The world order continues its war on Palestine
Bradford, Ontario: The dismantling of the Palestinian state continues. President Trump wants Jordan, Egypt and other Middle Eastern nations to take Palestinian exiles from war-wrecked Gaza. The Palestinian people are being forced to separate from their homes, homeland, nationhood, aspirations and dreams to live in regions controlled by others.
Palestinians have done such things previously, with hundreds of thousands flowing into Jordan, their leaders creating a misadventure of near civil war between Jordanian troops and the PLO under the leadership of Yasser Arafat. Why in God’s name would Jordan take this chance again? Palestinians are desperate, yet firmly set upon the return to their homelands, no matter what needs to be done. Most Middle Eastern nations know this and sympathize with their plight but fear Palestinian ambitions and the wrath of the Israeli-American power block. If Palestinians move to North Africa, Jordan and Egypt, their lot will be secure encampments for decades.
The Trump administration supports Benjamin Netanyahu and his national movement toward the establishment of a “Greater Israel.” This will not change unless another superpower takes the Palestinians under its wing, but that is unlikely. Russia is stuck in a war of its own making, slowly going bankrupt. Britain and France bend to America, while China is satisfied selling weapons to Palestinian opposition groups throughout the world. Saudis don’t want the Palestinians, nor do most other Middle Eastern nations. What to do?
The possibilities are endless, yet all concerned remain grounded in old, traditional methods of problem solving: war, war and more war. Great for the armaments industry, horrifying for the average person living there. Steven Kaszab
Heroine hostages
San Francisco: The Israeli women formerly held hostage by Hamas exemplify bravery in the face of evil. Emily Damari had two fingers shot off by her Hamas captors. Yet, during her recent release, she offered to trade places with Keith Siegel so he could go first. Similarly, Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Daniela Gilboa, Karina Ariev and Agam Berger, all ages 18-19 when kidnapped, were taunted by their Hamas kidnappers as “girls that can get pregnant” and brutalized during and after their abduction. Yet, when the first four learned they were being released but Berger would remain a hostage, each offered to trade places with her. Finally, Amit Soussana, who revealed she was sexually assaulted, handcuffed, suspended upside down and savagely beaten by Hamas terrorists, said Albag saved her life by courageously intervening when she was threatened with execution. Stephen A. Silver
Bias on display
Manhattan: Voicers John MacKinnon and Robert Adams prompted my outrage with their ignorant, bigoted history revisions displayed in their letters. MacKinnon has the unmitigated chutzpah to contend, among his other antisemitic claims, that “the Holocaust is not a unique event” but just “one of the many terrors that plague mankind’s past,” and that “is how it should be taught, not as a Jewish event.” Adams opines that if Hamas murdered all the remaining hostages, “such is the nature of war.” MacKinnon and Adams, are you so filled with hate? Is there really a moral equivalence between murdering hostages and unintended civilian deaths that are the consequence of a savage, unprovoked attack? Only the ignorant would draw a distinction when it comes to the Jewish people and the Jewish state. Ephraim Savitt
Switch-up
San Francisco: Someone please correct if I’m wrong, but hasn’t Present-dunce Trump said for years that other countries pay the tariffs? All of a sudden, now he’s saying that we, the American people, will feel the pain (pay higher prices). What a lying, deceitful little worm. Jimmy Layton
Ripe for theft
Huntington, L.I.: With the recent price increases, will people start eating poached eggs? Leonard Stevenson
Catastrophe & chaos
Manhattan: Just a week into Trump’s chaotic second term and we experienced our first airline catastrophe in many decades. Our new president addressed the nation by mouthing a few pious words of sympathy for the 67 lost souls and then immediately launched into his favorite pastime: the trash-talking rally. Baselessly attacking everyone from the Biden and Obama administrations, DEI policies, as well as questioning the training of the pilots and controllers involved, the president spewed his familiar vile combination of lies and hateful political rhetoric, even as the search for victims was still underway. Short on compassion, this self-proclaimed genius claims he’s an aviation expert. Who needs an investigation or a black box when we have Trump’s “common sense”? The least we can pray for is that his cabinet candidates, if confirmed, will not give us cause for future national tragedies. Chris Santoro
Misplaced concern
Yonkers: Devoid of any veracity, the lunatic far left is now worried about the fear that illegal immigrants are experiencing because of the ICE raids. Where has this concern been the past four years for the actual citizens they purportedly represent while illegal immigrant crime engulfed communities with murders, injuries and destroyed lives across the nation? This habitual leftist philippic produced by Democrats and their handmaidens in the media is once again testament to their never-ending hypocrisy and unparalleled ability to delude the American people. James McCaffrey
Ready and able
Staten Island: My doorbell rang the other day. Standing outside was a middle-aged Latino gentleman in work clothes. He started speaking in broken English, but I was able to understand that he was looking for work. He asked if he could wash my windows or clean my yard. He mentioned that he hadn’t eaten anything and that he had a family to support. He was polite and seemed sincere, so I gave him some money because it took courage to walk through an all-white neighborhood knowing he was going to get many doors slammed in his face. I’m sharing this story because this man was not looking for a handout; he wanted to work to provide for his family, like so many immigrants who are not here legally. In these chaotic times, I hope we can show some compassion to those who are less fortunate, regardless of their skin color. Nick Portantiere
Duly depicted
Minneapolis: To Bramhall: Kudos! Your cartoon of Trump the Viking attacking Greenland — savage, accurate, yet understated. Bravo! David K. Porter
Storied career
Teaneck, N.J.: After drawing “Athlete of the Week” for 70 years, Charlie McGill retired a couple of months ago. Charlie worked all those years for The Record of North Jersey. He was 18 when he started, served two years in the Army Tank Corps and then resumed his newspaper career. He drew actors Ed Harris of Tenafly (football) and Ed Marinaro of New Milford (football). Marinaro then played at Cornell University and several years in the NFL. Charlie also drew Bill Parcells of River Dell High School as a baseball catcher. Parcells, of course, became an NFL coach. How many people have worked at the same place for 70 years? McGill estimates he drew thousands of young athletes — always his pleasure, he says. He is a remarkable artist and man. Here’s wishing him the best. Lew Azaroff
Keep it cheap
Brooklyn: Re “Starbucks goes pre-COVID” (Jan. 28): Starbucks will always be overpriced dreck! I will always like coffee wagon or deli coffee better! John Corbett
Righting the ship
Manhattan: NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has enigmatically restored faith in the NYPD. Bravo. Gotta have faith in the good guys. Susan A. Stark
Stay local
Lake Havasu, Ariz.: In the past, the Daily News reported on many issues that were important to people living in various neighborhoods in and around NYC. One good example of this is the ongoing fight over the former CHARAS community center in the East Village. After many years, the building is still vacant and little has changed in relation to its status. Both The News and The New York Times’ former city section used to focus on news that area residents care about. I believe this would expand your subscriptions and also benefit the city’s many neighborhoods. John Penley