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Hamas Must Be Held Accountable
Dear Editor:
The assertion that Israel is to blame for the situation that civilian Gazans are in was debunked by Ambassador Mike Huckabee on May 21 (source: npr.org/2025/05/21/nx-s1-5404970/ambassador-israel-mike-huckabee-interview). Speaking with NPR, Huckabee asserted that “The prolonged suffering for everybody is on Hamas, and I’m outraged that the U.K., Canada, [and] France — they’re blaming the wrong perpetrator.” Huckabee also said, “I’m not in the position to tell the Israelis how to conduct their war. … My family members weren’t murdered and massacred, mutilated [on October 7, 2023].”
Israel is conducting a war on terrorism with no moral difference from the war that Americans waged against Al-Qaeda after 9/11. Hamas made the deliberate choice to start this war, and Israel is acting not only in self-defense, but also to prevent future conflicts.
Let’s be clear: Hamas started this war. Refusing to hold them fully accountable only emboldens more violence.
Sincerely,
Moshe Phillips
National Chairman
Americans For A Safe Israel
afsi.org
Why Israel Must Finish the Job in Gaza
Dear Editor:
The global media continues to regurgitate a deeply flawed and morally inverted narrative about Israel’s military operation in Gaza — one that not only ignores the reality of terrorism but deliberately distorts the truth about who is responsible for the suffering of Palestinian civilians. As a concerned observer and staunch supporter of Israel’s right to self-defense, I write to express unequivocal support for Israel’s continuing campaign to root out Hamas terrorism by dismantling its infrastructure and eliminating its leadership — completely, and without apology.
Contrary to the egregiously misleading coverage by major outlets, Israel is not “starving” Gaza or targeting innocent civilians. These are libelous accusations advanced by organizations and media figures who consistently refuse to acknowledge the one truth that matters most: Hamas is solely responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Let us begin with the basic facts. Hamas is not a government — it is a genocidal terrorist organization, recognized as such by the United States, the European Union, and much of the civilized world. Since violently seizing control of Gaza in 2007, it has invested billions of dollars — not in hospitals, schools, or infrastructure — but in tunnels, rockets, and military bunkers, many of them built underneath or adjacent to civilian sites like mosques, UN schools, and hospitals. Its fighters don civilian clothing. Its leaders operate from hospitals and refugee camps. Its weapons are stockpiled in residential buildings. This is not Israel’s doing — this is Hamas’s deliberate and cynical strategy of using its own people as human shields.
Every death in Gaza, tragic as it may be, lies squarely at the feet of Hamas. Israel takes extraordinary and unprecedented steps to avoid civilian casualties — including leafleting, phone calls, and targeted evacuations. No military in history has done more to prevent harm to noncombatants while conducting operations in such densely packed environments. But Israel cannot — and should not — be expected to allow its enemies to survive simply because they hide behind women and children.
As for the claim that Israel is “starving” Gaza, this is a blood libel dressed up in humanitarian language. What the media conveniently omits is that Israel has facilitated thousands of aid trucks into Gaza since the war began. The real problem is that Hamas and its affiliate gangs routinely hijack aid, hoard it, or use it as leverage to control the population. Aid convoys have been attacked and looted — not by Israeli forces, but by Palestinian militias. If the people of Gaza are hungry, blame Hamas. If their homes are destroyed, blame Hamas. If their future is dark, blame Hamas.
The moral calculus is clear: no country can — or should — be expected to live under the threat of terror tunnels, suicide bombers, and rocket barrages. October 7 was not an isolated incident; it was the clearest demonstration yet of Hamas’s genocidal intent toward the Jewish state. The only path to peace is through the total eradication of Hamas. There is no “diplomatic solution” to evil.
Israel must finish this war. Not because it wants to, but because it has no other choice. The world should not condemn it — it should stand with it.
Sincerely,
Yishai Benzaquen
Livingston, NJ
Zohran Mamdani is Unfit to Lead NYC
Dear Editor:
As New Yorkers grapple with an unprecedented rise in antisemitic incidents, the prospect of Zohran Mamdani running for mayor should alarm every resident of this city—Jewish or not—who values decency, pluralism, and moral clarity. In a city that is home to more Jews than any place outside of Israel, electing a man whose record on Israel and Jewish issues is openly hostile would not only be dangerous—it would be a betrayal of everything New York stands for.
Let us be clear: Mamdani is not merely “critical of Israel,” as his defenders often claim in an attempt to sanitize his extremism. He is an outspoken supporter of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement, a campaign that seeks to isolate the Jewish state economically, culturally, and politically. BDS doesn’t advocate for peace or coexistence. Its co-founder, Omar Barghouti, has openly said, “We oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine.” In other words, the movement Mamdani supports is committed to the destruction of Israel—not reform, not diplomacy, but obliteration.
Mamdani has repeatedly equated Israel—a democratic nation fighting for its survival—with apartheid South Africa and even with Nazi Germany, a comparison so grotesque and historically inaccurate that it reeks of antisemitic intent. In the wake of Hamas’s barbaric massacre on October 7, 2023, which included the murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent civilians, Mamdani refused to condemn the terrorists. Instead, he pointed the finger at Israel, echoing the same moral inversion we’ve seen from far-left ideologues and Islamist radicals who justify Jew-hatred under the veneer of “anti-Zionism.”
This is not just bad policy. It is morally obscene.
In recent months, antisemitism in New York has reached crisis levels. Jews have been harassed in the streets, synagogues have been vandalized, and Jewish students on college campuses have been told to “go back to Poland.” Much of this is not coming from the far right—but from the so-called “progressive” coalition that Mamdani proudly aligns himself with: the Red-Green Alliance of hard-left agitators and Islamist sympathizers who mask their hatred in the language of social justice.
New York needs a mayor who will bring people together, not tear them apart along ethnic and religious lines. We need a leader who will protect the city’s Jewish community—not scapegoat it. We need someone who will call out terrorism and antisemitism wherever it appears—not make excuses for it.
Electing Zohran Mamdani to lead this city would send a chilling message to Jews and to all people of conscience: that hatred of Israel and the demonization of Jews is no longer disqualifying in American politics. That would be a disgrace.
For the sake of New York’s future, and for the safety and dignity of its Jewish population, voters must reject Mamdani’s candidacy unequivocally.
Sincerely,
Golda Chaya Neienberg
Brooklyn, NY
Calling Out the US Marines
Dear Editor:
In times of national crisis, leadership demands courage, clarity, and the moral conviction to protect the rule of law. President Trump’s decision to consider deploying Marines to restore order in Los Angeles is not just justified — it is imperative.
What we are witnessing is not peaceful protest. These are coordinated riots aimed at sabotaging lawful immigration enforcement, endangering federal agents, and fueling chaos. ICE officers — men and women sworn to uphold the law — are being targeted simply for doing their jobs. When local authorities fail to act decisively, the federal government must intervene to safeguard both its personnel and the public.
President Trump is sending a clear message: America will not tolerate insurrection under the guise of activism. His call to action is not about politics — it’s about preserving civil society and enforcing the nation’s immigration laws without fear or violence.
This is about restoring order, defending those who serve, and reaffirming that mob rule has no place in a constitutional republic. The deployment of Marines in this context is a measured, necessary step to protect American citizens and law enforcement alike.
Sincerely,
A Proud American Citizen