Silence Is Not Golden
I read with interest Mr. Hecker’s letter of June 2 in which he openly criticized Senator Schumer for his insistent silence.
Finally, published in the press is a valid criticism of Mr. Schumer, whose continual silence in the face of overt antisemitism in Congress is curiously puzzling.
Now a report, finally after two weeks, is published of a woman whose vicious antisemitic comments were publicized. Mr. Schumer, Mr. Nadler and other prominent Jews in politics remain silent; the old adage, “Zug goornisht, schvieg shtill” remains operative. What is it about these Jewish politicians that makes them so fearful of speaking out. It is if they think by keeping one’s head down no one will notice that one is a Jewish senator they are in error. Everyone knows that Schumer and Nadler are Jews, as are many other members of Congress.
There is no hiding, even if they think they are safe with “Zug goornisht, schvieg shtill.”
Bert Zackim
New York N.Y.
Corrected Brain Games
Concerning your “Brain Games” of the June 2 edition:
The published answer to the clock riddle is incorrect.
You state that the two hands of a clock will overlap 11 times in a 24-hour period. Well, let’s see: 12 a.m., 1:05, 2:11, 3:16, 4:22, 5:27, 6:32, 7:38, 8:44, 9:49, 10:55.
And then it repeats for the p.m. for a total of 22 times.
Just so ya know!
Nat Bloom
Via Email
Editor’s note: The letter writer is correct. We regret the error and thank Mr. Bloom for the correction.
Fight Fire With Fire
In a democratic society, debate should be a prerequisite. Popularity contests are generally regulated in a high school setting, not national elections. However, in recent years, the drive for power has shut down substantive arguments for winning an election. Since the age of Covid, the embrace of electoral tactics as the primary “tick for tack” war in an election season has taken form. Early voting and mail-in ballots have been the two key factors of the new electoral era.
In 2020, 60 percent of early votes came from Democrats, while only 32 percent came from Republicans. Similarly in 2022, Democrats in battlegrounds like Michigan and Pennsylvania voted early by more than, at best, 20 percent of Republicans, while nationally Democrats exceeded Republicans by 10 percent. Democrat’s embracement of voter contacting strategies to court voters to vote as early as possible has resulted in victory after victory. This includes candidates that are viewed as more vulnerable, including, gaffe-filled President Joe Biden, ill-stricken Senator John Fetterman, abortion-loving Governor Gretchen Whitmer, etc. Candidate quality does not matter as much as it once did; instead, strategy quality is where the money is.
Two weeks ago, the only other viable Republican running for president announced his official run. When Ron DeSantis announced his run, the official primary began. In the past two weeks, with all the battles between team Trump and DeSantis, the overarching factor that matters the most has gotten less attention: ballot strategies. Since Covid, Democrats have sought out early voters and engaged with voters in a more organized and efficient strategy than Republicans. The top priority in the Republican party should not be what nickname Governor DeSantis has today, but instead building a ballot-chasing/harvesting strategy for the GOP.
The arguments over the party leader in 2023 are a distraction from the real issue. Having a candidate like DeSantis in the race where his state’s GOP pursued early voting and won the vote, leading to a 20 percent overall victory, is a start. DeSantis in this debate has the record, while Trump has the record of rhetoric. Republicans must demand of both Trump and DeSantis a concise and efficient operation to win elections, thereby countering and defeating the Democrat machine. As a famous saying goes, “Fight fire with fire!”
Donny Simcha Guttman
North Woodmere, N.Y.
Biden’s Alice in Wonderland Definition of Antisemitism
A Jewish Press editorial of June 2 cautions readers to pay close attention to President Biden’s antisemitism plan.
The editorial correctly warns of the duplicity involved in linking the Nexus Document to the definition of antisemitism as described by the 2016 International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
Upon careful scrutiny of the Lexus Document, a glaring contradiction materializes. The Number Eight example of antisemitism states, “It is antisemitic to advocate a political solution that denies Jews the right to define themselves as a people, thereby denying them – because they are Jews – the right to self-determination.”
The document goes on to “explain” what is not antisemitic. The Number Three example states: “Opposition to Zionism and/or Israel does not necessarily reflect specific anti-Jewish animus nor purposefully lead to antisemitic behaviors and conditions. (For example…someone’s personal or national experience may have been adversely affected by the creation of the State of Israel. These motivations or attitudes towards Israel and/or Zionism do not necessarily constitute antisemitic behavior.)
The “Nakba” is an Arab term that means catastrophe as it specifically relates to the formation of a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael in 1948. Jewish communities have existed in Eretz Yisrael continuously, even after the destruction of the Second Temple. They grew during the Ottoman Empire’s occupation of Eretz Yisrael. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the victorious allies eventually handed the self-determination and political future of the Jewish Palestinians to the democratic vote of the United Nations. The Jewish Palestinians accepted partition of the Palestinian territories of the defeated Ottoman Empire. Seven Arab countries rejected the democratic vote of the United Nations and launched an all-out war to wipe the fledgling Jewish state off the map.
In other words, the Nexus Document justifies the Arab use of “Nakba” as a legitimate expression of the Arab frustration with being “adversely affected” by the creation of the State of Israel. First the Arabs denied a political solution to the Jewish people. Then the Nexus Document exonerates the Arabs for complaining about a situation that they created by not allowing for a political solution in the first place. More succinctly, it’s not antisemitic to complain about the creation of a state whose same opponents were defined as being antisemitic.
The bottom line is that President Biden and his atheistic Progressive/Communist supporters do not and never will recognize an Israel that was deeded to the Jewish nation by the G-d of Creation. The events which led to a United Nations vote and subsequent miraculous military victories were all orchestrated by G-d. It was a democratic vote of the United Nations that gave international recognition to Israel. It was and still is Jewish blood that sustains our existence to this day. Zionism is not just the national liberation movement of the Jewish people. It is the fulfillment of a commandment that equals all of the other 612 commandments! The Final Redemption is underway, regardless of whether the Arab nations or the United Nations or President Biden or anyone else approves or disapproves. The return to Israel is an integral element of Jewish belief and religious observance. Anyone or any nation that opposes Jewish observance is on record as cursing the Jews. The Bible warns against such hateful “antisemitic” behavior.
David Ferster
Great Neck, N.Y.
How About Some Real Budgeting?
Returning $31 billion of unused CARE Covid-19 Emergency Relief funds as part of the agreement to raise our federal debt ceiling is a drop in the bucket. President Biden and Congress should have agreed to look at all federal government agencies’ unspent carryover funding from previous fiscal years. There should be a forensic audit for all agency grant programs. Any funds from inactive grants, projects and programs not being used should also be reprogrammed to reduce our $31.4 trillion and growing national debt. Many more billions could be found and returned to the Treasury Department. All future federal grant programs should include a requirement for recipients to submit a cash draw-down plan and sunset date for completion. Any unused funds after a reasonable amount of time should automatically be returned to the Treasury Department.
Government, the private sector, and citizens must make difficult financial decisions on how to use existing resources. Americans prioritize their own family budgets. They make the hard choices in how existing household financial resources will be spent. The president and Congress should do likewise.
Larry Penner
Great Neck, N.Y.
