It is Donald Trump that we differ on, something we can do with dignity and respect for each other.
Regarding Israel, I can’t agree with Shapiro that Trump “knows nothing.” Really, what’s to know? The region has been a tinderbox since Israel declared statehood. Trump knows as much as the so-called experts we’ve all grown old with. I can envision Trump cleaning house in the State Department, which has been a bastion of pro-Arab, anti-Israel sentiment for decades.
No question, as Shapiro points out, that Ted Cruz is a true friend of Israel and has been for years, but I believe Trump is as well.
I trust Trump’s instincts and I don’t fault him for the “deal” comments or the “neutral” remarks with regard to Israel. He is speaking as an expert on the subject of deal making. Is it impossible to think he could actually put something together that both sides would respect? I agree with Shapiro that further land giveaways are not only a waste but murderously counterproductive. Trump surely knows that.
Trump is castigated as being, among other things, a vulgarian. He often is, but he resonates with me when he speaks of “knocking the hell” out of ISIS. I’m weary of the rhetoric we’re all accustomed to – the nonsense about bringing these malignancies to justice. I want them wiped off the face of the earth, along with all other rabid anti-Semites.
Shapiro points out Trump’s oft-displayed arrogance and lack of humility. I too see Trump’s faults, warts, and pimples. But I’m ready for an “amateur” (in politics only) who will, with proper help from intelligent advisers, accomplish much.
Myron Hecker
New City, NY
Rabbi Pruzansky, JOFA, And Free Speech
As a rebbetzin living in Teaneck, I want to address Rabbi Steven Pruzansky’s recent blog post on campus assault, and his follow-up, which appeared on JewishPress.com.
Rabbi Pruzansky presented a viewpoint that has been expressed many times before – namely, that the existence of a widespread campus rape culture has been exaggerated, and that many cases of reported sexual assaults differ from traditionally understood criteria for this crime.
Moreover, he suggested that upholding traditional sexual mores may lower one’s chances of being involved in an assault. Whether one agrees with him or not, variations of this perspective have appeared – from writers ranging from Heather MacDonald on the right to Camille Paglia on the left – in publications as different as Time, U.S. News & World Report, The Washington Post, Commentary, and The Weekly Standard, among others.
While the tone of Rabbi Pruzansky’s prose was more typical of a political pundit than a pulpit rabbi, it should not be shocking that an Orthodox rabbi advocates abstinence before marriage. Nearly every Orthodox boy and girl is raised in a countercultural manner when it comes to intimacy, learning halachot concerning negiah, yichud, and tzniut. While these practices certainly do not immunize anyone from the danger of assault, Rabbi Pruzansky believes they may lessen the risk.
The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) mischaracterized Rabbi Pruzansky’s words, claiming he engaged in an “attack on women,” gave rapists “a free pass,” and placed “blame squarely on the victim.”
JOFA has every right to disagree with a rabbi’s blog entry, but it has no right to distort the truth about what he wrote in order to discredit him. While Rabbi Pruzansky’s article was written in what many might consider a harsh and sarcastic tone, he did none of the things of which his critics accuse him.
Slandering another Jew, let alone a rabbi, is bad enough. Yet JOFA’s dishonesty and mischaracterization were coupled with another illiberal move. It pressured the organizers of a local educational conference to ban Rabbi Pruzansky, the rabbi of the largest Orthodox synagogue in Teaneck, from speaking there. Ostracizing and silencing someone in this manner, for political and religious views that fall within the normative range of civil discourse in a national debate, is not appropriate behavior in a liberal society.