Shabbos In Midwood
My beloved husband Phil and I had the distinct pleasure of spending this past Shabbos in Midwood, Brooklyn, at the home of June and Avy Bomzer.
We’ve been their Shabbos guests before, and we are always overwhelmed by the warmth and Yiddishkeit – the all-enveloping heimishe feeling – of the Bomzers’ home, their shul, and their community. The neighbors on their block are like family. They truly care about each other.
June and Avy personify the mitzvah of hachnassas orchim. From the second you walk through the door you are treated with so much derech eretz and kavod.
And we are particularly grateful to their son Eli, who always enhances and augments our Shabbosim there. He is such a mensch and his middos are exemplary.
Eli will make a very lucky young lady an extraordinary husband. Thank you, Eli, for taking such stellar care of us.
Yasher kochachem to Midwood, the shuls, the kehillah – and of course to June, Avy, and especially Eli Bomzer – for creating the kind of Torah atmosphere that makes Hashem smile.
Miriam Ryfka Maltz Schiffman
Elizabeth, NJ
Abandon ‘Land For Peace’ Formula
One has to wonder what, if anything, Donald Trump was thinking when, during their meeting at the White House last week, Mahmoud Abbas left an impression that his former preconditions will now become conditions.
There are numerous known alternatives to the shopworn “two-state solution,” and if Trump has a serious interest in seeking a positive outcome, he needs to consider them and abandon any form of “land for peace” resolution.
Alex Rose
Ashkelon, Israel
Gov. Wimpy?
Re the passage of the new $153 billion New York State budget (Albany Beat column, April 28):
Gov. Cuomo failed to include any money to meet his commitment for paying 25 percent or $6 billion toward the $24 billion Gateway Tunnel project. At the same time, Cuomo must still find $5.8 billion more toward the $8.3 billion shortfall he originally promised two years ago to fully fund the $29 billion Metropolitan Transportation Authority Five Year Capital Plan; $5 billion toward the $6 billion Second Avenue Subway Phase 2; $3 billion to pay back the federal loan for the Tappan Zee Bridge; $2 billion for the Long Island Rail Road Main Line Third Track project; and billions for a one-seat ride to Kennedy Airport.
The list is endless when it comes to Cuomo’s unfunded transportation commitments, which total close to $100 billion.
Cuomo reminds me of the character Wimpy in the old Popeye comics and cartoons who famously said, “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” But Tuesday never seems to come for commuters and taxpayers.
Larry Penner
Great Neck, NY
Editor’s Note: Mr. Penner is a transportation historian and advocate who worked 31 years for the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 NY Office.
Time For Trump Haters To Grow Up
Resistance! Sounds great – reminiscent of the occupied nations of Europe standing up to their Nazi occupiers. Brave people, refusing to submit to Nazi rule that had enslaved them and made their everyday lives fraught with danger and despair. Underground fighters, risking their lives to overthrow the Nazi barbarians.
Fast forward to the present and we’re presented with a silly, heavy-handed attempt at recreating this World War II scenario, substituting Donald Trump’s election victory for the Nazi occupation.
Apparently it is too difficult for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, and much of the party faithful to graciously accept defeat. Rancor, vehemence, and street “demonstrations” – often marred by violence – were their answer to Trump’s victory.
“Loyal opposition” as postulated by the British for centuries is the standard for civilized behavior and demeanor following a lost election. Not for the Democrats, though, whose resistance includes daily calls for Trump’s impeachment from the likes of the unhinged California congresswoman Maxine Waters.
The good news (for Trump) is the public’s negative perception of these tactics. The American people, those endowed with fairness and decency, have no problem differentiating between public tantrums by sore losers and responsible counterarguments by a loyal opposition protected by the Constitution.
It’s time to grow up for the many die-hards who refuse to accept the results of an election.
Myron Hecker
(Via E-Mail)