Playing With Fire
Hamas and ISIS are playing with fire. Previous attacks on Israel’s population unfortunately only elicited a limited response from Israel, concerned as it is about international censure. However, the recent barrage amounts to a declaration of war, which means that all restraints should be removed, including restraints on unintentionally harming the citizens of Gaza.
The decision of Hamas, the elected representative of Gaza, to wreak havoc against Israel by concerted rocket attacks can no longer be countenanced. There is a price that needs to be paid – and paid promptly and forcibly.
Nelson Marans
New York, NY
Liberal Madness
Here is a great story for the always insightful Jewish Press columnist Marc Gronich to follow up on: David Weprin recently introduced legislation in the State Assembly that would allow some prison inmates who committed murder or rape to be eligible for parole once they reach the age of 55 and have served at least 15 years of their sentence.
The same legislation was introduced by Brad Hoylman in the State Senate. Both Weprin and Hoylman justify their bills, in part, by arguing that they could save New York State a billion dollars or more over time.
This ultra-liberal, “politically correct” piece of legislation compliments the recent push to grant convicted felons the right to vote while in prison. What’s next? Rebates to reimburse ex-felons for lost income due to time served in prison?
Larry Penner
Great Neck, NY
Rules of Warfare
There are some immutable rules of warfare: Rule No.1: In wars people die. Rule No.2: All deaths are terrible tragedies. Rule No.3: You can’t change rules 1 and 2.
Some have criticized Bibi Netanyahu for not employing overwhelming force against Gaza and ending the rocket attacks once and for all. I don’t know enough about the military situation to know if that is the best course of action. I’ll leave that to the Israelis.
What I do know is that the best way to fight is to achieve the greatest results while incurring the least cost. So far, the Israeli government’s record on this score has been pretty good.
Max Wisotsky
Highland Park, N.J.
Above All Else, Loyalty to Party
Let’s be real about the New York Times’ anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, anti-Netanyahu, anti-Trump cartoons. There will be no fallout, no decrease in its readership base. The liberal Jews that read and support the Times couldn’t care less about assaults such as these.
These assaults are, in fact, affirmations of their feelings, which include hatred of Trump and Netanyahu and disdain for Israel. “Justice” for the Palestinians is paramount for them and criticism of the Times for the cartoons is perceived as attacks instigated by racists, white nationalists, and, of course, Donald Trump. That Trump is, by far, the most pro-Israel president in the history of this country means absolutely nothing to these rigid leftists.
Their loyalty and utter devotion to the Democratic Party have replaced whatever allegiance to the Jewish nation they may have once possessed. Everything is now subservient to the Democratic cause. It’s that simple.
Myron Hecker
Carry a Big Stick
The only way the rise in anti-Semitism will stop is if we protect ourselves and fight back. Shoot them before they shoot you. Knife them before they knife you. Carry mace, a baton, a bat – anything that will protect you. Remember that G-d helps those who help themselves.
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg
Defend Israel in Queens Next Week
On May 14, at 6 p.m., an event celebrating “Palestinian Resistance” is scheduled to take place at the Redeemer Episcopal Church in Astoria, Queens. My friend, Zelig Krymko, a local resident and activist, is organizing a protest to confront this hateful and divisive event.
Incidentally, he was informed by the event’s organizer, Caleb Dejong, a member of the church’s board, that our “opinions won’t be welcome” and that “saying controversial things about Palestine won’t be tolerated.”
It is time for the Jewish community, and all pro-Israel Americans, to confront this grassroots propaganda campaign that aims to turn Americans against the Jewish state. We cannot continue to be silent while these Jew-haters rise up on college campuses and in mosques and churches across the United States.
The small Jewish community in Astoria needs your help. Please contact Zelig Krymko at [email protected] or 917-973-9055 to join him in organizing a pro-Israel response to this event.
Sergey Kadinsky
Fresh Meadows, NY
Two Somali Women
Andrea Levin’s op-ed last week on Ilhan Omar and Ayaan Hirsi Ali – both women from Somalia – was fascinating. I wish she would have elaborated a bit more, though, on why Hirsi Ali is so different than Omar. Doing so could perhaps provide insight into how to eliminate anti-Semitism in the Muslim world.
George Epstein
Los Angeles, CA
Vaccines Cause Autism
I agree and disagree with Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt’s article on vaccinations. I think vaccines are generally safe. However, I also think that five percent of children that are vaccinated will become autistic.
In the Scandinavian countries, they spread out the vaccines over a longer period of time and have a much lower incidence of autism than we do. Vitality Magazine in Toronto had an article a few years ago by a woman who said she helped her autistic son with vitamin C.
Randall Jeffrey Pancer
Toronto, Canada
Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt responds: There are numerous studies showing that MMR is not at all related to autism. Indeed, the most recent large study – ongoing for more than a decade, involving 657,461 children born in Denmark – was just published in the April 2019 issue of the prestigious Annals of Internal Medicine. This study, once again, demonstrated absolutely no connection between MMR and autism.
It strongly supports the numerous other studies published in world-class medical journals that MMR vaccination does not increase the risk for autism, does not trigger autism in susceptible children, and is not associated with a clustering of autism cases.
The same conclusion was found even in children with a sibling history of autism or autism risk factors. Indeed, this journal article showed that the vaccinated children had a lower chance of getting autism!
The dissemination of unscientific and outright false statements regarding the safety and efficacy of the life-saving MMR vaccine must stop.