Letters to the Editor | Dec. 17, 2024

Pay attention: The Washington Post (owned by Jeff Bezos) decides “not to endorse presidential elections.” Amazon (owned by Jeff Bezos) announces it will donate $1 million to Donald Trump’s inauguration. Walmart states it would be rolling back some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies by not renewing its five-year, $100 million commitment to the Center for Racial Equity. At the end of the day, consumers have the power of the purse. Don’t patronize hate.

K. Mayes, Philadelphia

Vice President-elect JD Vance invited Daniel Penny to be his guest at the Army-Navy football game. Since the terrible day in 2023 when Penny killed Jordan Neely on the New York subway, until the acquittal of Penny in a trial by jury this month, he has been seen as both a monster and a hero. Many have analyzed the killing from various viewpoints, but I’m left with the question: Who do we want to be our heroes?

I reject that Penny is a hero, and I’m angry that Vance is so arrogant and mean-spirited that he holds him up as a hero for us all. Also, it is sad that Penny accepted the invitation, allowing himself to be used so blatantly by Vance. He was not an example of the best a person can be, and he utterly lacked human compassion for Neely. It is frightening that, once again, a Black man’s life does not matter, and that his killer is celebrated.

Marna Ares, Paoli, marnaares73@hotmail.com

How can columnist Trudy Rubin cry of ethnic cleansing and excoriate Israel? Rubin should know better. True, those doctors in Gaza have courage, and the vast majority of Israelis decry the destruction there, but where is the courage of the Palestinians in Gaza who voted in a hateful Hamas government over 20 years ago? Why have the Gazans not sought out the hostages and returned them? When will Gazans show some responsibility for their suffering? Why does Rubin forget about the many thousands of Israelis still homeless since the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023? And the thousands of courageous young Israelis who must fight to defend their homeland, even after Israel totally evacuated Gaza over 20 years ago? Shame on Rubin’s facile and one-sided view that only criticizes Israel and encourages the widespread ignorance so prevalent today.

Susan Dyshel Sommovilla, Elkins Park

Regarding the article on Nathalie Edmond of Villanova, anti-Zionism is not and never has been by definition antisemitic. Many Jews are, and have been, anti-Zionistic since the inception of Zionistic movements. That does not make them antisemitic. Furthermore, one can be Zionistic and still highly critical of Israel and its actions, to the point of considering what it is doing in Gaza and the West Bank as genocidal or criminal, and still not be antisemitic. As the Jewish son of Holocaust survivors, I am appalled by what Israel is doing, but I do not condemn all Jews for Israel’s behavior. Edmond has the right, as do we all, to criticize Israel without being tarred as an antisemite.

Jeffrey Plaut, Elkins Park, jeffrey.plaut@gmail.com

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