Trump Link. If other Jewish papers want to be nothing more than mouthpieces for Trump, that is their choice. However, it does not mean that it is right. Also, assuming, as T.F. claims, that a majority of the readers are Trump supporters, that does not preclude someone expressing a different opinion. That is the problem with this country. People just want to read newspapers or listen to other media outlets which contain positions that they agree with instead of hearing - even occasionally - from the other side. 

 Some Trumpians have been having a hissy fit because Speaker Pelosi ripped up Trump’s State of the Union speech after he was done. I can spend a whole article addressing how ridiculous this whole thing is, especially coming from people who never criticize anything the president has done. I will just say: Trump destroys people, while Pelosi destroys paper.

Now that the impeachment proceedings are over, it’s time for winners and losers. You cannot look at the impeachment hearing and trial in a vacuum. What happened during the Mueller investigation had an impact on the subsequent proceedings.

I had never been to Spain or Gibraltar and really had no great desire to travel to either location. However, the price was right, and it worked out with two of my daughters’ school schedules. We ended up going there along with my eldest daughter who took a few days off from work. It was listed as 11 days, but it was really nine since we lost a day going and had to leave in the morning coming home.

I was at the Siyum HaShas at MetLife Stadium, which I discussed in my column in the January 9, 2020, edition of the Queens Jewish Link. I was also at the rally on January 5 to protest rising anti-Semitism in the New York area. I probably was one of a small number of individuals who were at both events. My fellow columnist referred to this dichotomy as a tale of two cities (January 9 issue) and had a negative view of this situation.

The 13th global siyum, held on January 1 was the fourth such siyum that I had attended. I was at the 10th Siyum HaShas in 1997 at Nassau Coliseum, the 11th in 2005 at Madison Square Garden, and the 12th at MetLife Stadium in 2012. Each one was special. The 1997 siyum was the first time that I had been to a siyum on daf yomi and I was awed by number of people who were involved in the celebration. MSG was special since it was the first time I had been part of the “daily double-sided page” cycle. The crowd in Met Life Stadium in 2005 dwarfed the crowd at any of the prior siyumim. The place was packed with more than 90,000 people present to celebrate the completion of the daily daf. The 13th global siyum that was held at MetLife Stadium was more impressive than the prior event due to the time of year. It is easier for most people to stay outside for a few hours in the summertime. It is a lot different doing it in the dead of winter.