Week of June 9, 2016

Letters to the Editor THE CJN PHOTO
Letters to the Editor THE CJN PHOTO

A summer of Trump

Donald Trump understands that the more left-wing a person is – be they American or Israeli, Muslim, Christian, Jew or atheist – the more likely they are to be anti-American and anti-Semitic (“Liberal Jews plan a summer of opposing Donald Trump”).

For decades, Americans and the U.S. Congress have supported Israel, but their leaders have blown hot and cold. While everyone loved former U.S. president Bill Clinton’s charm, he was of another, gentler era. Following 9/11, then-president George Bush had a much tougher and more violent world to contend with, and the administration of President Barack Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton was a disaster for the Middle East. They genuflected to the oil tyrants and acquiesced to their demand that Israel be the price for Arab co-operation. Meanwhile, Obama/Clinton left the Middle East and North Africa in flames, with only Israel managing to stay above the fray.

Trump’s balance on Arab-Israeli issues will be a welcome change from Obama’s stance. Americans should know Hillary Clinton will be more of the same, and Saudi funds will continue to pour into the Clinton Foundation.

For generations, Democrats have taken Jewish votes for granted. That is over. Those supporting Israelis’ right to live in peace in their ancestral homeland will gravitate toward the conservatives they trust, rather than the wishy-washy progressives who parrot the mantra that all cultures are equal to ours and that Islamic human rights will fall into place if only we treated them better.

Len Bennett 

Ottawa 


Defeat of the BDS bill

It comes as no surprise that the NDP would vote against an anti-boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) bill (“Anti-BDS bill defeated in vote at Queen’s Park”). Their support of Israel has at best been lukewarm. Other than MPP Mike Colle, all the Liberals voted against the bill, which was supported by all the Conservatives in the legislature.

The hypocrisy of Premier Kathleen Wynne in touring Israel as a great friend and promoter of business and scientific co-operation while her Liberals in the legislature voted against the bill is typical of the way she runs her government.

The BDS movement is not an expression of freedom of speech, but blatant lies about Israel, and plain and simply anti-Semitic.

Bert Raphael

Toronto 


A loss of epic proportions for the anti-BDS bill in the Ontario legislature leads me to the following conclusions:

First, the presenter was ill-prepared and knows little of parliamentary process and advocacy. Second, we are dealing with a tin can loaded with a solitary marble – lots of noise but no substance.

Why was the community not recruited to strengthen the effort? The politics in the advocacy arena is nauseating and harmful.

Yosef Bentzvi

Toronto 


The language of brothers 

The article, “The untimely death of Reb Aryeh, my brother,” was exquisite writing, soul language that only brothers can share.

Moishe Goldstein

Toronto