Charlottesville And Trump (I)
What a wonderful column by Rabbi Raphael Fuchs (From the Rabbi’s Desk, Aug. 25) regarding Charlottesville and the reaction to President Trump’s remarks. It was right on point and matched my own political views.
I’ve read many of his Torah articles and it’s good to see a Torah perspective on present-day politics.
Aaron Bartfield
Coral Springs FL
Charlottesville And Trump (II)
Yasher Koach on your August 25 editorial “Lost Opportunity,” in which you castigated Jewish organizations throwing in with the anti-Trump crowd.
Some questions for these groups that haven’t been asked:
- Obama was president for eight years; no one said “boo” about the Confederate statues, much less wanted to take them down. Why now?
- Trump claims the left had no permit to be there and the right did; others dispute this claim. If Trump is wrong, it’s worse – it means city officials issued permits for two opposing groups for the same date, time, and place. Why would they do that unless they wanted a clash?
- Why did the police fail to keep the groups apart? Could it be they had orders to allow for a confrontation? Given that the mayor is a Democrat, and that there seems to be no limit to Democrats’ negativity toward Trump (e.g., Missouri State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal recently called for Trump’s assassination ), this question is as damning as it is legitimate.
The disrespect for our flag; the desecration of even the Lincoln Memorial; the violence in the streets; the suppression of free speech, especially on college campuses – it all comes down to values.
Would these people act differently if Hillary Clinton had been elected president? Who knows? But as a country, we no longer have the same values, e.g., simple respect for one another. I ask the Orthodox organizations and rabbis who should have known better but joined with the anti-Trump forces: Why did you squander your integrity on this cause?
Ben Feigenbaum
East Brunswick, NJ
Charlottesville And Trump (III)
Shame on you, Jewish Press. Your editorial in support of President Trump’s remarks after the Charlottesville protests and tragedy demonstrates that your partisanship surpasses your desire to support Jewish interests.
To highlight and defend Trump’s (somewhat accurate) “violence on both sides” remarks creates an absurd moral equivalency between neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups (people shouting “sieg heil” and “Jews won’t replace us”) and “alt left” groups (people defending the rights and lives of black citizens, among others).
Your editorial even smacked of neo-Nazi and white supremacist apologist rhetoric when it carefully described the driver of the car that killed a counter-protester as an “alleged” white supremacist (despite overwhelming and immediately available evidence, including photographic, supporting his white nationalist and supremacist ties).
It seems there are limits to your Jewish advocacy.
Samuel Keller, M.Psy.
Doctoral Student in Clinical Psychology
The George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
Charlottesville And Trump (IV)
I want you to know how unsatisfied and disappointed I am in your coverage of what has been going on recently with our president, administration, and country.
After Charlottesville, you should be taking a clear stance on anti-Semitism and racism, and you should begin by criticizing the president for his press conference where he claimed that some “very fine people” were on both sides of the confrontation.
It’s hard to believe there are those who find nothing wrong with the notion that any “very fine” person would march on the side of the KKK and neo-Nazis.
Blimi Marcus
(Via E-Mail)
From Reformers To Back-Room Bosses
No wonder Brooklyn-Manhattan Democratic State Senator Daniel Squadron is smiling in the photo accompanying the item titled “Another Jewish State Lawmaker Resigns” in Marc Gronich’s Aug. 18 Albany Beat column.
It is no coincidence that Squadron joined Brooklyn New York City Council Member David Greenfield along with former Manhattan Democratic boss and State Assembly member Dennis Farrell in announcing their resignations after the Board of Elections filing deadline for would-be candidates in the Democratic Party’s September primaries. This denied any independent registered Democratic Party challenger the opportunity to run in a primary.
Yesterday’s reformers such as State Senator Squadron and his mentor, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, have morphed into today’s political Democratic Party back-room bosses.
Between gerrymandered districts and overwhelming numbers of Democrats vis-à-vis Republicans, Squadron’s successor chosen by the bosses rather than the voters is a guaranteed winner in the November general election. Republicans haven’t held his seat in almost 100 years. Democrats like Schumer and Squadron have taken democracy out of the Democratic Party.
Larry Penner
Great Neck, NY
The Most Important Rule
“Love thy neighbor as thyself” is the most important rule to follow for a good marriage. In fact, treating others fairly (which is loving others as you love yourself) is the most important rule to follow for any relationship.
After all, doing the reverse – that is, being unfair – causes anger and rips apart interpersonal bonds.
Importantly, this biblical teaching (often called “The Golden Rule” due to its being, in one way or another, a precept in myriad religions) instructs us to love our neighbor before we love ourselves. Why should we give love to someone else first? Because if we take the initiative in “buttering up” someone, that person will return more love to us.
And should we discover, after giving love first, that the other person, acting selfishly, will not appropriately reciprocate, it is a worthwhile loss. Worthwhile because we get to learn the character of the person early and we won’t make a future, mistaken investment of emotion and/or resources that leads to broken-heartedness.
Loving our neighbors as ourselves promotes faithfulness, a trait crucial to a marriage or a relationship. Faithfulness is promoted because when we abide by this rule, knowledge is imparted so that we know in whom our faith can be rightly entrusted.
Rabbi Chaim Yehudah Gruber
(Via E-Mail)
Golda’s Chicken Soup
I very much enjoyed Rafael Medoff’s “Of Homemade Soup and Jewish History” (op-ed, Aug. 25), in which he delightfully concludes: “Never underestimate the power of a hearty bowl of homemade soup!”
In this regard, I thought Dr. Medoff and your readers might enjoy seeing this “soup” document from my collection: a letter from Consul General Y. Carmel detailing Golda Meir’s chicken soup recipe – with knaidlach!
Saul Jay Singer
Editor’s note: Mr. Singer’s Collecting Jewish History column appears this week here.