Letters to the editor

Jewish voters, take control
Progressive Democrats do not support Jews or Israel. There has been nearly a 200% increase in antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, 2023. The Biden/Harris administration has held back weapons and other support to Israel while trying to shame Netanyahu into an immediate cease-fire and a two-state solution. Biden has continually stated that Netanyahu isn’t doing enough to compromise with Hamas to bring the hostages home. Harris chose to skip Netanyahu’s address to Congress to attend a fundraiser for her campaign at a sorority rally. In an interview last week, she refused to call Netanyahu an ally of the United States.

This Jew hatred is obvious on a local level in Pittsburgh, where Mayor Ed Gainey, Rep. Summer Lee and County Executive Sarah Innamorato published a joint statement on Oct. 7 saying, “we can’t afford to spend more money on bombs” and placing blame for the Hamas/Israel war on a “drive from right-wing leaders,” instead of Hamas, where it belongs (“Jewish community gathers to remember Oct. 7,” Oct. 11).

Your vote will determine the future of Jews in the U.S. and around the world. A Harris/Walz regime will condemn Jews and Israel to more escalating hatred.

A Trump/Vance presidency will bring a just conclusion to the war in Israel, crush antisemitism at home and avert a third world war. Trump has always stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel. Trump is the first president to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and he moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Trump signed an order in 2019 that extended Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to apply to antisemitic acts. Jewish students are using this executive order to sue schools that fail to protect them against antisemitism.

These are just a few reasons for Jews to vote for Donald Trump in November. Show the progressive Democrats that the Jews have turned their backs on them, just like they’ve done to us.

Cindy Minogue
Pittsburgh

Trump would be a danger to Jews and Israel
Donald Trump was president when the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting occurred.

Trump often described caravans of invading immigrants. Propaganda declared Jews responsible, and Trump mitigated nothing.
Coming to Pittsburgh thereafter, he ignored a massive protest against his white supremacist coddling.

Trump is deferential — practically worshipful — toward Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Putin is not a friend of the Jews.

Trump doesn’t care about Ukraine being savagely attacked by Russia. Jews live in Ukraine; its president is Jewish. Not that Jewishness should affect our feelings about Zelenskyy, Ukraine, or struggles against Russia, but Jews live there peacefully and productively, and not so much in Russia.

Trump lied more than 30,000 times in office. He is crass, a bully. Former colleagues speak strongly against him serving another term. Trump meanders when speaking, mixing thoughts. He blames “immigrants” for every woe, yet he recently thwarted good bipartisan legislation so he could run as the Answer to Immigrant Badness.

Trump “likes” Israel only for votes of evangelical Christians who want Jews there to die at the end-time. Evangelicals provide more potential votes than Jews; many also want their religion legislated into civil law.

If that’s not enough reason to make certain Donald Trump is never re-elected to anything, Project 2025 — that looming Republican threat to democracy, religious freedom, and general liberty — mixes Christianity into law (and more). Jewish or not, these are reasons not to vote for Trump.

Meanwhile, propaganda directed at Democrats, impugning Israel and Jews, burdens Harris’ campaign. Harris has more propaganda-infused potential voters than Jewish.

Harris is strong, composed, capable, conversant in international affairs. Her ears and mind are open, she seeks to listen and understand. She isn’t a member of the Squad. Her husband is a Jew, fighting antisemitism. Having met with him, I trust he fully understands us.

Hopefully Harris would keep this administration’s officials. Certainly — speaking of immigration — Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas understands; we met with him on hatred. (He’s also a Jew.)

Abby Schachter touted Trump (“Why vote Trump? To let Israel win,” Oct. 11) dubbing this a “foreign policy election.” Never! We must elect a president to run this country, intent on maintaining our freedoms and liberties (including sharing liberty with immigrants and encouraging freedom elsewhere).

Democrats don’t push hateful fear-mongering. Maybe that’s why Republicans make things up about Democrats rather than face how dangerous their own candidates are.

I’m convinced Trump endangered my own Jewish life during his administration. (Some of my friends didn’t live to say.)
I don’t know how to undo propaganda: Jews bring in immigrants, Jews commit genocide, Jews are colonialists, Jews own the media. It’s made-up hate speech, but people believe it.

I recommend “Autocracy, Inc.,” by Anne Applebaum, which shows where power and money flow around the world. Trump wants a piece of that action. With his packed Supreme Court and what Project 2025 would bring toward turning him into an authoritarian dictator, the danger to Jews and Israel — not to mention the U.S. — lies solely with Trump as president.

Audrey N. Glickman
Greenfield

Condemnation of Lee/Gainey/Innamorato statement
Summer Lee, Ed Gainey and Sara Innamorato should be persona non grata as far as the Jewish community is concerned (“Jewish community gathers to remember Oct. 7, Oct. 11). We should not engage them or invite them to anything. If they show up, they should be asked to leave. Their message of blaming Israel for the events of Oct. 7, 2023, shows the true colors of the modern Democrat party. They are in lockstep with the Squad in Congress and the Hamas supporters in Michigan and Minnesota. They are also examples of why antisemitic incidents are off the charts.

No other country is told by its allies how to defend itself and fight a war to eradicate Islamic terrorists. The fact that Israel was attacked gives it every right to defend itself. If it takes measures to protect civilians then it is compliant with international law. The Islamic terrorists who perpetrated the heinous acts on Oct. 7 failed to follow international law and placed their own civilians in harm’s way. Israel needs to do what’s in its best interest to win the seven-front war.

Our two senators and governor should remove their endorsements of Summer Lee and censure Gainey and Innamorato.
Those who are considering voting Democrat, do so at your own peril and that of the whole community. It’s like voting for Lennon, Stalin and Maduro. We all know how they turned out.

Andrew Neft
Upper St. Clair

Gainey/Innamorato/Lee statement ‘embarrassing’
I moved to Philadelphia over 13 years ago and have remained fiercely loyal to my hometown of Pittsburgh. The statement by Summer Lee, Ed Gainey and Sara Innamorato on the first yahrzeit of Oct. 7 was not only embarrassing but also sickened me (“Jewish community gathers to remember Oct. 7,” Oct. 11). I guarantee, though, that if (G-d forbid) there is another antisemitic death in Pittsburgh, they will come running with their fake thoughts and prayers.

Harold Marcus
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania

Cooking the Chronicle
Each week when the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle arrives in my mailbox, I blow right past the cover stories, letters to the editor and the iconic Murray Avenue Kosher ad, searching for an answer to the most important question of the week: What is Jessica Grann cooking?

It just turned 5785, and this year I have decided to take it one step further. I am going to “Cook the Chronicle,” recipe by recipe, for the year with my daughter. This may seem ambitious. I am, in fact, due with twins at the end of November.
And I have a 3-year-old who dumps more food on the ground than in any bowl or mixer. But I also found my first maternity leave incredibly monotonous, so I hope this little project will prove itself both entertaining and delicious.

The first edition of the new year was published featuring one of Grann’s family recipes for zucchini bread. (“An old family recipe: Zucchini bread,” Oct. 4). Does every family have a recipe for this classic loaf? Mine sure does.

Personally, I love a good parve recipe and appreciated that Grann recommended beating the eggs until bubbly, and then slowly incorporating the oil. In my experience, the key to making baked goods less, well, parvey, is to really emulsify these two ingredients well. The only thing that felt off to me was that two medium zucchinis (on the low end of the 2-3 recommended) easily made double the needed vegetables. But I figured the zucchini was like vanilla extract—you measure with your heart, right? The bread baked well, came out of the pan easily, and I agree with Grann’s mother: It is better the next day.

My favorite part of the whole process was when my daughter, who was in charge of dumping in spices, smelled the cloves and said “Imma, it smells like havdalah.”

Rachel Fauber
Pittsburgh
Follow Rachel as she blogs about “Cooking the Chronicle” at pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.