Letters to the Editor: Purim cover, Trump and Hitler

Purim Cover: Trick or Treat?

At a time when we look around us and find little to laugh about, you and Purim come along and make us howl (March 18)! Your creativity on that cover is still bringing me giggles. What will we do when we don’t have Trump to kick around anymore? Hopefully, that day will come.

Sally Shafton, Manhattan Beach

I was dismayed to see the front cover of your Purim edition. I am aware that your newspaper leans left, and the March 18 issue only confirmed that fact. Every item on your front cover ridiculed Donald Trump, with the exception of one that ridiculed both Trump and Marco Rubio. However, neither of the two Democratic candidates was featured. I am not a fan of Mr. Trump, but are the Democratic candidates so sacred that they are exempt from ridicule? Or were you afraid that the majority of your left-leaning readership would be too offended by such a concept?

Jan Herscowitz, Valley Village

Trump Is No Hitler

I was flabbergasted to read that Rosanna Arquette, the sweet and charming actress, while receiving an award from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, tarnished that honor and insulted many fine and noble people across this land, including Holocaust victims and their families, by branding Donald Trump as “the new Hitler” (Moving and Shaking, March 11).

I was shocked that she would say something so base and vulgar, so casually, while she herself is shown in a photograph hugging (Hanoi) Jane Fonda, a traitor to our country. It’s wonderful that her husband, Todd Morgan, has been able to help Holocaust survivors. I salute him for that. But Arquette should have been more gracious.

She said that she went to Auschwitz 12 times to prepare for a role. Really? Twelve? And the weight of what happened there under a monster called “Hitler” never once dawned on her to the point that maybe she should choose her words more carefully? Trump is a colorful character, but, to my knowledge, he has not killed any person; and his daughter, Ivanka, and her husband and children are Orthodox Jews.

It is up to all of us to ensure that there is NO “new Hitler.” That means being honest about what is, and what is not, evil.

Barbara Briodin, Los Angeles

A Simplified Explanation

I would have expected something more dynamic from a veteran journalist like Shmuel Rosner, who dispenses his leftist rhetoric throughout his analysis of the recent Pew Israel study instead of objectively explaining why the majority of Israelis want the Arabs out and that the Israeli population is moving toward Orthodoxy (“Pew’s Israel Study Presents: Expel This, Do Not Marry That, Disagree With All Others,” March 11). The simple fact is that the young generation (under 30) has lived with intifada their whole life. Riots, stone throwing, attacks and suicide bombings by Arabs are all they know. The trend toward religiosity is a result of demographics, where the Charedi and dati (religious) young people marry young and have many children and their children stay. On the other hand, the non-religious (chiloni) marry late, have few children and leave Israel. Los Angeles is, of course, the choice migrant destination. In the long term, those who leave will probably vanish as Jews and those who stay will likely flourish as Jews.

Chaim Braverman, Givat Ze’ev, Israel

Equal Treatment?

Whenever I read or listen to Dennis Prager, I am struck by the irony that almost every accusation he hurls at the left applies equally to the right.

Recently, Mr. Prager wrote a column citing numerous examples of left-wing statements he considers incendiary lies (“Incendiary?” March 18).  He writes, “When it comes to incendiary statements in American life, the left has close to a monopoly.”

I’d like to list some of the incendiary lies I’ve heard from right-wing talk-radio hosts and politicians: Obama is a socialist, Obama is a communist, Obama is a racist, Obama hates America, Obama pals around with terrorists, Obama is a Muslim, Obama was born in Kenya, Obama will brainwash your children, Obamacare is socialism, Obamacare will set up death panels that will kill your grandmother.

In his last paragraph, Mr. Prager asserts that, unlike liberals, “Conservatives criticize their own [incendiary statements].”  Really?

Michael Asher, Valley Village