Accusations taken too far can equal persecution
Manhattan: Incredibly, but not surprisingly, the world is currently scapegoating Israelis (the Jews!) for the war in Gaza, even though they did not start the war. The facts are clear: Israeli civilians were victims of a horrific war crime as they were massacred in October 2023 during the most barbaric mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. They did not commit the war crime of launching rockets and missiles into population centers, as the freely elected Gazan leadership (Hamas) has, nor the war crime of hiding behind civilians as the Hamas terrorists do, nor the war crime of kidnapping civilians.
And now, the world’s media outlets (ours included), as reported in July 29’s The Times of Israel and elsewhere, are using photos of hungry children in Iraq and Gazan children with genetic skin disorders in an effort to forward the false narrative of a Gaza famine. Of course, photos of overweight Gazans are ample, and images of thousands of Gazan men carrying 100-pound bags of food on their backs also run contrary to any evidence of a famine.
The antisemitic propaganda being disseminated by today’s media is not only an attack on the concepts of truth and reality, but it also lends comfort and encouragement to the depraved terrorists who are battling the good people of Israel. This has been going on for 4,000 years (antisemitism). The use of racist propaganda in order to vilify “the Jew” proved very effective for the Germans 80 years ago. But revisiting the strategies conceived by the likes of Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels will likely prove to be antithetical to any progressive society. Lloyd Litwak
Brutal history
Brooklyn: Although I heartily applaud Rachel Timoner (“This rabbi protests Israel’s government,” op-ed, Aug. 2) for getting herself arrested while protesting Israel’s genocidal policies towards Gazans, I find it odd that a rabbi, who is supposed to deal with moral questions, would turn a blind eye to the underlying moral issues of what precipitated the events of the last two years. Therefore, I will give her a short remediation, because the list of Zionist atrocities is long. Israeli massacres of Palestinians were part of Plan Dalet, including what took place at the villages of Deir Yassin, Kafr Qasim, Al-Khisas, Balad al-Shaykh, Tantura, al-Dawayima and Safsaf. I only scratch the surface. Timoner says no history justifies the violence Hamas wrought on Oct. 7. Not so! One can only conclude from her implied rationale that Zionist violence evidently justified the founding of the odious Israeli project. This is an utter negation of common sense. Nick Smith
Benefits received
Tomkins Cove, N.Y.: Todd Blanche, the lawyer who lost a 34-count indictment against President Trump and is now #2 in the Department of Justice, goes down to Florida to visit Ghislaine Maxwell and abracadabra, she gets transferred from a minimum-security facility — a convicted felon serving a 20-year sentence, no less — to a less secure honor farm housing only women. Am I crazy or is a pardon coming down the pike? And her transfer allows her to go back to what she does best: grooming women for new skeevy creeps. Doug Slotolowicz
Soft on pedophilia
Whitestone: When asked by the press if there might be a pardon for Maxwell, Trump didn’t give a clear answer but said he did have the power to pardon her. A pardon or reduced sentence for Maxwell would permanently damage Trump with his MAGA base because the Jeffrey Epstein problem is more than Epstein and a possible Trump connection. For Trump’s most ardent supporters, the issue is really about pedophilia, and Maxwell is a convicted serial sexual predator of underage children. A pardon or commutation for her if she tries to exonerate Trump in the Epstein atrocities would paint Trump as a president who would disrespect her many victims to make himself look innocent. Michael J. Gorman
Vanity projects
Clifton Park, N.Y.: Fifty-five years ago, Joni Mitchell sang about replacing paradise with a parking lot. Now our classless president has replaced the iconic Rose Garden with a slab of concrete. Next on his list is a ballroom to feed his ego and destroy the beauty of the White House. Imagine how much good could be done for our needy veterans with that $200 million. How sad! John Landers
Ran afoul
Massapequa, L.I.: Congratulations to my Sen. Chuck Schumer for getting in Donnie’s doghouse for not moving fast enough to confirm the fool’s nominees before this month’s August recess. Good thing Grump can’t fire you as he did the woman who put out the new jobs report the other day because he didn’t like that the numbers were too low. Senator, you were probably on his list already, but you moved up a few notches. Thank You. Ron Boehning
Cause and response
Jamaica: Voicer Charles Michael Sitero erroneously labels Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) as a leftist response when it’s a common MAGA malady. Sitero, like other MAGAs, ignores Trump’s history, recollections of those who lived through his amoral, malevolent, predatory and lawbreaking behaviors that were confirmed through court records, transcripts, audio and video recordings, testimony from his victims and witnesses, confessions from those who aided him with his crimes, and confirmations from government officials and Supreme Court (and other) judges. As a boomer, I grew up with the idea that U.S. presidents possessed integrity, honor and interest in serving the country and those within it. What’s the point of constitutional law if Trump ignores it? What’s the point of three branches of government when Trump ignores or bullies the other two branches to get in line and obey his orders? Abby Frank
Distracted bystanders
Fairfield, Conn.: To Voicer James A. Fragale: I too am curious about anyone seeing this suspicious, evil gunman Shane Tamura. However, I wonder how many pedestrians missed him because they were peering at their smartphones. Alexander Franchino
Shifting rhetoric
Park Ridge, N.J.: I’m not a big fan of Leonard Greene, but in his column (“What about N.Y., Zohran?” Aug. 3) he said what everybody should be thinking: How much of what Zohran Mamdani says can you believe? For most of his brief political career, he has echoed the sentiments of ultra-liberal AOC and belittled and berated the NYPD, and has called for them to be defunded. Now that he’s running for mayor, he has suddenly fallen in love with the city police and says they have his support. I watched the political ads run by other candidates and you can hear him blast the police. When you are as emphatic in your beliefs as he seemed to be, you are not going to do a 180-degree turn. Beliefs like his are hateful and dangerous, and certainly not ones that should be held by the mayor. New York needs to do better. Steve Ostlund
Not there yet
Flushing: I am puzzled why Leonard Greene and others give Mamdani grief for not being in NYC when four people were tragically murdered in Midtown. Is he the current mayor? What exactly should a state assemblyman from Queens do except offer condolences in person on the day of or after the event? Greene may have legitimate questions about Mamdani’s position on community safety. Instead, his questioning Mamdani’s absence is cover for what comes across as an anti-immigrant attack — surprising for such a champion of the Caribbean community. Greene ignores that Mamdani was happily greeted by the Islam family and prayed with them long after the photo-opportunity-seeking mayoral rivals left the scene. Mr. Greene, this smear is unworthy of your otherwise thoughtful approach. Frank Lang
City roots
Pearl River, N.Y.: To Voicer W. Twirley: If you need to know, I keep an apartment in NYC. I’ve lived and worked in NYC for more than 35 years. Please go out and vote to keep our great city great. Robert Brennan
Demand for justice
Woodcliff Lake, N.J.: What is going on with the Sunday Daily News? You charge $3.50 and you don’t even have the Justice Story in there anymore. That is mostly why I buy the paper on Sunday. Without the Justice Story, there’s no point in even buying the Daily News anymore. Why are you eliminating this feature? Kathie Renken
