Beware of the Radical Right
Dear Editor:
I thoroughly enjoyed the Ken Burns documentary on The Holocaust and the U.S.’s response to it. Let it put to rest the claims by so many that Roosevelt didn’t care for the European Jews’ situation. He did what he could do considering the element of anti-Semitism felt throughout the country by rural Americans at that time. We see the same attitude today that is putting Israel in peril. The radical right, with its White Supremacists and Racists leading the way, imperil all of us. It’s time to put them where they belong ; away for good.
Sincerely
Harriet Hornstein
Manhattan
Ken Burns Whitewashes FDR
Dear Editor:
I just viewed the first of the Holocaust series by Burns on PBS. It was a total whitewash of the FDR handling of that Jewish crisis. He, along with Truman were avowed Jew haters and yet the simple minded Jews of today are still enthralled by the Democrat Party. Let these fools take a look at those in Congress who always vote against our country’s support for Israel. The opponents to Israel’s survival are ALWAYS Democrats. The Squad, led by Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, AOC, Ayanna Pressley and so on, are the leaders of the party that over 70% of Jews support.
Where is the sense of honesty along with reality in their minds? How could they have voted for Obama twice, knowing of his membership for 20 years in rev. Wright’s church? Do they question Obama’s response to questions about his mentor, in which he claims he was not aware of the hatred coming out of Wright’s mouth? Was Obama lying or just plain stupid during those years in which he was married by and had his kids christened by Wright? Jews who have made it in school, business and are well read s
If Leftist, Progressive, Jewish Democrats do not see reality, even now, all is lost for us.
And our grandkids will see documentaries glorifying Obama’s undying love for and support for Jews. It’s coming.
Sincerely
Harold Kastner
Woodbury, NY
What Can Be Expected from King Charles?
Dear Editor:
What can the world expect from the newly crowned King Charles? Didn’t he flirt with Islam just a few years ago? Does he have the capacity, as his mother so well did, to keep out of politics and stay mum regarding his opinions on situations he is not capable of understanding or influencing? Will he blunder into the policies of the UK and do similar damage as our own elected, moronic president has done?
Both of these guys are not too bright to say the least. But they are in the limelight and what they say can make a big difference in international situations. Basically, both can bring harm to an already unstable world. My prayers are that they keep their mouths shut. Big chance of that.
Sincerely
Ira Bloch
Montauk, NY
US Immigration Policy During WWII
Dear Editor:
In his discussion with TJV about the Ken Burns documentary “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” Dr. Rafael Medoff asserts that Burns takes the position that FDR did not turn his back on European Jewry. I watched the three-part series and came to the opposite conclusion.
Medoff says, “It’s funny how we remember Roosevelt as a strong and decisive leader—yet here Ken Burns is trying to convince us that FDR was weak and helpless.” As much as I can tell, the film does a great job of presenting FDR within the context of the times. It emphasizes that Roosevelt had to deal with the realities of an indifferent, if not strongly anti-Semitic populace. But the film far from lets FDR off the hook.
Viewers draw their own conclusions, and to me the film is almost an indictment of FDR. It demonstrates that FDR was both irresponsible in his promulgation and oversight of the State Department’s immigration policies and at least somewhat comfortable with the plight of the Jews. Roosevelt’s priority was ending the Third Reich and keeping America safe. To him, European Jewry was, unfortunately, almost completely beyond saving.
That said, Medoff’s contention is spot on: “Public opinion was not in charge of U.S. immigration policy; the president was. It was the Roosevelt administration, not the public, that decided on a policy of suppressing immigration below what the existing law permitted.”
I believe that Burns would agree. In fact, I think the entire point of the documentary can be summed up by that quote attributed to Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Sincerely
Bob Mankovsky
Little Egg Harbor, NJ
A Bittersweet Jewish New Year
Dear Editor:
“Israel’s Ambassador Erdan Leaves UN General Assembly in Protest of Iranian President’s Speech.” He said, “The UN has descended to a new moral low today. While in Iran the Ayatollah regime oppresses its citizens, murders women who do not cover their heads, and finances terror attacks around the world, here at the United Nations, which was established to prevent such atrocities, the president of Iran, the murderer and Holocaust denier Raisi, gets a platform to spread his hatred. It’s a disgrace and that’s why I called all the ambassadors to leave the General Assembly during his speech.”
It is never just the “Hitler’s”. It is those who repeat the Big Lies, who single out only Israel for false blame and smears, in the guise of ‘human rights’, while they trample on our Jewish Civil Rights. It is about those who do not walk out or speak up.
Europe’s Jews were forced to wear a big yellow Star of David. Today, Jews in America are forced to hide being Jewish when they leave their homes, for fear of their lives. Jewish students on every single campus are harassed, threatened simply because they are Jews. Jews get it from the left, from the far right and from Islam’s jihad.
In my guest column, 2019, in Israel Hayom, I asked, “Is “white Jewish privilege” a thing? We had the “privilege” of being persecuted for centuries by Christians for rejecting Jesus and by Muslims for rejecting Muhammad; denied the right to vote, hold citizenship or own property; crowded into ghettos; denied admission to universities; rounded up and killed in pogroms; scattered to the ends of the earth; beheaded, raped and enslaved; and butchered by the millions in the Holocaust while the world looked on. And today we have the very special “white privilege” of record numbers of hate crimes against Jews worldwide – more so than any other religious group.”
And so for our bittersweet year, 5783, I ask, will you stand up, protest, fight this storm of hate coming at us?
Sincerely
Ginette Weiner
Scottsdale, AZ
