Letters To The Editor – October 25, 2024

Our Communities Must Vote!

Barack Obama once famously said that “elections have consequences.” That is probably the only matter on which I will ever agree with him.

This year we are looking at possibly the closest contest ever for control of the House of Representatives. Within that structure, we have neck-and-neck races for individual seats in and around Monsey, on Long Island, in Waterbury, Conn., and in other states where Jewish Press readers reside and vote. And need I mention the presidential race, especially in Pennsylvania and other “battleground” states?

This year, it is not a cliche to say that every vote counts. The stakes are unusually high for Israel and the identifying American Jewish community when there are such stark differences between the two parties as we have seen in the past year.

Don’t assume that it’s good enough only for some of your neighbors to vote. The vote of each of us, our spouses and our children are essential for the protection of our people. Whether you go out to vote on November 5 or avail yourself of other voting procedures, please be sure that you vote and that you will be able someday to tell your grandchildren that you stood up when it counted.

Mark I. Fishman, Esq.
Fairfield, Conn.

Defund NYC’s
Anti-Violence Project

On the Anniversary of October 7th, the NYC Anti-Violence Project (AVP), which purports to support all victims of violence released a statement that shockingly ignored the brutal acts of violence against Israelis – Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike, and instead focused only on the conditions in Gaza and Lebanon.

As we know, one year ago, more than 1,200 lives were lost, and many more were subjected to horrific violence and sexual assault, yet AVP deliberately chose to remain silent on these atrocities. This neglect is not only unacceptable but harmful.

Due to its disgraceful disregard for Jewish lives, we must pressure city and state officials to defund the supposed “anti-violence” nonprofit. (Currently, AVP receives nearly $3 million in government grants).

Their statement was an act of violence. We must demand accountability and organizations that truly represent and support all victims.

You can read the AVP statement and sign an online petition at www.change.org/p/defund-nyc-anti-violence-project .

Wylie G. Tene
Jersey City, N.J.

What the Killing
Of Sinwar
Means for Israel

The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Thursday is a proper measure of justice for his lifetime of murder, and with any luck it will be a step toward a cease-fire in Gaza and an end to Hamas’s terrorist rule in the territory.

Israelis fulfilled one of their main war aims in killing Sinwar, who is believed to have planned the surprise attack and massacre of 1,200 men, women and children on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas also took 250 hostages, and about 100 are still being held, dead or alive.

Sinwar was killed by Israeli soldiers operating in southern Gaza, after he had escaped detection for more than a year by hiding, almost certainly in Hamas’s vast underground tunnel network. He was found with several passports, which could mean he was looking for a way to flee the territory as the Israel Defense Forces hunted for him.

“I am standing here today to announce that Yahya Sinwar was eliminated,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a short video statement on Thursday night. “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza,” he added, but “the war isn’t over.”

Sinwar’s demise adds to the impressive Israeli record in killing the leaders of the jihadist radical groups bent on the destruction of the Jewish state. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by 2,000-pound bombs in Lebanon last month, while Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran in July. Most of Hamas’s military commanders and thousands of its fighters have also been killed.

This is crucial as a deterrent against future attacks, signaling that the lifespan of future terrorist leaders will be short. It’s also crucial if Palestinians in Gaza are going to have a chance at better governance and reconstruction.

Sinwar was known for his brutal enforcement of Hamas rule in the territory, and for the torture and murder of anyone suspected of cooperating with Israel. His survival would have been a living rebuke to Israel and his victims and their families. It would also have made any non-Hamas Palestinian leadership in Gaza impossible.

President Biden issued a statement Thursday on the Sinwar news, calling it “a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.” He’s right, as Sinwar was a U.S.-designated terrorist and had the blood of many Americans on his hands. Hamas still holds hostages who are American citizens.

But it’s worth recalling that Biden has pressured Netanyahu and his government for months to stop the war in Gaza. The U.S. counseled against a major military campaign against Hamas. Then, despite Israel’s clear early success, he tried to bully Israel against sending troops into the city of Rafah, where Sinwar was thought to be hiding.

Israel went ahead anyway, and Netanyahu has a right to claim vindication for doing so. It’s not too much to say that if Israel had taken Biden’s advice, Sinwar, Nasrallah, and the rest of the Hamas-Hezbollah leadership would still be alive.

Sinwar was the main opponent of a cease-fire in Gaza, and his death may cause Hamas’s next leader to agree to a deal that would release the remaining hostages. That will surely be the hope of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who want a cease-fire before the U.S. election. “This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza,” Harris said in Wisconsin Thursday. Note how quick she is to leap to try to end the war, not merely endorse a cease-fire.

But Netanyahu will also be in a stronger position, and any cease-fire now will have to satisfy Israel’s future security needs. This means control or careful monitoring of the Gaza border with Egypt from which Hamas built up its tunnels and arms.

Israel has shown through its fortitude since Oct. 7 that the best way to deter an adversary is to demonstrate ferocious retribution for murdering its people. It deserves support as it continues to re-establish that deterrence.

Brian Goldenfeld
Oak Park, Calif.

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