IfNotNow: Blacks First, Jews Second
Amidst Kenosha, Wisconsin riots, the city’s Beth Hillel synagogue was vandalized with “Free Palestine” graffiti. This act was widely denounced by many Jewish organizations, including, initially, IfNotNow.
Within a day of hearing from its fellow “progressive” activists, however, its anger cooled and did “teshuvah” for “distracting from the most important issues facing the country today: police violence and anti-Black racism.” To IfNotNow, Jewish concerns are clearly insignificant in comparison.
I wonder: Is any anti-Semitic outrage sufficient to puncture their “progressive” bubble? If yes, what does that outrage have to look like?
Richard D. Wilkins
Syracuse, NY
In-Person Voting Is Safe
I’m so tired of hearing Democrats rant about being afraid to vote in person. If just about everyone can shop in Costco, BJ’s, Walmart, and assorted supermarkets (I’m not even mentioning all those who attended crowded protests without masks – where was the media then?), then voting in person is fine.
In fact, as a poll worker, I can tell you that doing so is totally safe. Primary elections were held in June and it was very safe to come to vote where I worked.
There are nine days to vote, and you can choose to come in early or late. We have social distancing perfected, so it is never crowded inside! When voters enter to vote, they are masked, given an anti-bacterial wipe for their hands, (or gloves if they prefer that), and a pen to use – and keep.
They go to a table with a plexiglass-barrier to sign in with their pen and put their personally printed ballot into a scanner themselves. All this is done in less than 10 minutes. The process is secure, safe, and honest.
Many people who come to vote tell me their relative has either moved or passed away but they never bothered notifying the Dept. of Elections. Their names, therefore, still appear on government voting rolls, and states that plan to mail out ballots to everyone will send ballots to these deceased and relocated people too. Anyone will be able to illegally fill them out and mail them back.
We want to have an honest election! Please call your congressman/congresswoman and senators!
Rochelle Rothman
The Great Motivators: Bread and Bullets
You know President Trump scored some points at the Republican Convention by the way his enemies in the media attacked him after his nomination speech.
There are two simple issues that could win Mr. Trump re-election. First, he is the candidate that can best reignite the economy when the pandemic finally subsides. Second, he will smash the radical left “mob” while Joe Biden won’t.
Voters with weak attention spans can understand those things without repetition. And folks who don’t pay much attention to politics will decide the election. There are legions of them.
Donald Trump helped himself at the convention, but angry, rampaging fanatics helped him more. Most Americans understand that police need to adhere to higher standards regarding the use of lethal force, but they despise the lawless conduct currently on display.
You are not going to win hearts and minds by threatening Senator Rand Paul and his wife as they walk home from the White House. You will not hurt President Trump by terrorizing restaurant diners.
Joe Biden looks weak on the radical issue even as Mr. Trump makes it a centerpiece of his campaign.
The truth is that the more threatening radical leftists become, the more likely it will be that President Trump and Senate Republicans will prevail in November.
Brian J. Goldenfeld
Oak Park, CA
We Need More Policemen, Not Fewer
It’s so important for all policemen to know that we appreciate them and that they will always get funding.
We need more police on the street, trains, and busses and outside our shuls, schools, and stores. And we need to keep criminals in jail longer by throwing the book at them.
Finally, we need to throw the likes of Schumer and De Blasio out of office for failing to support the police.
Raquel Hanon
Agudah and Democrats
I applaud Yaakov Homnick for writing and The Jewish Press for publishing “Why Is Agudath Israel Defending the Democrats?” (August 21, op-ed).
It caused a stir in my community because it rings so true. Several local rabbis, many of whom are in some way associated with Agudah, have previously endorsed straight Democrat tickets.
How can Agudah rabbis support the Democrat Party when it advocates the antithesis of Judaism? Why don’t these rabbis stand against late-term abortion, same-gender marriages, and gender flip-flopping at will?
Why do they ignore the murders of American Jews, the burning of Jewish synagogues, and the intentional destruction and looting of Jewish stores?
We Jews are supposedly a light unto the nations. But we fail in our mission when we don’t decry the anti-Torah behavior surrounding us. Agudath Israel has failed because it has not led our people onto the right path.
Freda Goldman
Baltimore, MD
Haley’s Speech
In her excellent speech at the Republican National Convention, Nikki Haley, our former ambassador to the UN, sharply defined the difference in foreign policy between the Republican and the Democratic parties, particularly vis-à-vis Israel.
While she strongly defended Israel at the UN with the support of President Trump, the Democratic Party under President Obama acted with ambivalence toward Israel, and influential Democratic voices today such as the squad routinely criticize Israel.
If Biden wins, support for Israel in Congress and the UN will drop.
Nelson Marans
New York, NY