In “Jews must abandon the Democratic Party” (March 5), US high school student Gregory Lyakhov argues that Democrats have not been sufficiently supportive of Israel and efforts to reduce antisemitism. He overlooks several significant factors.
The vast majority of Democratic members of Congress, including all its leaders, strongly support Israel and have consistently voted for military aid for Israel.
Former US president Biden declared that Hamas is “sheer evil.” He visited Israel shortly after October 7, the first time a US sitting president did that in wartime; vetoed a number of UN Security Council resolutions which Israel opposed; led a coordinated response with Israel and other Western allies to intercept 99% of Iran’s drones and missiles, saving thousands of Israeli lives; authorized over 100 arms transfers to Israel since the war with Hamas began; and moved two carrier strike groups into the Eastern Mediterranean to deter Hezbollah and Iran from joining Hamas in the conflict.
It is ironic that Lyakhov argues that Democrats have not opposed antisemitism sufficiently, considering that President Trump dined at Mar-a-Lago with notorious antisemites and made a number of antisemitic statements.
By contrast, Kamala Harris’s husband Doug Emhoff led efforts to reduce antisemitism, and Biden appointed Deborah Lipstadt, a long time activist against antisemitism, to lead efforts to reduce it.
In addition, Lyakhov ignores Trump’s many negatives, including his consistent lying, his support for dictators, his choice of cabinet members based on loyalty to him rather than experience and competence, and his efforts to support fossil fuel companies and roll back legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
RICHARD H. SCHWARTZ
Shoresh
The one-China policy
Regarding “The real China-Israel relations” (March 11): It would be more than a little foolish if Israel were to irreparably harm the positive relations we’ve had with China, which is why the comments of Zhang Guoping should not go ignored. Granted, the Chinese embassy’s spokesperson put a diplomatic spin on his country’s woeful record of humanitarianism and civil rights, but that should not be a deciding factor in Jerusalem’s interactions with Beijing. As the spokesperson correctly points out, the two countries have much to offer and learn from each other.
I’m somewhat concerned that it won’t be too long before US President Trump demands some quid pro quo for the support he has provided and will expect Israel to turn a cold shoulder to China. As you infer in “Private criticism” (editorial, March 11), the interests of Israel and the United States are not always aligned; the issue of relations with China is a prime example of where this is indeed true.
I would, though, remind the Chinese embassy spokesperson that Israel has had “unofficial” relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) and an economic and cultural office in Taipei since 1993. I’ll leave to others to decide if this in any way conflicts with the one-China policy which Israel does apparently respect.
AMI SHIMON BEN-BARUCH
Be’er Ya’acov
No right to interfere
In “Father of hostage: Jewish groups failed our people, hostages” (March 10), Jonathan Dekel Chen is accusing, unreasonably, major Jewish organizations throughout North America of not doing enough on behalf of the hostages being held by Hamas. He is suggesting – between the lines, of course – that the Netanyahu government should have had their arm twisted with the threat of cutting off political and economic support unless and until the hostages are freed from captivity. Not only is his argument outrageous, it is downright dangerous.
The tortuous frustration which Dekel-Chen and the other families of the hostages were – and are – forced to endure should not make him blind to the fact that releasing thousands of terrorists ready to bear arms and explosives puts the entire country at risk. More importantly, the Jewish organizations to which Dekel-Chen is referring have no right to interfere in Israeli matters of state. Israel welcomes and appreciates all activities related to convincing respective governments of the need to support our country, but decisions made in Jerusalem must not be determined based on influencers from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or Toronto.
Dekel-Chen may be right that the periphery has been, for the most part, overlooked and neglected, and that October 7 was bound to happen sooner or later. I’d like to think that our prime minister will not interfere with or stand in the way of any independent investigation on how this catastrophe was allowed to happen. Dekel-Chen, no doubt, would be far more pessimistic.
BARRY NEWMAN
Ginot Shomron