Three Dangerous Women
Nancy Pelosi has placed Ilan Omar on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. A freshman Muslim congresswoman who proudly wore her hijab to her swearing-in ceremony, Omar has demonstrated no knowledge or skills that would warrant her receiving such a prestigious position. But she will now have a platform from which to push her anti-Israel, anti-American agenda.
Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been appointed to the powerful House Oversight Committee despite the fact that she, too, has demonstrated no particular knowledge or skills that would justify this appointment. But she will now be able to advance her extreme left positions and call for endless investigations of President Trump and his administration.
And then there’s Rashida Tlaib, who proudly wore her Palestinian thobe garment to her swearing-in ceremony. She plans to arrange a trip to the West Bank for congressmen – with taxpayers – to show them the plight of the “poor Palestinians.” She has attacked Jews and Israel and has openly pledged her allegiance to the Palestinian cause.
These three appointments represent just the beginning of Pelosi’s plan to sabotage Trump over the next two years. Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI) is urging its members to call Nancy Pelosi’s office – 202-225-0100 – and protest her recent actions. She also can be contacted via www.speaker.gov/contact.
Helen Freedman
Co-Executive Director
Americans for a Safe Israel/AFSI
Wonderful Articles
Last week’s issue of The Jewish Press featured two exceptional obituaries, and one of them – written by a mother about her incredible son – contained a sentence that really touched my soul: “Death leaves an ache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal.”
The other one – by the friend of a young woman who was tragically killed – contained a beautiful reference to Joseph and his brothers. The author writes that some life events are beyond words and notes the tears that Joseph shed at his father’s funeral when his brothers came to ask him for forgiveness. Similarly, she writes, true happiness also cannot be expressed in words.
As a great-grandmother who has lived through the cycles of life, I know what she means. Both of these emotions – extreme sadness and extreme happiness – come from the soul, and our souls are immortal.
Thank you for all the beautiful, thought-provoking, and Torah-filled articles you publish.
Amy Wall
Brooklyn, NY
An Open Letter to the OU
I have always reserved a special place in my heart for the Orthodox Union – perhaps because my great-grandfather and namesake, Abraham Goldstein, founded the OU’s kashrus division.
It is thus with a heavy heart that I must report my shock at discovering that the OU now certifies a brand called Big Gay Ice Cream. This company, whose products feature a prominent rainbow, gave itself this provocative name in order to normalize same-sex behavior.
Some weeks ago, I challenged one of the OU’s principal lay leaders regarding this matter. He said mine was not the only complaint. However, he claimed, if the OU refused to certify Big Gay Ice Cream, “it would be the end of kashrus in America.” Sensing my incredulity, he explained that such a refusal would lead to wide-scale protests by gay-rights groups, resulting in many products dropping their kosher certification.
This reasoning defies logic. No such protest would succeed (or even ensue) since no one assumes the OU has to certify every product. Moreover, companies want kosher certification because it affords them access to a large number of consumers. This commercial interest will not disappear simply because of a few protestors.
Finally, I ask: How would the OU respond to a request for kosher certification for a brand called “Intermarriage Ice Cream” featuring a photo of a chassid hugging an obviously gentile woman? I have no doubt that the OU would decline to certify a product of this nature. Why, then, is Big Gay Ice Cream different?
I suspect, sadly, that the answer lies in the wearing down of our aversion to same-sex couples. Even in the Orthodox community, many no longer find homosexuality objectionable. If I am correct, we have truly lost our moral compass.
I call upon the Orthodox Union to immediately withdraw its certification of Big Gay Ice Cream and reclaim the moral high ground that, for decades, has been one of its defining characteristics.
Avi Goldstein
Far Rockaway, NY
No Future For Jews On The Left
I left the Democratic Party because I saw an increase in anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Democrats are mainstreaming anti-Semitic candidates who support the isolation and destruction of Israel via boycott.
Journalist Daniel Greenfield puts it succinctly: “There is no future for Jews on the left except as collaborators in anti-Semitism.”
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg
Beware Of Trump’s Plan
Members of the president’s inner circle have indicated that Trump’s Mideast peace plan will demand substantial concessions from Israel and none from the Palestinian Authority.
Unfortunately, Donald Trump is used to having everything his way and will probably refuse to negotiate. He will likely show the same stubborn attitude when it comes to the peace plan that he has in his fight over border wall funding. Israel may very well feel the pressure.
The only ray of hope is that Trump will realize that an anti-Israel plan will upset his base. Most won’t ever vote for Democrat, but they just might stay home, which would ensuring his defeat.
Nelson Marans
New York, NY