Don’t Stop Short Against Iran
Re: the very informative and also depressing Perspective article “Trump’s Iran Gambit Leaves Israel with Troubling Questions” (May 29) by Fiamma Nirenstein:
It is a tragedy that Israel’s allies are once again letting Israel (and the free world) down. This happened after October 7, when the collective energies of every Western country should have been directed to assist Israel in obliterating Hamas. And it’s happening now as Trump gives in to the demands of Iran instead of holding fast and coming up with a solution to the closures of the Strait of Hormuz. (Equally troubling is that Western countries didn’t and still don’t want to help the U.S. solve this issue, because they are happy to see Trump lose this war, and if Israel is upset that is merely a bonus for them.)
The only strategy is to topple the Islamist regime in Iran and bring peace and stability to the Middle East and, by extension, to the world. Nothing else should be acceptable.
Shaul Messinger
New Jersey
Our Universities Are Too Far-Gone
I appreciated your interview with the head of Touro’s new Antisemitism Institute (“Training College Professors to Fight Antisemitism,” May 15). Rabbi Dr. Mark Goldfeder’s extremely insightful answers show that he understands the massive challenge ahead of him in making even a small dent in the bias that now runs through college campuses across America, from administrators to professors to the student body.
I was especially inspired by his statement that “Kids cannot flourish and grow when they are scared, and they need to know that someone has their back and is willing to fight for them.” Perhaps showing our young people that we are strong and not going to be sitting ducks for antisemites is reason enough to invest in an initiative like this.
But at the end of the day, I can’t help but think that all the money and training and advocacy in the world is not going to change the reality that Jews are once again the scapegoat of society, and the world – America included – has changed. While I am grateful for this effort by Touro to improve the situation for the next generation, a lot would have to change for me to feel comfortable sending my children to a secular college or university in this country. Thank G-d there are still Jewish options like Touro out there.
D.Levine
Queens, N.Y.