Letters To The Editor - November 21, 2025

No Bombers for Saudi Arabia

Is it far from safe to put sophisticated American weapons – such as F-35 fighter-bombers – in the hands of the Arab dictatorship of Saudi Arabia The historical record points to several dangers that raise serious questions about the wisdom of the current Trump Administration proposal to provide these high-tech supersonic stealth strike fighters to the Saudis. Consider that Saudi Arabia’s current dictator could be overthrown and replaced by someone who is hostile to America and Israel. The Islamic-Arab world is legendary for its revolutions and violent coups.

It must be noted that the Saudis could, for whatever reason, decide to transfer some of those planes to another country. In 1982, during Israel's war against the PLO in Lebanon, it was widely reported that among the weapons Israel seized were U.S.-made M-16 rifles that had been sold to Saudi Arabia.

Another danger is that the Saudis themselves may turn against Israel. The precedent is Jordan. In the 1960s, the Kennedy and Johnson administrations insisted that King Hussein was “moderate” and should be given advanced American weapons. Then the “moderate” decided to join the Arab war against Israel in 1967.

Congress must act now and place strict limits on these sales to prevent future threats.

Moshe Phillips National Chairman Americans fora Safe Israel New York, N.Y.

Aliyah Inspiration

Once again, I have to compliment Aviva Frankenthal for her very special aliyah series (“Aliyah Journal – Part 6: From Loss to Lift-Off: Aliyah After Saba,” Nov. 14).

The picture of her grandfather brought back so many memories to me. My husband and I were close friends with Elchanan and his wife. And I hadn’t seen him since he was ill. Aviva’s description of his love for books, divrei Torah, etc., described a man who really defied description. He was so multi-faceted.

Aviva, I believe that you will acclimate very quickly to life in Israel. From your articles I can see that you are not only very smart but also very mature. I wish you hatzlacha rabba, and please keep writing in The Jewish Press.

Naomi Mauer Jerusalem, Israel

The Torah’s Prescription for Diaspora Jews

Yasher koach to Rabbi Shmuel Goldin (“Why Go Back?” Nov. 14) on presenting a very unique take. And his message – that we Jews must always balance our being a ger and a toshav, and to remember the Gemara in Bava Basra (73b) that just when we think we’re safe and comfortable, able to eat and enjoy ourselves, the giant fish turns with a vengeance, and tries to take us all down – could not be more timely as antisemitism, from the right and the left, is ratcheted up to degrees American Jews have not seen in generations.

Y. Stern Long Island, N.Y.

Ignoring The Wake-Up Call

In reading the article “Israeli Reactions; ADL to Launch ‘Mamdani Monitor’; The Jewish Vote” in the November 7 issue of The Jewish Press, I was reminded of the famous quote by the wise old sage Yogi Berra – “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

The disastrous election results last week should have sent a loud wake-up call to all Americans and especially Jews. Jews have been very comfortable in America for a relatively (for them) long time and have become complacent in their future outlook. Even after the explosion of antisemitism after October 7, major Jewish organizations at both local and national levels were still very quiet, while our enemies became more boisterous and belligerent. The outcome was the election of a socialist, anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian, Muslim antisemite to become mayor of the greatest commercial city in the world and home to the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel. What at one time would have seemed impossible is suddenly a reality.

During the past election cycle, these Jewish and also many American organizations were completely absent from the fray, which allowed the disaster to happen. The Jewish Press headline article documented some of these past failures of Jewish organizations. What is more astonishing and more depressing is that Jewish organizations are repeating these same errors now. As the article reports: “In the U.S., both the Orthodox Union and the Agudath Israel of America put out statements that sounded defiant, even hopeful notes,” and “The Anti-Defamation League is launching a tip line for city residents to report Jew-hatred.”

Our adversaries are well funded, organized, and aggressive, and they are marching, demonstrating, threatening, and sometimes committing violence. Meanwhile, our Jewish organizations are still issuing mealy-mouthed statements, letters, and advice from behind their desks. One especially egregious “call to action” is the ADL initiative to monitor Jew-hatred. There are already volumes of reports issued by the FBI and NYPD, among others, demonstrating conclusively that anti-Jewish hate crimes are the most prevalent hate crimes on record, about 70%. What good will compiling more statistics by the ADL accomplish, other than to try to appear that they are sort of doing something?

What is so depressing is not just the ascendancy of our sworn enemies to positions of power in American society, but the complete absence, again, of our organizations to do anything of value to counteract them. While our enemies are increasingly controlling the streets and positions of power, our organizations are again meekly issuing letters, statements, advice, and gathering useless data. These actions, like those in the past, will not change anything.

As Einstein reportedly said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”

Max Wisotsky Highland Park, N.J.