Sean Spicer’s Comments
Everyone agrees that Sean Spicer’s trivializing reference to Nazi death camps as “Holocaust centers” was inexcusable; that his comment that Hitler didn’t “sink to using chemical weapons” was beyond ignorant. But now, after the White House Press Secretary has offered a full mea culpa, the question is what’s next?
For eight years, the State of Israel – and the Jewish people by extension – suffered from an undisguised enemy in the White House. While President Barak Obama seemed to have no difficulty staging Chanukah menorah lightings and the like, these ceremonial nods to the Jewish people were hardly a panacea to the damage that was being done to Jews worldwide by the continual vilification of Israel by the president, and at the hands of his White House staff. Everyone from Obama himself to his secretaries of state took continual shots at the State of Israel and its Prime Minister allowing anti-Israel sentiments to blossom as history’s most recent “reason” for anti-Semitism.
With the Trump presidency, we have experienced a new opportunity. No one should be naïve enough to believe that we have an actual “friend” in this president – at least not yet – because we have witnessed how quickly his policies change, how rapidly mandates like a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem erode. But there is a vast chasm between what we have now and what we survived – with G-d’s help – these last eight years. It does not appear that President Trump means to do the Jewish people nor the State of Israel intentional harm.
This does not excuse Sean Spicer’s comments. This did not excuse President Trump’s failure to mention the Jewish people – the real victims of the Holocaust – several months ago on Holocaust Remembrance day. But it is quite possible that our President has surrounded himself with less-than fully competent advisors on certain matters.
I repeat: It’s possible.
The question, then, boils down to whether or not things are said – or not said – out of malevolence or witlessness.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse. And ignorance of historical facts often condemns us to repeat mistakes. But history also teaches us better a foolish King Ahasuerus than a wicked Hamen.
The responsibility, then, falls on us – as it did on Mordechai – to be vigilant. But that has always been our lot.
NYS Assemblyman Dov Hikind
Our Generous Readers
Once again we would like to thank The Jewish Press and its many readers for helping to make a tremendous success of our Erev Pesach Falafel Campaign for poor Israeli families.
Thanks to the generosity of Jewish Press readers, this year we were able to provide more than 500 fine Jews a falafel, French fries, and a drink.
The Jewish Press is truly unique not only in terms of the paper’s sheer number of readers but also because so many of those readers respond with such generosity.
(Any checks we received too late for the Falafel Fund will be put toward the Cheesecake for Shavuos Fund.
So thank you, Jewish Press management and readership, for having made this erev Pesach such a wonderful time for so many frum needy Jewish families.
With sincere appreciation,
Tzvia Ehrlich-Klein
Jerusalem
Media Double Standard
With all the attacks against and investigations of President Trump, I wonder about the status of the “quid-pro-quo” assertions against the Clinton Foundation.
Has anything ever come of those charges? Or has that news been swept under the carpet? If it’s the latter, the uranium deal Bill Clinton coordinated with Kazakhstan obviously won’t get any scrutiny, even though it had some significant security implications.
I wonder if any Democrats from Hillary Clinton’s team had any liaisons with the Russians prior to the presidential election. I don’t hear anything from the news media on this.
I guess all Democrats can be trusted, according to the media. Ask yourself, though, did the Democrats lie to America about Obamacare and about Benghazi?
And did they lie to America about Hillary Clinton’s server and about fixing the system against Sen. Bernie Sanders so that he couldn’t get their nomination?
Brian J. Goldenfeld
Woodland Hills, CA
Cleaning Tips
Reader Harold Marks (Letters, March 31) seems to be in a quandary when it comes to cleaning, Passover or otherwise.
I’m not a cleaning lady, but I think I can shed some light on this issue with some observations and experiences.
First, there are some telltale signs that should indicate it’s time to clean a room.
For example, if you walk into your living room and sneeze and suddenly there’s a dust storm going on, that room is long overdue for a dusting.
And while the dust is in the air, you should look around to see if you can find things you haven’t seen in months.
When it comes to cleaning, laziness is your worst enemy. I know a couple that kept sweeping dirt under a big rug for years. By the time they realized this was not a good idea, their rug was already three feet off the floor. But laziness still got the better of them; they just threw a big sheet over it and now use it as a spare bed.
The habit of letting dirty dishes pile up in the sink, with leftovers in every pan and plate, is particularly obscene. And you can tell when it’s getting out of hand. If you ask your wife to make something new for supper and she looks into the kitchen sink to see what you haven’t had in two months, it’s time to clean the dishes.
I hope this helps.
Josh Greenberger
Brooklyn, NY
America’s Pivotal Role In WWII
Re Mark Schulte’s “Le Pen Erases America’s Role in Winning the World Wars” (op-ed, March 17):
I’d like to point out a few things about the monumentally vital role the United States military and the American people played in winning the Second World War.
First, before the United States became a combatant, there was Lend-Lease and other military aid the United States provided to the Allied nations already at war. This assistance continued after the U.S. entered the war. Getting that aid to the Soviet Union and Britain was an extremely dangerous task. Many American boats were sunk in the effort.
American war production employed millions of people and was nearly an overnight start-up, as was the miraculous mobilization of the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines.
What is not generally known is how close to home the war came. German saboteurs landed on Coney Island, although they were captured. In early 1942 there was a small battle off Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Old Coast Guard station in Virginia Beach has a short movie about that battle. It also has an exhibit about World War II that shows, among other things, pictures of our military guarding the Atlantic Coast. Some people in Virginia Beach heard German-language communications over their short-wave radios during that period in 1942.
More than 383,600 American armed service personnel were killed in World War II.
Think of all the American fatalities on D-Day alone, in the first day of the invasion of France. Additionally, over 19,000 Americans were killed in the Battle of the Bulge. This says nothing of Americans fighting in Italy, North Africa, Germany, and elsewhere in the European theater of operations, which included North Africa.
And of course there were great sacrifices made by Americans in the Pacific theater of operations. Among the many battles against the Japanese were Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Guadalcanal, and the naval battle at Midway. In addition, Americans suffered in the Bataan death march.
Ms. Le Pen may not like it, but she cannot change the history of America’s pivotal leadership in saving the world from the Nazis, Fascists, and Japanese militarists.
Reuven Solomon
Forest Hills, NY