Letters to the editor
Readers respond
Our mayor is a mensch
Standing shoulder to shoulder with the crowd at the back of the JCC’s Levinson Hall at the Israel Solidarity Gathering, dressed in casual Sunday clothing, was a man who looked uncannily like Mayor Ed Gainey. He was so unobtrusive, so blended within the gathering, I doubted my eyes … until after “Hatikvah,” when those near him shook his hand and I realized he was indeed our mayor (“Hundreds of Pittsburghers rally in support of Israel,” online Oct. 9; this issue, Page 1). His response to our thanks was simply, “We must pray — that’s what we have to do.” He exited with the masses, without fanfare. He simply came for us. What a mensch.
Dena Taub
Pittsburgh
Summer Lee’s statement on Hamas attack is misleading
At first glance, Rep. Summer Lee’s note on the Hamas butchery might seem reasonable, but it is rife with calumnies (“Pennsylvania’s politicians react to Gaza’s attack on Israel,” online Oct. 9; this issue, Page 11).
She advocates urgent de-escalation while Israel is engaged in a defensive campaign and while Israelis are being savaged with impunity.
She accuses Israel of purposely targeting civilians and implies that Gaza is occupied when Israel withdrew in 2005.
Finally, she drags out the “cycle of violence“ trope. This trope equates Israel, which has made countless peace overtures, with its genocidal enemies Hamas and Iran. Further, it suggests that Hamas’ rape, torture, murder and abduction of Jewish children, mothers, fathers and grandparents is part of a legitimate response to Jews praying at the Dome of the Rock, which shares space with the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
It is horrifyingly clear that Summer Lee does not represent this Jew from Squirrel Hill.
Rona Kaufman
Squirrel Hill
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