Letters to the Editor, July 24, 2024: Closer to the truth

Closer to the truth

In extolling “J.D. Vance’s incredible road” (July 21), Douglas Altabef ignores the many negative statements Vance made about Trump in 2016 and 2017. He called Trump a “moral disaster,” a “total fraud,” “reprehensible,” “cultural heroin,” and wondered whether Trump was “America’s Hitler.” In a 2016 CNN interview, he said, “I’m definitely not gonna vote for Trump because I think that he’s projecting very complex problems onto simple villains.”

Trump said that if he is reelected, he would like to “be a dictator on day one.” He sparked a rebellion at the US Capitol aiming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and encouraged his vice president to reject certification of the results.

Trump told over 30,000 false or misleading claims in four years during his administration, according to The Washington Post, and is still telling the big lie that he won the 2020 presidential election despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. He is in denial about climate threats despite the many wakeup calls we have been getting.

Trump hosted two known antisemites for dinner at Mar-a-Lago, and made antisemitic statements such as that US Jews care more about Israel than the US and that Jews who do not support him are disloyal to Israel and Judaism. Vance’s comments about Trump in 2016 are far closer to the truth than his current praise of him.

RICHARD H. SCHWARTZShoresh

Return to Trump policies

Kudos to Enia Krivine and Megan Eckstein for recognizing UNRWA’s complicity in attempting to establish the Palestinian view of the “two-state solution” – a Palestinian state from which all Jews have been banished and a Muslim-majority Israel in which no Jew would be safe because Palestinians have grown up seeing their fellows honored and rewarded for killing Jews (“Aggressive deradicalization: US must help toward a better future in Gaza,” July 22).

Destroying this nefarious plan requires a complete Israeli victory over Hamas, the demilitarization of Gaza, and the deradicalization of the Palestinians. Israel cannot implement this plan by itself. Western democracies must realize that destruction of Israel is only the first step in Islamist efforts to implement a worldwide caliphate under Sharia law.

I hope that we will soon be seeing a return to Trump policies: bankrupting Iran so it will have to stop funding its proxies; widening the Abraham Accords so Israel will have partners working to resolve the “Palestine refugee” farce; and monitoring by the US, EU member states, and Arab states in the Abraham Accords of Gaza reconstruction projects to guarantee that donated monies are used for their intended purposes.

TOBY F. BLOCKAtlanta

Power and strength

The Houthis have sent over 200 projectiles at Israel, making shipping in the Red Sea hazardous, and threatening Eilat. The response by Israel was non-existent. Then, one UAV reaching the center of Tel Aviv results in a long overdue retaliation (“IDF targets Yemen following TA drone attack,” July 21). What kind of message does this convey?

In the eyes of the Arab mentality, restraint or tit-for-tat responses indicate weakness. What they do respect is power and strength.

The same can be said of Hezbollah. With the many deaths and injuries in the North, which is being consumed by fire, with more than 60,000 residents becoming refugees for the last nine months, Israel must tell Iran, which is directing the attacks, that the next missile fired into Israel will result in the destruction of Iranian oil refineries, and very serious Israeli operations if Tehran retaliates. With a population that generally hates the regime, Iran’s leaders will have to be cautious.

This is the action that we must take to bring quiet to a beleaguered Israel.

FRED EHRMANRa’anana

Outside interference

Regarding “‘IDF can temporarily withdraw from Gaza to facilitate deal’” (July 23): Who, fighting a war for its survival, agrees to any kind of ceasefire while its people and country are being attacked and murdered? In fact, who agrees to a ceasefire after terrorists like Hamas slaughtered some 1,200 people, beheaded children, raped and mutilated women, burned whole families alive in their homes and then took hostages?

It is insane that Israel is still fighting the terrorists after nine months when they could and should have been destroyed immediately after they attacked Israel on October 7. Now, we are being blamed, as usual, for the hostages not being released, though had President Biden not demanded that we curtail our attacks against Hamas, it would all have been over by now, with the hostages, dead or alive, released.

But that’s not how it works here with a government that bends to the will of outside interference much to our detriment, and which allows our enemies to benefit from our weakness. To win a war, one must fight to win, no holds barred, and with no aid sent to the enemy, whether or not “civilian.” Yet, we continue to do so, no matter how many of our soldiers die every day.

US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller told reporters in Washington: “We have significantly narrowed the disagreements between the parties and have a few remaining issues that need to be resolved now.” He refers to “the parties” as though Hamas was not a terrorist organization sworn to destroy Israel. How dare he belittle us with such a term, and how dare our government allow itself to be manipulated as the attacks from Hamas, and now Hezbollah, grow stronger.

There should be no negotiations with terrorists, and terrorists must not be freed from our prisons, unlike the Gilad Schalit deal, when over 1,000 terrorists were released to continue their terrorist activities against our people.

EDITH OGNALLNetanya

So, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Mossad Director David Barnea, and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar all think there is no problem whatsoever in completely withdrawing from Gaza for six weeks. After all, these are the same guys who assured us that Hamas was deterred, not to worry. What could possibly go wrong if we withdraw for six weeks?

Those of you who are religious, please include a special prayer of gratitude to God for saving us from our leaders.

YISRAEL GUTTMANJerusalem