Review Is Assault on Trump
With reference to the Sept. 13 publication of the book reviews “Dershowitz, Gordis on the U.S.-Israel relationship” by Jesse Bernstein, we offer the following advice. A book review section should never be an editorial statement and certainly this book review seemed to be a “Never Trump” editorial, timed exactly for Rep. Nadler’s proceeding for the impeachment of the president.
The character assasination of Alan Dershowitz by Bernstein seems to be the result of Dershowitz’s August 2018 book, The Case Against Impeaching Trump.
A suggestion is that a publication that represents the community would be well served by returning to the principles of independent journalism and reserving opinions for the editorial section. Perhaps next time for a book review you should select a journalist to provide an objective, independent review of these critically important books regarding our future relationship with Israel.
Dorothy and Bud Hockenberg | Des Moines, Iowa, and Phoenix, Arizona
Op-Ed Omits Key Detail
How can Joshua Runyan write an op-ed on the divisions within the Jewish community about who’s to blame for the current spike in anti-Semitism (“Anti-Semitism Doesn’t Discriminate: Why Should We?,” Sept. 12) without once mentioning the ongoing efforts of the president of the United States to stoke them?
President Donald Trump regularly uses past statements by a couple of freshman congresswomen to smear the entire Democratic Party as anti-Semitic, and has repeatedly accused the vast majority of Jews who vote for Democrats of “disloyalty.”
Questioning Jewish loyalty is an anti-Semitic trope for which one of the congresswomen in question was actually criticized. At least Trump knows not all Jews are the same: There are the Jews who adore him, whom he uses as props, and Jews who oppose him, for whom no attack is off limits.
Trump’s tactics may be crude but they’re also effective, judging by the letters section of the Exponent. Runyan doesn’t go far enough. These days, it’s not enough for Jews to unite against anti-Semitism. We must also unite against demagogues who seek to exploit our insecurities for their own benefit.
Terry LaBan | Wyncote
