A No-Brainer-No On Presidential Immunity
In your editorial last week (“SCOTUS and Trump Immunity,” May 3), you characterize the issue of whether a former United States president should be immune from criminal prosecution for alleged crimes committed while in office as “momentous.” While the fact that this issue is being accepted for consideration by the Supreme Court might make it momentous, I think that this issue is actually a no-brainer that had no business going so far up the judicial food chain.
Should a president be able to commit crimes while in office without the potential for any penal consequence after leaving office? Of course he shouldn’t. Some conservative justices appear to distinguish between private conduct and “official acts.” But being president is sort of a 24/7 job with an extremely broad range of authority, and the line between private conduct and official acts, to the extent there is any, is thin and fuzzy. Take, for example, a sitting president who decides to go out on Fifth Avenue and shoot a person at random or to rob a bank. These types of actions might clearly be private in nature, but a far more conceivable scenario of presidential criminality would involve abuse of presidential powers that could reasonably be described as “official acts.” Like obstruction of justice, or taking bribes, or sharing nuclear secrets with a hostile foreign country. Or, G-d forbid, ordering the military to round up Jews (or any racial or religious group for that matter) and punish them for the “crime” of being Jewish. Or, as alleged in the Donald Trump case, illegally masterminding a scheme to reverse the results of an election.
You express concern that not granting immunity could result in the “blatant targeting of predecessor political enemies by those who succeed them in office.” Thankfully, even the most extreme leftist Democrats are not advocating criminal prosecution against Trump based on opposition to his policies, nor are the most extreme right-wing Republicans advocating criminal prosecution against President Joe Biden based on opposition to his policies; it is understood on a bi-partisan basis that the president has wide discretion in carrying out his duties. The first criminal prosecution in the United States’ 248-year history based on actions of a president committed while in office – the current case against Trump – is based on extremely serious allegations; attempting to stay in power in defiance of legal election results clearly undermines democracy.
With respect to the issue of immunity for crimes of a president committed while in office, the concern that not granting immunity could result in unfair political prosecutions should be outweighed by the concern that putting the president above the law could result in dictatorship.
Zachary M. Berman
Bronx, NY
Nadler Not Kosher For Jewish Voters
There are others to be added to “Jewish Politicians’ Capitulation” (Letter to the Editor by Zachary Margolies, May 3). Congressmember Jerry Nadler calling Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the worst leader of Jews in 2,000 years makes no sense. His words define him as the worst Jewish member of Congress since our nation’s founding in 1776.
Israel has every right to preserve its security by eliminating Hamas. The crises would not have taken place had Hamas not launched its Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
Nadler also lost his way by not supporting securing our own border with both Mexico and Canada. We have no idea how many terrorists, criminals, gang members, drug dealers, and pedophiles were among the seven million illegal immigrants who have come into our nation without first being vetted.
His voting record all too often mirrors that of Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and other members of the extreme left Democratic Party caucus. He was one of only 41 members who voted against House Resolution 883, which condemned the chant “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free” as antisemitic and passed with 377 votes in favor.
Nadler is clearly “treif” for Jewish voters. He doesn’t deserve a financial campaign contribution or your vote in 2024. Diogenes is looking for a mainstream moderate candidate who would be a true friend of Netanyahu and Israel to run against him this year.
Larry Penner
Via Email
Heroes For Today
When I was a young child, I, like my friends, had my favorite “heroes.” Sometimes they were comic book characters like Superman, and other times a prominent sports figure, a world leader, etc.
As people age, their heroes might change, but the need for a hero remains.
In a few months I will be 75 years old and I would like you to know who my current three greatest heroes are:
- President Donald Trump: I had always been a registered Democrat until President Obama refused to veto an anti-Israel resolution by the United Nations. I then changed parties and voted for Donald Trump in the following presidential elections. One of the first things that President Trump did after taking office was to move the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, something that other presidents had promised to do, obviously to gain the Jewish vote, but after winning the election, did nothing about it. That act in itself, as well as others, caused my admiration for Donald Trump to increase.
- Congresswoman Elise Stefanik: Watching Stefanik’s questioning of the presidents of major universities about the rise of antisemitism on school campuses and their lack of action in stopping the calls for genocide against Jews caused my admiration for Ms. Stefanik to grow. It was incredible to see how all the presidents Stefanik asked could not even answer a simple question on how they deal with antisemitism or, more important, with antisemitic professors who publicly praise the killing of innocent Jews. (Stefanik was rightfully honored at a recent GOP event as reported in The Jewish Press “New York GOP Honors Major Political Stars,” May 3).
- Eli Tsives: Eli is a 19-year-old UCLA student whom we have already seen a few times during the pro-Hamas demonstrations at his college. On one occasion, as Tsives was peacefully holding up an Israeli flag while standing still, a female UCLA professor screamed at him hysterically that he was an instigator against the demonstrators and that the Israeli government was guilty of a genocide against the Arabs. Tsives then courteously and calmly asked the professor how Israel could be guilty of a genocide if the Arab population of Israel has only increased since 1948. The hysterical professor, not knowing what to say, called out to the journalists covering the story for help in answering. One journalist yelled back that he wanted to help Eli and that Eli had the right to peacefully stand there holding the Israeli flag in his hand. The professor then continued her ranting and raving until she left the area in shame and disgrace. This professor should be severely disciplined for harassing and bullying a peaceful student. On another occasion, Tsives wanted to walk across the UCLA campus to get to his class but was not allowed access by a group of pro-Hamas demonstrators. He had his friend film the incident for all to see who the demonstrators really are and what are their true intentions. Tsives has also appeared on the news and has spoken to groups of students on his reaction to all that has been happening to him and the UCLA Jewish students.
My admiration for these three heroes is high. In particular, Tsives is over 50 years younger than me, yet I am very proud of him and want to congratulate him and especially his parents or guardians for having done such a remarkable job!
Pesach-Yonah Malevitz
Miami Beach, FL
Kudos To House Speaker Johnson
On Sunday, I watched a heartwarming and most necessary press conference held by House Speaker Mike Johnson and the heads of all relevant House committees. The subject was the dystopian picture that has been plaguing many colleges and universities for far too long – the virulent Jew-hatred, Israel-hatred and, incredibly, America-hatred. “Death to America” seems just fine with many “protestors” and some of their supporters and apologists in the universities as well as in the Democrat Party.
If anyone in the Republican Party has any doubts about the wisdom, decision-making, and principles of Speaker Johnson, it tells me they aren’t paying attention to issues of relevance and importance. After speaking, he asked every single House member present to speak and they delivered in excellent fashion, eviscerating the thugs, goons, and home-grown brown shirts like those the world witnessed in Hitler’s Germany. A version of them is currently present at many universities on American soil, threatening, menacing, and interfering with the daily lives of Jewish students.
Johnson’s group didn’t mince words, particularly one representative who called out Ilhan Omar by name. Their exemplary display of refusing to accept anarchy and rampant antisemitism in any U.S. school was a joy to watch and hear. They were unanimous in their announcements that Congress would certainly be calling many university heads to testify about their loss of control and their meaningless and insulting attempts to placate these thugs. It has been established quite clearly in the last week that outsiders are happily embedded within the ranks of the invaders. Many have no connection to the schools and many are in their 30s and 40s. It also appears that the bloody hands of George Soros are funding the violent protests, as are foreign nations, namely Iran and Qatar.
President Biden’s take on the matter, coming a full week after rioting, arson, and attacks on law enforcement officers, was simply an insipid attempt to “touch all the bases.” He condemned antisemitism and anarchistic mayhem, and in the next paragraph condemned Islamophobia. Islamophobia? Mr. President, please inform the entire American nation of one single, solitary Muslim student that’s been threatened, bullied, assaulted, insulted, or mocked by a mob in any university during the past week. As usual, President Trump had the perfect description of the mobs: Leftist thugs.
Myron Hecker
Via Email
Identify The Instigators
Happily, some universities are mass arresting the so-called protesters. Some websites believe not all protesters are students. Among them are paid agitators. It does not fit the mainstream media’s agenda to report this. As those arrested are identified, hopefully, their identities will be reported. I encourage The Jewish Press to follow this story.
Alan Lewis
Fair Lawn, NJ
