Far from ‘right-wing,’ EMET dinner featured Democrat
I was disappointed by the scant attention paid to EMET’s annual dinner, as well as the identification of the organization as “right-wing” (“Trump praised, media criticized at EMET dinner,” June 21). The article completely missed the significance of the event in terms of the need for bipartisan support for Israel.
The dinner attracted several pro-Israel congressional leaders and nearly 400 guests, including many prominent members of the local Jewish community. One of the dinner’s honorees, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), said EMET’s “impact in Washington is felt on both sides of the aisle. It is a pleasure to be standing here this evening as a Democrat.”
Gottheimer pleaded with his fellow Democrats to reconsider their at-times- reflexive hostility to Israel. Many Democrats, he said, “are blindsided by fake truths poured into their psyche about Israel.” He regretted that “some of my left-leaning colleagues publicly lambast me for not going along with their hyper-partisan views on Israel.”
Gottheimer praised EMET’s “cleared-eyed” advocacy about the threat posed by Iran and its “incredible work building support among Democrats and Republicans for combating BDS.” Gottheimer concluded, “It is more important than ever for members of both parties — Republicans and Democrats — to remember our ally Israel’s strength and strategic importance to America and the fight against terror, and that Israel must not and cannot become a partisan issue.”
Thanks to EMET, brave and contrarian Democrats have a platform to express unabashed support for Israel free from partisan politics.
JESS SADICK
Silver Spring
Insufficient praise of Hogan evidence of bias
I believe many readers were offended by the headline of a cover story (“Governor’s race uphill for Maryland Dems,” June 21).
Those bothering to read the whole piece would have to get close to the end of the article to find a few kind words about Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, where it is noted that he has played a prominent role in advocating for the needs of the Jewish community across the state. What a grudging acknowledgment for a governor who has officiated as a centrist and worked productively with a Democratic-controlled General Assembly!
It would be nice if correspondents could in the future avoid displaying so obviously their dislike of the Republican Party and present more balanced reports. Statements such as “While many politicians are motivated to replace Hogan, it remains unclear how many voters are similarly motivated” are acceptable in commentary articles but should have no place in straight reporting.
STANLEY ORMAN
Rockville
Separating children offers eerie parallels to ancestors’ experiences
Thank you for publishing Walter Ruby’s op-ed, in which he describes how his mother and grandmother escaped Nazi Germany (“The Muslim ban and my Jewish mother,” June 21). My mother was 13 when her parents put her on the Kindertransport, when Nazi Germany allowed a few thousand Jewish children to leave from Germany to Great Britain. Her brother, two years older, was sent to Palestine. Her parents perished. Despite this “orderly” separation, and despite the sense of accomplishment she later had for tending to many thousands of patients as a nurse, my mother was always haunted by that separation.
The people fleeing Central America with their children are risking all because their lives are equally threatened as were my mother’s parents. The mass-scale separation of children from parents is a public health crisis. Teams of U.S. Public Health Service professionals can provide medical and health care services. DNA matching can help reunite parents and children. That’s the minimum my mother’s professional standards would have demanded.
MARK CZARNOLEWSKI
Silver Spring
