Even After 10/7, Jewish
Democrats Still Don’t Get It
In the article “Jabotinsky’s Monism and the Booing of Stefanik” (March 14), Jonathan Braun reports that at the ADL annual summit on March 10, Elise Stefanik was booed by some attendees, with several walking out when she said, “October 7 would not have happened under President Trump.”
With that in mind, I had an experience today which really shook me. We had just seen the movie October 8, which is a grim documentary on the horrific events of October 7 in Israel and their aftermath, the explosion of antisemitism in America, most visibly on college campuses. However, this was not what upset me, since we all basically know about that.
It’s what happened after we left the theater that bothered me. We had run into another local Jewish couple and also two young Palestinian ladies who said they had just seen the movie No Other Land about the Palestinians in the West Bank. Actually, the girls were very polite, and we had a very nice quiet discussion – no rancor, no insults, no conflict. In parting we wished each other that if we ever met in the future, it would be nice if all our problems would be resolved. So far, so good. But what happened next is what shook me.
In passing, the Palestinian girls mentioned that they were not too optimistic with Trump as president. This I could understand. But when the other Jewish couple we met also agreed that Trump would be a problem, I was really dismayed.
My thinking was that the other Jewish couple had just seen a long movie chronicling the horrific events of October 7 and its aftermath, which all took place under the Democratic Biden administration. It was the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust (which also occurred during a Democratic administration). Yet they, like over 70 percent of all Jews today, do not like Trump – who is the American president most friendly to Israel and the Jews – and still want another Democrat as president.
To me it seemed that if an involved Jewish couple who just viewed this gut-wrenching movie still want to be governed by Democrats, they have learned absolutely nothing and the whole movie experience was a waste of time.
If so, how can we hope for any improvement in the future?
Max Wisotsky
Highland Park, N.J.
Who’s Politicizing October 7?
I’m confused about the consistency of the first two paragraphs of Jonathan Braun’s op-ed. First he says that Elise Stefanik’s statement – “that October 7 would not have happened under President Trump” – “was met with both applause and boos from some attendees, with several even walking out.” Then he contends: “The shocking spectacle of American Jews insulting President Trump’s choice for America’s envoy to the United Nations – a steadfast supporter of Israel, who, as the Representative of a mainly rural, upstate New York Congressional district with a relatively small Jewish population, courageously and effectively defended Jewish students and faculty against antisemitism on college campuses – reveals a troubling truth: For many American Jews who profess to be strong supporters of Israel, their support is actually conditional, subject to partisan loyalties, ideological commitments, or domestic policy preferences.”
Excuse me, sir, but if Stefanik is politicizing the events of October 7, then whose support exactly is conditional?
Peter Schwartz
New York, N.Y.
Don’t Kvetch; Reflect
In Cheryl Kupfer’s article “Fraudodox – Frum Atheists,” (Mar. 21), she defines “frum” as “to be G-d fearing,” a very limiting, narrow-minded perspective, as the fear of G-d is only one of 613 commandments.
The Talmud describes the thief who prays for G-d’s help while digging a tunnel to his potential victim’s home as believing in G-d’s existence. When a Jew drives his car to an Orthodox shul on Shabbos to observe a yahrzeit, parks a few blocks away, gets an aliyah, sponsors a kiddush, and says kaddish, he also believes in G-d. However, these people have not acquired the Torah knowledge (also a mitzvah) to be able to be elevated to a higher level of fear of G-d as Ms Kupfer may have achieved.
Then, the title of the next article on that page is “Do You Remember The Concept of Rude?”). The author, Tzivia Ehrlich-Klein, complains about people being rude and asks for a few ideas to discourage rudeness.
These two writers should learn the Tanya, chapter 32, to understand the way to truly fulfill the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisrael (love of one’s fellow Jew). Second, a basic principle of the Baal Shem Tov is that when one observes a fault in another, he has a trace of that in himself. To remedy this, a person has to improve himself by eradicating that internal fault.
Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Tanny
Montreal
Safeguarding the Memory
Of Those We Lost
The faces and names of the victims and hostages of October 7 are etched in the minds of millions, both Jews and non-Jews. They represent the enduring hatred of the Jewish people, a spiritual law and one of our six constant reminders. On Pesach, we will once again say, “In every generation…”
What happened to “Never Again”? Before October 7, it was easier to believe that the past was behind us. Now, it is clear that today and tomorrow remain October 7.
It is our shared challenge, duty, and opportunity to keep the memory of our martyrs and sacrifices alive. To that end, I propose featuring those now-iconic images on sheets of Israeli postage stamps (with the families’ permission, of course), ensuring their constant use and circulation.
Chaim Rubin
Queens, N.Y.
