The State Of Israel And Donald Trump
David R. Weinraub’s letter “Trump is a Danger” (Sept. 20) paints, I believe, a distorted view of former President Trump. One may not like Donald Trump’s personality, but friends and foe alike fear him, and this trait is exactly what is needed in our president at the current time. The Biden-Harris administration has projected weakness around the world, and as a result, enemies of the U.S. are emboldened. We see Russian aggression in Europe, Chinese aggression in the Far East, and Iran waging proxy wars in the Middle East.
When considering for whom to vote, most important to me is the candidate’s position relative to the State of Israel. It is widely agreed the Donald Trump was one of the best U.S. presidents for Israel. Let us review the record.
Donald Trump withdrew from the “nuclear deal” with Iran, a deal to which Israel vigorously objected. In addition, he re-imposed harsh economic sanctions on Iran.
Trump signed a proclamation stating that “The United States recognizes that the Golan Heights are part of the State of Israel.”
Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
Trump closed the PLO office in Washington, cut funding to UNRWA, and withdrew from the U.N.’s Human Rights Council, accusing it of being a “hypocritical body that makes a mockery of human rights.”
Trump’s Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, declared “the establishment of Israel civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, per se, inconsistent with international law.” His administration killed Quds force commander Qassem Soleimani, and spearheaded the Abraham Accords.
Compare those Trump policies to those of the Biden-Harris administration. Under Trump’s sanctions, Iran oil exports were reduced in 2020 to about 200,000 barrels per day from 2.7 million barrels per day. The Biden-Harris administration lifted those sanctions, enriching Iran by over $100 billion in oil revenue. Iran uses these funds to supply, train, and equip Israel’s enemies – Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
The Biden-Harris administration repeatedly “advised” Israel to delay its ground war against Hamas. When Israel imposed a complete cutoff of water, electricity, and food on the Gaza strip, Secretary Blinken demanded that food and medical supplies were needed in Gaza to avoid a humanitarian crisis. This undoubtedly led to a much longer war and increased Israeli casualties.
The Biden-Harris administration still slow-walks and in some cases embargoes vital military assistance to Israel, at a time when Israel faces a critical need due to its existential war. Also, the Biden-Harris administration restored a U.S. policy that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are “illegitimate” under international law.
None of these policies have been opposed by Kamala Harris, and undoubtedly would be continued should she be elected president. Consider that Harris, after the atrocities of October 7, stated that anti-Israel student protesters, who chant “From the river to the sea,” “are showing exactly what the human emotion should be.”
This terrible treatment of Israel, when combined with other policies such as a wide open border, support of no cash-bail laws and soft-on-crime DAs, high inflation, support of late-term abortion, energy dependence rather than energy independence, and mandated use of electric vehicles and appliances, leaves no doubt in my mind that those Jews who love Israel should cast their ballots for Donald J. Trump.
Ira Widman
Edison, N.J.
Trump Is A Danger…To Far-Left Radicals
I found the letter by David Weinraub, “Trump Is A Danger,” to be completely outrageous. His tirade is reminiscent of old time, hard core, socialists/communists and was so over the top, it did not seem to be a serious letter to the editor.
He rails against Trump, his supporters, and all Republicans, especially Jewish ones, painting them all with the same paintbrush – as far-right extremists, white supremacists, morally bankrupt and Constitution-hating antisemites, bent on the destruction of America, Israel, and possibly even the entire universe. I lost count of how many times he used the phrases far-right, extremists, and radical.
I assume he is much more comfortable with the likes of Bernie Sanders, AOC and “the Squad,” and Kamala Harris, firmly entrenched in the United States government, funded by George Soros and other Jew-friendly “moderate liberal” Democrats.
He delights in labeling Trump as a convicted felon who should be in prison. I assume Weinraub would also rail against other figures who actually spent time in prison because they did not conform to their government’s standards, like Alfred Dreyfus, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Natan Sharansky.
Far-left radicals are much more of a danger to America, American Jews, and Israel than Donald Trump.
Max Wisotsky
Highland Park, N.J.
The Danger Is Harris-Walz
That highly intemperate Sept. 20 letter to the editor, “Trump Is A Danger,” recycled many wild charges against him. His felony conviction won’t withstand appellate review. Claims of Covid mismanagement and “bribed” support for Israel were especially unwarranted. Unprecedented “Warp Speed” manufacture and distribution of vaccines undoubtedly saved many lives and accelerated return to societal normality. Gratitude, not scorn, are due Trump’s move of the American embassy to Jerusalem, recognition of Israel’s Golan sovereignty, and the breakthrough Abraham Accords. He put Iran in a financial lockbox which Biden immediately unwisely reopened. His administration was generally successful, at home and abroad.
Yes, he’s voluble, volatile, and vain. Half the country loves him, half loathes him.
What about his opponent? Kamala seems an empty pantsuit, economically illiterate, remarkably inarticulate and incompetent, surrounding herself with radical foreign and domestic policy advisors, even while seemingly disowning, without explanation, many long held “progressive’” positions.
Her running mate, Tim Walz, is running away from woke state governance and Minneapolis burning. Kamala actively promoted a bail fund for its arsonists. Their stances on Israel are, at best, worrisome. Whither their administration? We don’t know, and they won’t tell us. Faced with such a stark binary choice, voters ought to opt for the least concerning ticket.
“Are the American people better off now than four years ago?” Kamala evaded that debate question with mostly biographical meandering, never actually answering it. How could she truthfully have done so? The Biden-Harris administration has been an unmitigated disaster. Inflation spiked, millions of unvetted aliens swarmed a wide-open Southern border, criminals ran wild, the national debt exploded. America’s energy independence was surrendered, its strategic oil reserve drained. Extraordinarily weak foreign policy enormously emboldened enemies and deeply dispirited friends. Despite initial full support, the administration has repeatedly sought to micromanage Israel’s war against Hamas, ever ready to impede and criticize its pursuit.
If you liked all that, you’ll probably love a continuing, and likely even more radically “progressive,” Harris-Walz administration.
Richard D. Wilkins
Syracuse, N.Y.
The Ten Commandments
According to Harris/Walz
When I read last week’s letter by David R Weinraub, falsely excoriating Trump, I was mad. I then decided to put my energies into a response about his favored candidates.
Here are the Ten Commandments according to Harris/Walz.
- Thou shalt not take the name Islamic Fascist or Islamic Terrorist in vain. These people are simply misunderstood and always deserve the benefit of the doubt. Israel has deliberately caused them to act like savages. It is not their fault when they murder, assault, rape women or kidnap Jews.
- There shall be a two-state solution. Israel must be divided even though the Palestinians have never had a representative government. In addition, they do not have to renounce their long-held desire to eliminate Israel and kill all the Jews. It is none of the United States’s business to decide who will run the country even if it is Hamas. We will withhold arms shipments if Israel doesn’t agree.
- Thou shalt not have private insurance. Medicare for all will be the only option allowed, except for elected officials who will have their own insurance. You will learn to wait for six months or more for a visit to a doctor or for any treatment no matter how serious the illness.
- Thou shalt not be allowed to own any firearms. The Second Amendment is long past its’ useful life and must be revoked. You will depend upon the government to protect you from criminals.
- Thou shalt defund the police. There is an inherent bias in all police against minorities. Instead, we will give criminals every benefit of the doubt, they will not be held responsible for their actions and will be released without bail. Protecting victims is not important.
- There shalt be no fracking or drilling for oil or gas. All coal mining will immediately stop. You will have to depend upon green energy even though it often doesn’t work, leading to blackouts and will cause your energy bills to skyrocket.
- The southern border shalt remain open to the millions of illegals who cross every year. They are only seeking a better life and therefore are deserving of the government to provide them with free healthcare, housing, food, education including college and anything else they desire. You cannot complain if your taxes increase dramatically to pay for this. We will also tax your unrealized capital gains to pay for this. They will not be subject to any criminal penalties.
- Thou shalt not infringe upon a woman’s right to abortion, no matter when or for whatever reason. It does not matter if it is the first, second or third trimester. Nor does it matter If an abortion fails and a child is born since the woman’s right to withhold life saving medical treatment is inviolate.
- All individuals residing in the United States without regard to citizenship shall be given the right to vote in every election whether local, statewide or national. This shalt not discriminate between those who are citizens or who entered illegally. This shalt also include all felons even if they have not completed their sentence and remain in jail.
- Thou shalt not oppose paying slavery reparations to people who have never been slaves even though you may never have owned slaves. It doesn’t matter if slavery was abolished almost two hundred years ago. Equity or equality of outcomes not of opportunity is the one true goal.
Wake up America before it is too late. Today, where right is wrong and wrong is right, where moral is immoral and immoral is moral, where good is evil and evil is good. Their mantra is you cannot vote for Donald Trump, for he is an existential threat to the United States and democracy. He is more dangerous than Iran, Russia, Communist China or North Korea. The choice is simple: either America First or America Last. This election might be our last chance to save the United States of America from the Socialist Marxist future promised by Harris & Walz.
Jack Lipsky
Great Neck, N.Y.
A Hatchet Job On Donald Trump
Reader David Weinraub’s letter was more than an eye-opener – it was an amalgam of totally false information about Donald Trump. It read, point by point, exactly like a Democratic party talking points issuance, which I believe it was. Not liking Donald Trump is one thing, but unfairly and untruthfully demeaning and denigrating him is quite another thing, as is blatantly lying about him.
Weinraub’s comparison of Trump to Adolf Hitler in the letter’s first paragraph told me all I needed to know. Weinraub noted that “A bloc of primarily well-off urban Jews voted for Hitler… then the Holocaust happened for all Jews.” What source, what data substantiates this claim? I’ve been an avid Holocaust reader my entire adult life and have never before read such a claim.
The second paragraph got even better. Weinraub referred to Trump as a convicted felon, twice impeached, indicted thief of top-secret documents, an instigator of a plot to overturn the 2020 election, and a constantly lying morally bankrupt leader of far-right white supremacists. Quite a mouthful, as they say. “Convicted felon” is easy to mouth, but it conveniently and deliberately overlooks the circumstances, meaning the witch hunt show-trials in New York City and Atlanta, put forth by DAs Alvin Bragg and Fani Willis, respectively. It also overlooks the large, illegal stash of sensitive documents found in President Biden’s garage, an act which, of course, cost him nothing but a mild rebuke.
Briefly, Bragg’s indictable material is described by a plethora of legal experts as the sad example that “a ham sandwich can be indicted.” Judge Merchan refused to recuse himself in spite of the fact that his daughter is an on-the-record financial supporter of Kamala Harris. As for Willis’s case, it falls apart with each passing day. Some charges have already been thrown out.
Let’s all be real. Is there much doubt among independent, non-involved Americans that the Biden-Harris administration wanted these indictments, pushed for them, and got them? Would Weinraub want to be indicted in both courts on the “evidence” produced by Bragg and Willis? Bluntly put, these were very reminiscent of the Soviet Union’s trials against their perceived enemies. Actually worse, because it should never happen in the U.S.A.
Ditto re: the sham impeachments, motivated by political hate and the power of the Democrats being the House majority at the time. One of Trump’s “crimes?” Speaking out loud that he questioned the validity of many votes cast. Indict me too, because I felt exactly the same way.
Weinraub assailed Trump for questioning the common sense of many liberal Jewish voters. Assail me as well, because I agree with every word he has said on that matter. “Trump attacks us, thus encouraging more antisemitism.” Please. I have sadly watched an atrocious increase in antisemitism here in America and it is quite obvious that the overwhelming majority of it has emanated from the left and far-left in America, not from the right. Apparently, Weinraub hasn’t bothered to take a good look at today’s Democratic party. Has he not seen the anti-Israel vitriol that spews from the Democrats on a daily basis, including a sickening amount from some black and Jewish Democrats? Or the unabashed hatred and denigration of Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu?
Re: Trump’s relationship with Israel, Weinraub absurdly stated: “Trump did nothing for Israel except open an embassy office in Jerusalem.” How about the long list of American presidential candidates promising to move our embassy to Jerusalem, then conveniently putting it on the back burner? Of course, the antisemitic voices at our State Department got their way, but Trump made chumps out of all of them and fulfilled a big campaign promise. More importantly, from a critical and strategic standpoint, Trump told the Israeli PM and the world that America recognized the annexation of the Golan Heights. Those deadly heights that the Syrian military used to gleefully shoot down from at the Israeli farmers and workers below, whenever they felt the need for target practice. As for current Syrian promises to “play nice” if they get back the Golan Heights, you’re free to believe them, Mr. Weinraub, and I’m free to not believe them.
Re: Weinraub’s blaming Covid on Trump, let’s just overlook the unpleasant fact that it was indeed “the Chinese virus,” as Trump labeled it, emanating from a lab in Wuhan, and get to the matter of Trump’s response. He was there, every single day, on television, explaining the details and working to help the American people. He spoke with specifics, as he’s always done, relating to beds, medical equipment, and his pushing the giant pharmaceuticals for a vaccine without the FDA’s usual bureaucratic delays. And he succeeded. As for statistics, the fact is that more Americans died after Biden succeeded Trump.
The last charge in the letter was perhaps the most absurd – that Russia, China, and presumably Iran aren’t the threats to America. Nothing here to see, folks. Just move along and worry about Trump being our major threat. Weinraub is echoing the entire list of talking points relating to the current election campaign as written by the Democrat party. Harris’s take is painfully simple: It’s Israel that needs to be pushed, cajoled, threatened, and denigrated – not, of course those peace-loving “militants” and “freedom fighters” of Hamas. And the war must stop immediately.
My greatest fear is that an incompetent, silly, unprepared candidate, Kamala Harris, will become our president. And shortly thereafter, should Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea strike us, what then? What immediate decisions? What actions? At that horrific point in time, word salads and cackling won’t suffice. I’ve never been happier, as a Jewish American, than I currently am, looking forward to voting for Donald Trump for the third time.
Myron Hecker
Via Email
Oliner Gets It Wrong On Harris
In “How Pro-Israel Americans Could Keep Kamala From Becoming President” (Sept. 20), Martin Oliner agrees with Donald Trump’s laughable and desperate claim that if Kamala Harris wins the presidential election, “Israel will not exist within two years from now.” I wonder if Oliner also agrees with Trump saying that “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with” him losing the election. This is among the many reasons it is so crucial to support Israel – dangerously influential leaders blaming the Jews for their woes.
Oliner, similar to Trump, argues that pro-Israel voters in swing states could decide the outcome of the election, and should vote for Trump to save Israel. Realistically, there are too many moving pieces in this unpredictable election to make any such claim about the weight one voting group carries over another. However, some people actually are in such a decisive role, such as the celebrated pro-Israel senator John Fetterman, who is from Pennsylvania – likely to be the most important swing state this election. Oliner might be baffled to learn that Fetterman, who waves Israeli flags at anti-Israel protestors and was honored by Yeshiva University, is “fighting for every vote in every county” – as he worded it on social media – to ensure Harris wins his state. Indeed, should Harris win the presidency, it would be fair to thank John Fetterman, among a handful of people. Yet apparently, according to Oliner and many others who present themselves as alarmed over Harris, Fetterman is actually an existential threat to Israel for helping her.
In reality, Harris strongly backs Israel and its mission to defeat terrorist threats, while navigating the difficult task of bringing the innocent hostages home in a deal that could bring stability to the region.
Oliner asserts that the United States should just let Israel do its thing when it comes to handling the war. But the United States and Israel are essentially best friends and both have a stake in the climate of the Middle East. There are American citizens being held hostage in Gaza as well. And according to a Pew Research Center survey, 72% of Israelis “want to see the U.S. play a major diplomatic role in resolving the Israel-Hamas war.”
Harris leaves little room for interpretation regarding her pro-Israel stance, calling Hamas “an evil terrorist organization” that “cannot control Gaza.” Moreover, arguably no presidential administration has had their support for Israel tested more than Biden-Harris. Even when disagreements surface, they have remained overwhelmingly behind Israel through thick and thin during this war against terrorism. There is no reason to believe a Harris-Walz administration would be any different. “I’m unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself,” Harris said in an interview with CNN. “And that’s not going to change.”
Ultimately, considering what is at stake this election, voting for Harris as a pro-Israel American is the most consistent thing to do, regardless of particular disagreements over policy. It means defending democracy not only abroad, but at home as well.
Alan Weintraub
N.Y.
Easy Money?
When it comes to paying for promised tax reductions, both Vice President Kamela Harris and former President Donald Trump remind me of the old cartoon character Wimpy. He was fond of saying, “I’ll gladly pay you on Tuesday for a hamburger today,” or in this case, a series of tax cuts. Neither Harris nor Trump explain how they would balance future federal budgets with significant reductions in revenue due to tax cuts. Diogenes is still searching for an honest Presidential candidate who will explain in detail which government program spending will be reduced or frozen at current levels in coming years to pay for the goodies they are promising voters. As Wendy’s spokesperson Clara Peller said, “Where’s the beef?”
Larry Penner
Great Neck, N.Y.
Clear And Present Danger
As reported in The Jewish Press and elsewhere, City University of New York (CUNY) has become a hotbed of antisemitism. Most notably, on Tuesday, September 3, a mob attacked a Hillel dinner at a kosher restaurant, Mr. Broadway, near Baruch College, preventing the diners from leaving, shouting insults, and even hitting a Hillel staffer. The host, Ilya Bratman, a U.S. Army veteran, CUNY English teacher, and Hillel executive director at eight CUNY and SUNY schools who grew up in the Soviet Union, described the incident as comparable to Kristallnacht and worries that real violence is coming. Equally serious is that when New York police arrived after 30 minutes, they ignored threats by the crowd to the diners and just moved the protesters “five feet away” from the entrance, according to Bratman, by the restaurant windows.
Such incidents are not unique to New York. At UCLA, demonstrators prevented Jews from entering campus unless they denounced Zionism, and campus police even helped them enforce a subsequent ban on Jews entering the encampment area, while the University claimed it had no responsibility for protecting Jewish students because the restrictions were imposed by a third party. Fortunately, U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi didn’t buy that argument, denouncing the exclusions as abhorrent. And the University of Maryland first approved a pro-Hamas event on campus, then cancelled it under pressure.
These events were not surprising given that two destructive geniuses have instigated antisemitism in America – first, Marxist theoretician Antonio Gramsci, who originated the strategy of influencing the culture by indoctrinating students and having them spread their ideology like an oil slick across every American institution, even liberal religious denominations; and second, James Zogby, who masterminded the alliance between Islamists and Leftists based on supposed oppression of Muslims (the doctrine of intersectionality).
The question is how to combat this moral pollution. Ilya Bratman advises filing lawsuits, with ADL and AJC adding their resources to those of the Brandeis Center for Human Rights, which lacks sufficient resources to pursue every case of academic discrimination and harassment of Jews. There is also a school of thought that we should withhold both our students and our donations from antisemitic colleges and universities; for example, for the first time in 20 years, Ramaz didn’t send any students to Columbia University. All these measures are well and good, but need time to reach their full effect. For now, I propose the following:
To the maximum extent, the Jewish community should offer firearms or martial arts training, such as Krav Maga. If blue-city mayors won’t let the police defend us fully, we need to defend ourselves.
Especially in urban areas, we should travel in groups, not alone. Trained volunteers should provide escort for women, children, and the elderly, especially at night.
Women should carry a can of pepper spray or a similar defensive weapon in their purse.
Finally, we should think carefully about whom we vote for on November 5. Kamala Harris has appointed two anti-Israel Jews, one of whom was born in Israel but renounced his Israeli citizenship when he emigrated to America, as liaisons to the Jewish community, and has surrounded herself with anti-Jewish Muslim candidates for high positions in the new administration. Meanwhile, Tim Walz has traveled to China 30 times, honeymooned there, and, according to one source, went around on a 1995 visit collecting copies of Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book. Is this what we want in the White House?
The Chinese pictograph for crisis consists of two symbols, “danger” and “opportunity.” Right now, we face both.
Richard Kronenfeld
Phoenix AZ
