Now There Are Consequences
Throughout our history, whenever the non-Jewish residents of a town felt like it, they would perpetrate a pogrom against us, killing, torturing and robbing with complete immunity. I remember my grandmother, a native of Ukraine, telling me of the horrific pogroms of 1905, where her sister, a mother of three children, and a first cousin, a mother of six children, had been killed by the savage Ukrainian masses. The local police did not intervene. Without any support from anyone, the victims of the pogroms just had to lick their wounds and continue on with their lives.
When the Arabs perpetrated their pogroms in southern Israel, their point of reference was the pogroms of history when non-Jewish townsfolk would kill Jews, go back home, and live happily without any consequences. The current response of the Israeli Army to these horrific pogroms is unprecedented. Now, both our enemies and the world at large know that torturing a Jew comes with severe consequences.
My respect for the Israelis shot up dramatically when the Israeli Army destroyed a pizza parlor in the town of Huwara in Yehuda and Shomron. It was from this pizza shop that an elderly woman was taken hostage and was forced to give the victory sign while the Arabs took her picture, after which the Arab owner used the picture of the elderly woman superimposed next to a picture of one of his pizzas – and used it as an advertisement.
Am Yisrael Chai!
Pesach-Yonah Malevitz
Miami Beach, Fla.
The No-Care President
President Biden was 90 minutes late in delivering his address on the Hamas war. In the speech, he did not mention Iran, which is the driving force behind Hamas, supplying the terror group with weapons and money. Hamas does not have weapon-making capability. Some entity has to give the assassins rockets and guns so women and children can be murdered.
The reason Biden neglected to mention Iran is the same reason he doesn’t confront Mexico over drug and people smuggling: the President is afraid. He doesn’t want confrontation or problems of any kind. He looks away from the border madness, social disorder in the cities, and high consumer prices for working Americans.
In short, Joe Biden doesn’t even try to solve problems because he doesn’t really care about them. Too complicated. His catch-all solution is more federal spending.
The worst American president in history, James Buchanan, operated the same way. While the South abused federal property and personnel leading up to the Civil War, Buchanan did absolutely nothing.
Joe Biden will go down in history as the most progressive-left president ever. Every move he takes is designed to placate this group, which despises Israel.
In a troubled world, Joe Biden doesn’t want to engage. See no evil…
Brian Goldenfeld
Oak Park, Calif.
What If …
To all the people who persistently criticize and vilify former President Trump, perhaps some serious soul-searching is now in order. As the bloody war on Israel escalates, is it not improbable that the Iranian-engineered invasion by its Hamas proxy may have been aborted if Donald Trump were president?
Trump, a mercurial, dynamic and volatile leader who once threatened to nuke the Taliban, may have caused Iran sufficient uncertainty as to the American response to an invasion to negate carrying it out.
May G-d speedily heal the thousands of wounded and safeguard the State of Israel and its courageous citizens from any further attacks.
Henry Moscovic
Flushing, N.Y.
Non-Jew Has Problem With Sanders
Recently, a nice non-Jewish lady had a letter published in the New York Post. In it, she expressed her support for Israel during these horrific times of wanton massacre perpetrated by the savages of Hamas. She also stated how surprised she was to note that Senator Bernie Sanders was rebuking and blaming Israel, not Hamas, for the carnage. She was shocked that Sanders, “a Jew,” could be so critical of Israel.
My letter, hopefully, will clarify the issue for this good soul whom Hashem should bless. Yes, Bernie Sanders was born to Jewish parents. Yes, he was surely circumcised and very likely became a bar mitzvah when he was 13. However, Sander’s life since then has reflected nothing in the way of being Jewish. In the Senate, he’s among Israel’s biggest detractors. His votes, without exception, always favor those people or nations that are in unapologetic favor of seeing Israel destroyed. The current crisis is no exception.
From where did this amazing persona arise? The answer is simple. Thanks to a friendly, placid Vermont population, Bernie’s seat is secure as long as he wants it. The truth isn’t difficult to understand. Sanders’ votes and statements all reflect far more than his espoused “Democrat Socialism.” Sanders emulates, in no uncertain terms, Marxism and communism, often of the Bolshevik variety.
Sanders and his first wife honeymooned in the Soviet Union. Many of his critics, myself included, claim, with a bit of tongue in cheek, that he never left. “Democrat Socialist” has become a hiding place (in plain sight) for the anti-Israel rhetoric and bile that emulates daily from the Kremlin, Pravda and the entire Russian diplomatic corps – to which Bernie agrees on the subject of Israel: They are always wrong while the Palestinians, including Hamas and Hezbollah, are good, simple people, always seeking peace and justice.
When the sycophants on Sanders’ staff react to criticism of him, they never fail to offer “antisemitism” as a factor. The New York Times and its loyal corps of liberals and ultra-liberals in the media are always delighted to “challenge such antisemitism.” It is to weep, but it is what it is.
The bottom line is clear: It’s your constitutional right to criticize Israel, but do it under the flags you truly are subservient to, not this phony facade of “Democrat Socialism.” If you’re that inclined to loathe and despise the Jewish state, perhaps switch to a more appropriate identification: National Socialism.
Myron Hecker
Via Email
Speaks and Carries Small Stick
I commend President Biden on his talk to the nation where he said America stands with Israel and ordered America’s most powerful aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean Sea. And now he is bringing in another aircraft carrier. This can be seen as a warning to Iran and Hezbollah not to enter the fighting. The key question is, how long he will keep his promise.
Biden has a serious problem. Our adversaries do not take his threats seriously. Unlike President Teddy Roosevelt, who said “Speak softly but carry a big stick,” President Biden’s different approach seems to be working very poorly. His warnings to Vladimir Putin did not stop Russia from invading Ukraine. His warnings to Iran’s proxies to stop attacking American military personnel or facilities seem to have been disregarded. Of the 83 attacks, the United States military responded to only four.
I very strongly support Israel in its efforts to destroy Hamas.
Charles Winfield
Princeton, N.J.
Time to Face Reality
While it is far beyond our capacity to understand G-d’s actions, I believe we can get an inkling of His intent from the results. In my view, the tragic, barbaric Hamas attack was a form of shock therapy. First, the warring factions in Israel, Left vs. Right, secular vs. religious, Ashkenazi vs. Sephardi, etc., were compelled to set aside their escalating conflict in order to come together to deal with the crisis. Second, American Jews have had to confront the delusional nature of the two-state solution. How can we negotiate with an enemy that wants us dead, as Dennis Prager has observed? We have also had to face the reality of growing support for the destruction of Israel, G-d forbid, in America and in the West, particularly on our college campuses – and especially the elite institutions such as those of the Ivy League that (mis-)educate our future leaders. It is truly sobering to see more than 30 student organizations at Harvard blame Israel entirely for the carnage inflicted on its citizens.
It is inescapable that the current administration in Washington DC played a major role in enabling the attack by releasing many billions of dollars in fungible money to Iran, as well as waiving sanctions, not to mention hundreds of millions of dollars in equally fungible aid to the Palestinian Authority, in direct violation of the Taylor Force Act, which finances “Pay-for-Slay.” Like it or not, as a result America has become a leading indirect state sponsor of terrorism. Furthermore, the U.S. State Department, at least at its sub-Cabinet levels, has never accepted Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state – going all the way back to Secretary of State George Marshall’s threat to resign if President Truman granted diplomatic recognition to the State of Israel.
We have to make urgent decisions as a community. Do we reconsider our voting habits in light of the increasing influence of “progressives?” The percentage of Jewish students admitted to secular colleges is falling as a result of DEI (Divesity, Equity, Inclusion) – should we therefore redirect our students to Jewish institutions of higher learning? And should we divert the contributions we make to pro-Palestinian secular universities to funding scholarships for our children to attend Jewish day schools and thereby escape the increasingly antisemitic and anti-G-d instruction in K-12 public education? It’s time to face reality and act accordingly.
Richard Kronenfeld
Via Email
Documenting Evil
In April 1945, World War II Supreme Allied Commander Dwight E. Eisenhower was shocked at the Nazi brutality he witnessed at the Nazi Ohrduruf concentration camp. He was afraid that future generations might not believe that the horrors of the Holocaust were real. To preserve history for future generations, he had the media record the scene. He also had American soldiers along with Germans who lived in the adjacent communities view the atrocities for themselves. Hamas recorded their barbaric acts of death and bodily mutilation against babies, children, adults, seniors and Israeli soldiers on cell phones and video for all to see. There is no question about the atrocities committed by Hamas as they were proud to document their evil work.
Larry Penner
Great Neck, N.Y.
Terrorists Are Not ‘Militants’ or ‘Fighters’
As a longtime reader of the Wall Street Journal I am disturbed by the tilt of the WSJ towards the woke, leftist mainstream media language. In a recent WSJ (October 13) the front page headline reads “Militants Obtained Detailed Maps for Attack,” and the subhead reads, “Documents found on Hamas fighters show the scale of plans behind deadly strikes.”
The use of the words ‘militant’ and ‘fighter’ cries out for total rephrasing.
Heavily armed thugs who slaughter hundreds of unarmed civilians at a music festival are not “militants” or “fighters” – they are brutal terrorists.
Heavily armed thugs who behead babies in their cribs and burn little babies alive are not militants or fighters; they are inhuman savages.
Heavily armed thugs who capture innocent men, women, and children, to use as hostages are not militants or fighters; they are vicious monsters.
Heavily armed thugs who rape and mutilate women and publicly parade their nude bodies are not militants or fighters; they are depraved animals.
The U.S. government, along with many others, label Hamas as a terrorist organization. It is a pity that the WSJ cannot also come around to calling them terrorists.
Max Wisotsky
Highland Park, N.J.
Not a Pogrom
Regarding your cover headline last week (“The Simchat Torah Pogrom, 5784”):
Pogrom? The word conjures up images of weak, helpless Jews cowering and begging some drunk Cossack to not kill them and to not rape their women. That’s not the reality. The reality is that we are a state, a proud and strong one. We take responsibility for our citizens. What happened on October 7 was an act of terror perpetrated against the state.
It happened because our state security apparatus failed to see what ought to have been obvious. It happened because our internal politics distracted us. It happened because our national policies were not properly tuned to the facts that were unfolding. It happened because we, as a state, made terrible mistakes. And we, as a state, will respond and do so forcefully. And we will win. And we will pay the heavy price, both for our errors and our victory. It’s what states do. It’s the opposite of what the helpless abandoned Jew did in a pogrom. Hamas may want the events of this past Shabbat to be seen as a pogrom. They like the idea of the weak and cowering Jew. Let’s not give them even that.
Daniel Schwartz
Rehovot, Israel
Jewish Press Provides Chizuk
Kol HaKavod to the editors at The Jewish Press for publishing first-hand accounts of Israelis living through this unimaginable horror. Even with all of the news reports, it’s hard to imagine what it’s actually like being there. The rabbis who were featured provided much-needed chizuk. All of the articles were uplifting and inspirational. I plan on saving this edition, as I have saved other periodicals and newspapers of historical significance. When the situation gets me down, I’ll reread those first few pages.
Keep up the good work, JP!
Marsha Motzen
Englewood, N.J.
