Letters
It’s Bibi not Biden
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach took an underhanded swipe at President Biden by stating that the president is being accused of being an antisemite by “more and more Jews on the right” and then magnanimously refuting the charge (“False charges of antisemitism harm the fight…”, July 28). Rabbi Boteach used that canard to express his outrage that the White House refused “to invite Israel’s democratically elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington,” and then attempted to reinforce his indignation by calling The New York Times’ Tom Friedman’s essay “a devastating hit-piece against Bibi.”
I would ask Rabbi Boteach to show more concern for the Israeli populace and its 30 week demonstration against Mr. Netanyahu and his extremist coalition. The Israelis see Israel imploding from the dismantling of democratic values. Those who built a dynamic economy secured by a diligent and dedicated military are trying to prevent the under-productive right-wing segment of the population from expropriating those values while permitting the prime minister to weaken the judiciary that is empowered to hold him responsible for corruption.
The travesty that is happening in Israel is not a result of President Biden’s prudent caution regarding that erosion of democracy. It is a direct result of Bibi Netanyahu’s selfish and nefarious duplicity, and Rabbi Boteach should have the integrity to acknowledge that.
Norman Levin
Teaneck
Don’t invite outside interference
“When a foreign nation interferes with another country’s internal politics” (July 21) raised the issue of the blatant disregard the current American administration has for the internal affairs of our ally, Israel. The Jewish people have only to look at our own history to see how toxic it is to involve a foreign power in internal disputes.
During the dynasty of the Hasmoneans (descendants of the Macabees who ruled Israel as kings) Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II became pawns in a proxy war between Julius Caesar and Pompey. The weaker Jewish leader invited the Romans to aide him and the Romans were only too happy to intervene. This foothold allowed for the eventual destruction of Jewish sovereignty and cruel annexation of the Land of Israel. These events led directly to the Jewish revolt and subsequent destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem with the death of one million Jews. We still live with the ramifications of this act to this day.
It is clear that Jewish issues need to be solved only by Jews using Jewish values and perspectives. Inviting outside interference can only lead to disaster, as we know all to well.
Scott David Lippe, M.D.
Fair Lawn
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