Two historical specters haunt the May 10 guest column from Rabbi Yaakov Fisch, which criticized Pope Leo’s response to the war in Iran.
One is the Holocaust, which resulted in the murders of 6 million of the 9 million European Jews alive in 1939 ― not to mention millions of others not deemed worthy to live by white supremacist German Nazis and their collaborators.
The second is the ongoing ordeal of the Palestinian people at the hands of Israeli Jews, which began with the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic) of 1948, in which some 750,000 men, women and children were forced to flee their homes and land. It continued with the slow, creeping seizure of Palestinian farms and villages in the West Bank by Jewish settlers ― now accelerated by the “ceasefire” in Gaza.
In addition, the Israeli military campaign has left large parts of Gaza reduced to rubble, much as the Nazis left the Warsaw Ghetto.
“The Holocaust and the Nakba,” writes Israeli-born genocide scholar Omer Bartov, “are inextricably linked,” despite “each group’s insistence on the exclusivity of its victimhood.” Americans are also undeniably implicated in both.
The United States government closed its borders to nearly all Holocaust refugees during World War II. More recently, many Gaza hospitals, schools and apartment buildings have been flattened with American bombs.
Now add the current violent Israeli and U.S. encroachments on Syria, Lebanon and Iran. The current pope isn’t the only person wondering if this can end well for any of the parties.
Michael Hoffmann, Atlantic Beach
Council consistently blocks Deegan
I was taught that the people elected a leader, a mayor, to implement the principles and plans put forth in their campaign for office, with a council elected to help get it done.
Mayor Donna Deegan won the election, but her many excellent appointments and programs that the voters chose her to accomplish have been consistently blocked by the Jacksonville City Council. Not only are they denying benefits to the community, but they are also ordering unfounded investigations, costing thousands of public dollars (that turn up no disorder) to harass her. Why?
Because several of them are likely planning to run for her office and care more about making her look bad than taking care of the welfare of Jacksonville. From the very beginning she has had no help from them. She tried to appoint city leaders like Randy DeFoor ― the main player in our rescue from the JEA disaster ― and the council denied her that usual courtesy.
She tried to implement a plan to address the priority needs of each individual section of the city, based on one that was quite successful in Tampa. Just think: If they had supported that, the biggest aggravation in your area would have received attention. How could anyone caring about the city object to that?
Let your council representative know that you are watching how they vote on her next move, if it’s one that you like. Maybe that can help it pass, especially if they are one of those who have lost us so many good things.
Sarah T. Van Cleve, retired teacher, Jacksonville
No recycling mandate for stadium project?
Mayor Donna Deegan, speaking on “First Coast Connect” on May 12, took a caller’s question about selling removed stadium seats. In response, she stated that the contractors claimed “there was no safe way to remove the seats.” I assume the mayor meant that the removal process would have damaged the seats and rendered them unusable.
Jacksonville has a propensity to let its contractors run roughshod ― in charge of their project processes, schedules, needs and even their sites. It is unconscionable, however, that a state-of-the-art, $1.4 billion project for a “Stadium of the Future” seemingly has no quantifiable material recycling mandate.
There must be almost countless elements, fixtures, furnishings and materials targeted for removal that will end up in our landfills. That means the contractors are allowed a path of least resistance: Remove in bulk, rip things out of the way and simply dispense with the rubble.
I am in the process of having 11 aluminum-framed, nonhistorical windows removed from my home. These are to be replaced with architecturally-appropriate materials and the company will ship the removed windows to Cuba for re-use. That’s a win-win for our environment and for very needy island residents.
I’d love to see an in-depth investigation that details the extent of any sale, re-use or repurposing program to recycle any elements from the stadium project. I sincerely hope and trust there was a contractual requirement to do so.
Rick Pariani, Avondale
City Council’s ‘blood sport’ politics
The good news is that Jacksonville City Council only spent $37,831 on a report (by an apparently familiar law firm) to find out that some on council were once again playing partisan politics about Healthlink Jax’s contract with the city.
Partisan politics is what some call a blood sport.
The same cast of characters are stirring up trouble at JEA, and ― surprise ― it’s connected to a lobbying group where former Mayor Lenny Curry is employed.
Now the same council members are playing games with JEA’s long term strategic plans to better serve customers with a gas turbine plant. Their stated rationale reveals their shallow intentions and utter lack of common business sense.
After arriving in Jacksonville for the first time in 1967, the only way for my vote to count was to register as a Democrat, because elections were finalized during primary voting and virtually no organized Republican Party existed. Later I changed party affiliation because the Republican platform better reflects my personal values.
A handful of Republicans currently on City Council are President Donald Trump “wannabes,” but there’s only one Trump and that’s all we need. The shenanigans being played by the same bunch on council are ruining the brand.
They sure are patting themselves on the back, however, oblivious to those outside of their own bubble.
Rob Richardson, Jacksonville Beach
Democracy doesn’t sideline legitimate voters
Two pieces in the Times-Union on May 11 underscore the zero-sum ideology for the disenfranchisement of minority voters undertaken by the current administrations in Tallahassee and Washington. The right of citizens to vote is a cornerstone of our democracy.
John Kennedy reviews the Florida redistricting map that will likely cost Democrats four seats in the U.S. Congress. While nearly half of the state’s current population is a member of a minority, the new boundaries could result in reductions of their representation.
Additional voting obstacles include limitations on mail-in ballots, proof of citizenship to register to vote, such as a birth certificate, passport or Real ID driver’s license. These impediments are designed by Republicans to reduce the impact of minority voters.
The piece by Susan Page summarizes the efforts to influence election outcomes across the nation. Many red and blue states are either considering or implementing the redistricting practices already mentioned. In addition, she reports on the recent Supreme Court ruling that weakens the Voting Rights Act by making it easier for states to enact maps that dilute minority voting power.
To combat the sidelining of legitimate voters, we should modify the mantra of Gunny Highway (Clint Eastwood) to the Marines in the movie “Heartbreak Ridge:” Democracy-loving citizens adapt, improvise and overcome.
Douglas B. Bogart, Jacksonville
Protect seniors from deadly falls
Contrary to what many people think, falling is not a normal part of aging ― even though one-quarter of older Americans suffer a fall every year. Millions more are at serious risk of tripping or slipping, which can cause injuries, lingering pain and death.
Beyond the pain and loss of independence that broken bones or concussions can cause, falls cause a serious strain on America’s health care system. Hospitalization and health care costs amount to over $80 billion.
With proper care, however, seniors can build the balance and strength they need to avoid falling. That’s why the Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly Act (H.R. 1171) is so important. Known as the SAFE Act, his bill would expand Medicare beneficiaries’ access to no-cost fall risk assessments from physical and occupational therapists.
Once individuals’ unique risk factors are identified, physical therapists can work to tailor a plan to help improve flexibility and mobility so that seniors can better avoid dangerous falls.
I thank Rep. Aaron Bean for sending staff members to visit CORA Physical Therapy to learn more about the SAFE Act and the important fall prevention we provide. I urge him to support this legislation to help older Floridians stay healthy and independent.
Christina Barnes, senior clinic manager, CORA Physical Therapy, Orange Park
Bring back ‘E pluribus unum’
On July 4, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding. I think one way to help commemorate this historic occasion would be to restore our original national motto.
In 1776, a committee made up of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin provided their new nation with a secular motto: E pluribus unum (“Out of many, one”).
The new motto recognized all Americans, including nonbelievers, and it disenfranchised no one. That all changed in 1956, however, when In God We Trust was established as our new motto by an act of Congress.
In God We Trust is a religious declaration, a statement of communal belief. Whether to believe or not is a matter of individual conscience and choice. Simply put, In God We Trust is an affirmation that does not exemplify nor reflect the religious freedom bequeathed to all Americans in the U.S. Constitution.
Our original, inclusive, national motto found on the Great Seal of the United States should be restored as given to us by the founding fathers in 1776.
Borden Applegate, Jacksonville Beach
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Concerns that Iran war won’t end well for anyone involved | Letters
Reporting by Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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