Letters to the editor: Campus anti-Semitism, David Horowitz and more

The Bomb: Who and What to Believe

I always look forward to reading Rob Eshman’s articles. Sometimes they are inspiring, such as the piece on Israeli journalist Itai Anghel. Sometimes not. However, his recent article was one of the few times I’ve felt motivated to respond (“How Not to Bomb Iran,” Feb. 27). 

The reliance on “verification” as a method of “curing what ails Bibi” is wishful thinking — and dangerous. When Ronald Reagan said “trust but verify” about the Soviet Union during the START I treaty negotiations, he was thinking about satellite imaging, which could see ballistic missiles, ships and submarines, which the treaty regulated. Cascades of enrichment centrifuges, as the Iranians have shown, can be built underground not only in the mountains of Fordo but also in parking garages and subways, which may have happened in Tehran, according to some reports. The International Atomic Energy Agency can’t be relied on to locate such covert facilities with the confidence needed for a credible treaty. With respect to his equating Israel and Iran as countries that “can lie, deceive and connive their way to a bomb,” he should add a few more, like the United States with the Manhattan Project, the Soviet Union, India, Pakistan, North Korea, etc. Nations developing nuclear weapons aren’t usually forthright about their intentions. It’s what they do afterward that matters. Would he equate Israel and Iran on that basis? 

Myron Hecht, Beverly Hills

Campus Anti-Semitism

If half the Jewish students on college campuses felt threatened by anti-Semitism, their parents and the college administrators would be getting an earful (“What’s Behind the Reported High Level of Anti-Semitism on U.S. Campuses?” Feb. 27). This does not seem to be the case, which makes the survey suspect. So what is really behind the survey results? Let me suggest the following:

1. Ever-expanding definitions of “anti-Semitism,” propagated by people with an agenda to generate fear. You do not have to look further than the pages of the Jewish Journal to find loud voices denouncing every criticism of Israel or expression of sympathy for Palestinians as anti-Semitism.

2. Campus communities are experiencing a rising tide of identity politics, accompanied by a vigorous competition to be the frontrunner in victimhood.

3. Young Jews who grew up fully accepted in American life, now eager to take offense at even the mildest forms of ethnic stereotyping.

Marshall Fuss via jewishjournal.com

My dilemma is, where can I send my son and not have him subject to this anti-Semitism? He does not have the grades to get into Brandeis, and we are not Modern Orthodox or Orthodox, so Yeshiva University and Touro are out. Where will he be safe? NYU is a bastion of anti-Semitism now, so I can’t suggest my alma mater (they opposed Elie Wiesel speaking because they didn’t want to insult Palestinian students — that is not a jest).

Susan Finkenberg via jewishjournal.com

One Man’s Hero, Another Man’s Villain

David Horowitz is my hero (“Conservative Activist Admits Responsibility for Posters,” Feb. 27). Students for Justice in Palestine should be exposed for what and who it is on every college campus in this country. Its members are supporters of terrorism toward Jews worldwide, they desire the destruction of Israel, and they intimidate and harass Jewish students on their own college campuses. Now if only Horowitz could go after the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement the same way.

Marcy Salett Rosenberg via jewishjournal.com

Horowitz is insane.

Phillip Cohen via jewishjournal.com

Charles Cohen Not Cover-Worthy

This is regarding the cover story “Charles Cohen Walks the Red Carpet” by Danielle Berrin (Feb. 20). I am having a hard time understanding why the story was written at all, and especially why it is so prominent in this issue of the Journal. He’s rich, he’s successful … great for him and his wife, but so what? The article makes him sound like a scoundrel … taking the corporate jet to Napa Valley to spend $12,000 on one evening’s wine, kicking 22 tenants out of a rent-controlled building. I could go on.

Either this guy is horrible, or the article was purposefully written in a way that makes him sound so. The only reason I can think of to focus on his wealth is that the publicity might be an embarrassment and a push for him to give, if he doesn’t already.

I look to the Jewish Journal to have higher standards both in the choice of issues/people, and the writing.

Marni Roosevelt via email