Letters to the Editor

Remembering to be Thankful

Dear Editor:

As the Corona crisis grows and we are asked to shelter in place at home, our daily lives have changed. One constant for my wife and I continue to see Jonathan, our mailman. Despite all the challenges of dealing with the Corona Virus, Jonathan comes through, delivering our mail. Receiving and reading the mail has become one of the daily highlights, one which we no longer take for granted. Keeping busy paying bills, making some charitable contributions to food banks and other worthy causes along with reading our magazines and weekly newspapers delivered to our door, helps us pass the time of day.

Being retired, we have come to appreciate and enjoy getting the mail six days a week. A day without Jonathan delivering our mail is a day without sunshine! We can fully appreciate the connection between senior citizens and the local mailman. Hats off to Jonathan and all the other brave mail carriers who continue making their appointed rounds

During these challenging times, we also give thanks to our police, volunteer ambulance, fire, sanitation, nurses, doctors, deli, supermarket, take out delivery, fast food, UPS, Fed X, truckers, gas station, pharmacy, public transportation, utility, power, water, bank tellers along with those producing critical medical supplies who continue working day and night. Don’t forget the radio, television and newspaper reporters who continue to keep us informed.

There is daylight at the end of the tunnel.

Sincerely,

Larry Penner

 

American Jewish Priorities

Dear Editor:

Jonathan S. Tobin, editor in chief of JNS, ‘An Object Lesson in Misplaced American Jewish Priorities’, “National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia, the new $150 million building in Philadelphia, filed for bankruptcy….Even if one accepts that the museum still provides a wonderful learning experience, the scale of its expenses was still way out of proportion to the good it could do. Jewish museums have sprung around the United States like opera houses in the ghost towns of the Old West. But the truth is that there is a finite amount of Jewish resources at American Jewry’s disposal. You have to wonder what history will say about a community that preferred to spend lavishly on a monument to its past rather than doing all it could to ensure its future.”

Compared to the population of the world, 6.2 billion, the Jewish population is only 13 million, which is 0.2% of the total world’s population yet we are the most targeted group worldwide, for hate crimes, online Nazi demonization of Jews and vicious smearing of Israel as the cause of the world’s and Arabs’ woes. Michael Bloomberg spent millions on his ego filled, failed campaign. I read about successful Jews buying baseball teams, vineyards, donating millions to a charity. But I do not read about a focused effort to form a news agency to impart facts to refute the lies mainstream media routinely prints about Israel or the Arabs’ completely false attempts to rewrite us out of our centuries old historic existence in the middle east. Nor am I reading about American Jews funding a journalism program to train young students to refute the fast growing, vicious stereotypes about Jews. Our resources are not infinite. Put them towards our future where it will have lasting and meaningful impact before it’s yet again, too little, too late.

Sincerely

Randolph Esselberg

 

Joe Biden and the Media Need Rehab

Dear Editor:

The media and Joe Biden, should be taking advantage of self quarantine to undergo Rehabilitation for their relentless, false blaming of Israel for Gaza’s woes. Rehab programs have a Ten Step Program. Try Step One for a start: Ethics 101 which requires you fact check and check your bias, before spewing ignorant, false blame.

JNS, “Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden was just the latest to blame Israel for Gaza’s woes. However, once again, facts prove these media and observers wrong: The principal source of Gaza’s isolation and desperation is, in fact, Egypt. Why does the media ignore Egypt’s critical role in keeping Gaza boxed in and isolated? The answer is simple: When in doubt, blame Israel…Egypt could open its border with Gaza tomorrow, declare a free trade zone to aid the shattered Gazan economy. So why doesn’t Egypt open their arms to their Gazan brethren?

Simple—thanks to Hamas and PIJ, Gazans are thoroughly indoctrinated in militancy and terrorism. Islamist elements that have made it into Sinai from Gaza have murdered Egyptian citizens and soldiers on a large scale. What’s more, Egypt has enough trouble containing the Muslim Brotherhood on its own territory—remember the Morsi regime? The last thing Egypt wants is to allow the free movement of Hamas operatives into Egypt; Hamas is, after all, the Gaza branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The focus on Israel as the culprit in Gaza’s misery is misplaced and hypocritical.”

Gatestone, “While Israel is working overtime with Palestinians to curb and prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the Arab states appear to be doing what they do best when it comes to helping their Palestinian brothers: nothing at all. Israeli delivered 200 coronavirus testing kits to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, sector despite the thousands of rockets and incendiary and bomb-carrying balloons that the ruling government, Hamas, has launched from there towards Israel, and coordinated the transfer of 20 tons of disinfectant material from Israeli factories to the Palestinian health sector. It is worth noting that Egypt, which has a shared border with the Gaza Strip, did not send any test kits or disinfectant materials to the Palestinians living there.”

So to the media and to Biden, may your time in quarantine be well spent-undergo Rehab for Fact Checking and Ethics Training. I would also recommend you give up your addiction, your myopic, relentless obsession with Israel and instead, start reporting and giving speeches about the true atrocities in Syria, and elsewhere in our world. Try it. You’ll sleep better.

Sincerely

Sylvia Mankowitz