Dear Editor:

 Kol hakavod to QJL readers who showed deep Jewish community concern by attending the Queens Supreme Criminal Court hearing on October 19 for antisemite Dawood Faisal. In May, he twice vandalized the outside of kosher café Bagels & Co., which proudly flies the American and Israeli flags. Then, days later, he drove so recklessly that the second car he crashed into careened into pedestrian Cara Trager, killing her. Cara and her husband, Michael, who was injured, are beloved members of the local Jewish community.

Despite his grief, Michael bravely came to court to see Faisal brought from jail in a prison uniform and handcuffs. Faisal would not look at us but stared ahead as two separate teams of prosecutors and defense attorneys dealt with his case. Kudos to former Queens Supreme Court Justice Darrell Gavrin, who sat by Michael’s side.

Join us again on Thursday, November 12, at 9:30 a.m., back in the courtroom of Judge Michael Hartofilis, 125-01 Queens Boulevard, Part K-25, Room 640.

 Glenn Richter

 

Dear Editor:

The article written by Debbie Meskin Rochlin in last week’s Queens Jewish Link was full of nostalgia for me, despite the fact that I did not grow up in Forest Hills, Kew Gardens Hills, Kew Gardens, or Hillcrest, and I did not attend yeshivah.

I was disappointed that there was no mention of the formation of the Queens Jewish Community Baseball League. Prior to its formation, the only opportunity for boys to participate in an organized baseball league was for them to play on Saturday. When Rabbi Morris Schevelowitz zt”l of Cambria Heights Jewish Center expressed concern about the boys in our Talmud Torah playing baseball on Shabbos, the wheels in my father’s (Harry Druyan zt”l) head began to turn, and he approached the rabbi with the idea of forming a team that would only play on Sundays. Rabbi Schevelowitz then approached his good friend, Rabbi Meir Belitzky, who said that there would be boys from Young Israel of New Hyde Park who could form a team for the Cambria Heights boys to play against. Before long, other shuls formed teams, and the league blossomed into several shuls and hundreds of boys participating.

Today, we take it for granted that Shomer Shabbos children can have the opportunity to participate in competitive baseball. I write because this is a piece of Queens Jewish history that I hope will not get lost.

 Janet (Druyan) Herskovits

 

I’m Back!

Dear Editor:

I’m back! While in Israel, I learned how to divide all the prices by 3 (about 3 shekalim to the dollar). I also learned how to roll my eyes when figuring out the price of an apartment plus a fridge, oven, freezer, etc. These costs make KGH look cheap. True, the yeshivah tuition isn’t $35,000, but the groceries are pretty high.

Nevertheless, I don’t want to sound like the meraglim. The fruit and veggies are magnificent, and the homemade cooking is outstanding. The weather is beautiful, and the davening is inspirational. My Hebrew has improved to some degree (at least the dikduk is correct. Thank you, Central Manhattan). Yes, the most important word I learned was how to say “sale” in Hebrew. Only when the salesgirl started speeding through the number of sweatshirts for x amount less than the regular price did I get lost and agree to buy a whole bunch of them.

I must admit that when I’m in Israel, I miss KGH a little bit. However, when I’m in KGH, I miss Israel a whole lot. If someone were to help me fill out the Nefesh B’Nefesh paperwork and pack for me, I’d probably be there tomorrow. But for the time being—I’m back!

 Debbie Horowitz

 

Dear Editor:

Mr. Hecht is 1,000% wrong, again. Mayor Mamdani would love nothing more than the annihilation of all Jews. Just because he can’t say it publicly does not mean he does not want it to happen. He and his wife are Islamists. By definition, they are racists and antisemites.

Even Governor Hochul does not want to run on her record. After all, she blamed President Trump in the debate for nearly every policy decision she has made. She has done absolutely nothing positive for this state. High taxes. High energy prices. Crime skyrocketing. Illegals all over the city. No cooperation with ICE. The most egregious decision was appointing AG Letitia James, the worst political hack ever, as special counsel to investigate what occurred at Cornell University.

Letitia James is going to turn the Cornell investigation into something worse than the Duke Lacrosse case. She thinks going after white men will make her a hero. It’s a shame she doesn’t realize that, as the state’s top law enforcement officer, she is supposed to go after criminals. We still require an employee to unlock the toothpaste when we go to Duane Reade or CVS! She refuses to protect the law-abiding citizen.

Jewish Democrats in Congress have given up their religion and would give up their families, their liberties and freedoms, and the country before being accused of the mortal sin of Islamophobia. The Democrat Party has ceded all its power to the Marxists and Islamists. Their goal is to destroy this country and Israel. Republicans are not perfect. But they sure are better than a Democrat.

 Shalom Markowitz