Letters to the Editor, November 13, 2024: A keen eye

A keen eye

Despite the common impression of Donald Trump as an unpredictable president who “shoots from the hip,” these negative traits will be pushed into insignificance by a proper balanced and experienced group of advisers with whom he surrounds himself. If he chooses his inner circle well, he will be a good president, and if not, the world is in trouble. Trump’s past in the world of reality shows has given him a keen eye and an excellent sense of how to judge people and personalities. Your report that “Trump taps Rep. Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador” (November 12) is an excellent indication that we are on the right track and that this astute appointment is well-deserved. Everyone clearly remembers her questioning of Liz Magill in a congressional hearing, which so skillfully tore open for all to see the blatant antisemitism in the attitude and behavior of the now-former president of the University of Pennsylvania. Let us hope and pray that Trump’s next appointees will be similarly well-choseniincluding the next US ambassador to Israel.

LAURENCE BECKER

Jerusalem

For years now, you couldn’t help but recognize the ability that Rep. Stefanik has brought to the US political scene. Via congressional hearings, she has, over the past year, outed heads of universities as voicing antisemitism. She has also shown her own outspoken support for Israel. Following in the footsteps of Nikki Haley, I believe Elise Stefanik will be an equally if not stronger pro-Israel voice at the UN. We wish her every success when she enters this vitriolic biased arena.

STEPHEN VISHNICK

Tel Aviv

Climate change

Regarding “What to watch out for at the upcoming COP29 climate summit in Baku” (November 11): While there will be thousands of climate experts attending and many topics discussed, the main cause of climate change, animal-based agriculture, will get little, if any, attention. The production of meat and other animal products causes much climate change for two reasons:

First, it involves the emission from cows of methane, a greenhouse gas that is about 80 times as potent as CO2, per unit weight, in heating the atmosphere during the 10-15 years it is in the atmosphere. Second, 43% of the world’s ice-free land is now used for grazing and growing feed crops for animals. This has resulted in a reduction from about six trillion trees to three trillion. Largely because of this reduction, atmospheric CO2 has reached 420 parts per million (ppm), far above the 350 ppm that climate experts think is a threshold for climate stability, and it has been increasing by two to three ppm annually.

Major shifts to plant-based diets are essential so that the vast areas now used for animal-based agriculture can be reforested. The additional trees would sequester much atmospheric CO2, reducing it to a much safer level. Such shifts would help leave a habitable, healthy, environmentally sustainable world for future generations. They would also be consistent with basic Jewish teachings on health, compassion, environmental sustainability, resource conservation, and reducing hunger. They are much easier today because of the abundance of plant-based substitutes for meat and other animal products.

RICHARD H. SCHWARTZ

Shoresh

Only a decisive victory

Regarding “Ruling body to probe conduct of war crimes prosecutor – sources” (November 10): Karim Khan has closed his mind to the words of Maj. John Spencer, head of urban warfare studies at West Point’s Modern War Institute. Recognized worldwide as an expert in his field, Spencer has lauded the IDF’s success in achieving an amazingly low ratio of 1.5:1 for civilian deaths compared to combatant deaths during fighting in densely populated Gaza. He further notes that this achievement is particularly noteworthy because Hamas’s embedding of its extensive network of terror tunnels amid the Gazan populace has actually destroyed any distinction between civilian areas and military zones.

When Palestinians cheered Hamas’s vow to inflict a thousand October 7s on Israelis, Israeli leaders realized that only a decisive victory over Hamas, followed by the demilitarization of Gaza and the deradicalization of the Palestinians, could prevent Hamas from fulfilling its vow. Does Khan really expect Israel to accept a “permanent” ceasefire that will last only until a reconstituted Hamas terrorizes Israelis again – raping, torturing, and killing more people and abducting more hostages?

If Khan really hopes to improve the lives of Palestinians, he should be condemning Hamas for stealing humanitarian aid (much of it supplied by Israel), for having spent $1,000,000,000 to turn Gaza into a massive fortification instead of developing the enclave’s economy, and for teaching Gazan children to hate Jews instead of preparing them for life in a Palestinian state coexisting peacefully with the nation-state of the Jews.

TOBY F. BLOCK

Atlanta

Not at all surprising

For some time now, Israeli media – including The Jerusalem Post, of course – have repeatedly promoted the benefit of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and suggested that such an alliance would result in a more stable and economically solvent Middle East. Time and again, however, events have shown this to be but a pipe dream; the daylight between the two countries will never lessen. Your editorial regarding the relationship between the Saudis and Israel notwithstanding (“Saudi’s choice,” editorial, October 28), don’t expect that nation to join the Abraham Accords anytime soon.

In this part of the world, the adage that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” does not apply. It’s not at all surprising that despite the obvious threat of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, the Saudis will prefer cordial relations with a dangerous ally than grasp Israel’s hand in friendship and unity. The stakes are too high to risk severing relations with Iran or to alienate that country diplomatically. What your editorial defines as Saudi Arabia’s cautionary response to Israel’s attack on Iran, I view as political expediency.

The Saudi reaction to Israel’s attack was carefully designed well in advance, knowing full well that it was only a matter of time before a retaliatory attack would be launched. The choice the Saudis must make as expressed in your editorial has, believe me, already been made.  

BARRY NEWMAN

Ginot Shomron