Arkoosh Should Not Have Been Featured
Regarding Jesse Bernstein’s April 22 article, “Val Arkoosh Joins Crowded Race for Senate Seat,” I am baffled as to why the (well-written) article appeared in the Jewish Exponent.
Although I know and like Val, there is nothing in the article, or even about Val herself (she is not Jewish), that makes the article appropriate for the Jewish Exponent, a newspaper directed to and about Jews, matters Jewish and the Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey Jewish community in particular.
If I want news believed to be generally of interest to residents of Philadelphia and its suburban communities, I can read the Inquirer or my local paper.
William R. Wanger | Gwynedd Valley
Editor’s Note: Mr. Wanger’s criticism is correct. It came to our attention recently that Dr. Arkoosh is not Jewish. We regret the error.
Candidates Must Stand Up to GOP
Since he defeated Arlen Specter in 2004, Sen. Pat Toomey has misrepresented Pennsylvania and the Jewish community. While Everett Stern (“Whistleblower Prepares for GOP Senate Run,” April 1) benefits from the fact that the troglodytes in Harrisburg reject him, his sympathy with the Republican Party should preclude against our endorsement, despite his personal rejection of Donald Trump.
We need to know if Stern would continue the phony reform precedents that Toomey has set, and to know that there will be policy differences between Toomey and a Sen. Stern. Toomey fooled thousands with his nominal endorsement of “gun control” — while reducing funds for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ national criminal and violent threat database, which would make instant screening for gun purchases possible. Toomey has also refused to endorse reintroduction of an assault weapons ban.
Where would Stern stand? Would he support President Joe Biden’s infrastructure reality check, or would he continue his Republican colleagues’ support for potholes on Roosevelt Boulevard? Will he continue Toomey’s support for district gerrymandering throughout the commonwealth, and continue to support Republican voter suppression programs nationwide in the name of fraud protection, for whose evidence has never been found?
Are there no Democrats running for Senate whom the Exponent can find worth mentioning?
Ben Burrows | Elkins Park
Mr. Burrows- congratulations, you’ve memorized every phony hit job hurled at those evil Republicans, none of which is true. Why would Everett Stern’s sympathy for the Republican party preclude him from “our” endorsement? And who is “our” supposed to be? Could it be Jews? Mr. Burrows, I and many other Jews don’t form our political beliefs from the dictates of someone like you who votes based upon emotion and the ethnic group that you were born into. You must have a brain, shelve the arrogance and the sheep-like adherence to party, and try using it.