Letters | Saying Too Much or Too Little

Time for Letter-Writers to Chill

A couple of letter writers need to calm down (“Finding Home in the RJC,” March 1).

One called Democrats who failed to stand and applaud when President Donald Trump mentioned his proposed move of the U.S Embassy in Israel during his State of the Union speech “Jew haters.” Really? Someone who opposes Trump’s patronizing and pandering ploy of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem necessarily hates Jews?

Another declared that anti-Semites call today’s Democratic Party home. I’d be willing to bet his dollars to doughnuts that very few of those shouting “Jews will not replace us!” in Charlottesville, Va., last year were card-carrying members of the Democratic Party.

One of the main lessons that I have learned in my 27 years of involvement at the Anti-Defamation League is that when you imprudently and impetuously use terms like “Jew hater” and “anti-Semite” to describe your political opponents, you lose both credibility and the upper hand.

Steve Mendelsohn | Penn Valley

Crickets on Capitol Hill

Congress is about to ignore our calls for gun control measures and, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, move on to other business (“Parkland to Philly Teens: ‘Help Make the Change,’” March 1). The Trump administration suggested raising the age to purchase guns, but most of the mass murderers have been over 21. The president talked about stricter background checks to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, but most people go undiagnosed until it’s too late. He posited that school faculty should be armed, but a teacher in Georgia was recently arrested for firing a gun in his classroom.

In 1994, assault weapons were banned and mass shooting deaths dropped by 43 percent. After the Republican Congress let the ban expire in 2004, they shot up 239 percent. We need to ban assault weapons again, but it looks like we will have to settle for thoughts and prayers.

Suzan Hirsch | Fort Washington