Restore Dr. Praeger’s Pareve Certification
Dear Editor:
As a longtime customer who has purchased, enjoyed, and recommended Dr. Praeger’s veggie burgers for many years, I was dismayed to discover that the products have apparently changed their kosher certification from pareve to dairy. After noticing the change on recent packaging, I confirmed it with the Orthodox Union (OU).
For decades, Dr. Praeger’s has been a staple in kosher households. While competing brands such as MorningStar Farms have historically carried dairy certification, Dr. Praeger’s offered a delicious, nutritious pareve alternative that could be enjoyed with both meat and dairy meals. For observant Jewish families, that distinction was a major reason to choose Dr. Praeger’s.
I don’t know whether the change involves ingredients, manufacturing processes, shared equipment, or another consideration. But for kosher consumers, the difference between pareve and dairy is not a minor technicality. It determines when and how a product can be served. A longtime household staple may now be something many customers can no longer use in the same way.
There is a precedent worth remembering. In 2005, Duncan Hines changed the kosher designation of its cake mixes from pareve to dairy, prompting considerable opposition from kosher consumers. The company ultimately returned to pareve certification.
I believe Dr. Praeger’s is underestimating the disappointment this change will cause and the potential loss of loyal customers. For many of us, this is a matter of religious observance, not personal preference.
I have already emailed the company’s leadership, urging them to reconsider the decision, consult with the OU, and make restoring pareve certification a priority. If there are legitimate manufacturing or ingredient-related obstacles, consumers deserve to know what they are and whether a solution is being explored.
After so many years of choosing Dr. Praeger’s, I would much rather remain a loyal customer than become a former one. I suspect many other kosher consumers feel the same way.
I encourage readers to contact Dr. Praeger’s at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and make their concerns known.
We may not be able to achieve world peace or resolve the Israel-Arab conflict, but we can certainly make our voices heard about keeping Dr. Praeger’s veggie burgers pareve.
David T. Frankel
West Hempstead, NY
Getting Voters to the Polls Should Be More Than a Promotion
Dear Editor:
There was a time when helping someone reach the polls was simply an act of civic responsibility. A neighbor needed a ride, a volunteer offered a car, and another vote was cast. No promotional codes or marketing campaigns were necessary.
During pivotal local elections in years past, Agudath Israel of America sponsored rides to polling sites, while Chaverim of Queens and Great Neck organized transportation efforts that I had the privilege of leading on numerous occasions. These efforts required volunteers, vehicles, coordination, and considerable time. The goal was simple: Make sure transportation didn’t prevent anyone from voting.
That experience came to mind when I saw Bird’s Election Day promotion offering two free scooter rides with the code “ROLL2POLLS.” The company encourages voters to bring a friend and make their voices heard.
It’s a nice idea, and Bird deserves credit for encouraging people to vote. But I wonder how much of this is about helping voters and how much is about promoting the company.
There’s nothing wrong with a business benefiting from doing something good. But a scooter isn’t much help to an elderly person, someone with mobility issues, or a parent with several young children. Those are often the people who need transportation assistance the most.
Having organized rides to the polls myself, I know how much work goes into it. There are calls to answer, pickups to arrange, and last-minute requests to accommodate. It’s not glamorous, but it gets people to the polls who might otherwise stay home.
Imagine if Bird and other companies worked with local organizations already doing this work, providing funding and resources instead of just promotional codes.
If Bird’s offer gets more people to vote, that’s great. But the real measure of success isn’t how many scooter rides are redeemed. It’s how many people who otherwise wouldn’t have voted actually make it to the polls.
Shabsie Saphirstein
Kew Gardens Hills
The Nobel Prize
Dear Editor:
Okay, so I wasn’t exactly sitting or lying next to my phone in the middle of the night, waiting to get that all-important call from Stockholm or wherever, informing me that I had won the coveted Nobel Prize in Literature. Preposterous, you might say? If Bob Dylan could win it and some no-name from Canada (apologies to my son-in-law) could win it, why not me? I could finally put Kew Gardens Hills on the map. Therefore, I might go through some of the reasons why I was not chosen this year.
First of all, the award is given in the middle of December on a Shabbos in the freezing city of Stockholm. Furthermore, the committee isn’t exactly made up of pro-Zionists. Maybe they are scared I’ll take the $1.2 million (or whatever that translates into their money) and buy an apartment in Israel. Little do they realize that that little money won’t get me much in Israel or KGH.
What I realize is that I’m in good company when it comes to those great literary giants who have not been deemed worthy of winning this prize. Illustrious writers like Danielle Steel and James Patterson don’t merit mention. So my message to the Nobel Prize Committee is to take their 12 million Swedish kronor and give it to some social influencer (whatever that means).
Debbie Horowitz
Supporting Trump and the GOP
Dear Editor:
I would like to take this opportunity to respond to Warren Hecht. He showed an extreme lack of hakaras ha’tov by viciously attacking Donald Trump and had the audacity to call him a criminal.
What some do not realize is that on October 7, 2023, there was supposed to be a coordinated attack on Israel involving Hamas, Syria, Iraq, Hezbollah, Yemen, and Iran. The reason that did not happen is because Qasem Soleimani was not alive to coordinate this major offensive against Israel. Trump killed him. With this one action, Trump has saved countless Jewish lives.
Trump has stood against the rising tide of anti-Semitism and is by far the most pro-Jewish U.S. president we have ever had.
At this time, the Democratic Party has been taken over by the DSA, which wants to destroy this country and exterminate the Jewish people. How can Warren get behind that?
An anti-Semitic ad was just posted in favor of El-Sayed, which demonizes the Jews. Goebbels is smiling in his grave. El-Sayed supports Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, and he states that Israel should not exist. Schumer responded by giving him millions of dollars and supporting his campaign.
We should be supporting Trump and the GOP, not the DSA. Please do whatever you can to support the Senate campaigns of the Republicans running in close races, such as Texas, Alaska, and Maine. We must not let the DSA gain power, chas v’shalom.
Martin Berkowitz
Respect for the National Anthem
Dear Editor:
Players in the WNBA Finals left the court so they wouldn’t be there when the anthem played. LeBron James, during the season opener against the Knicks, was flailing his arms and not standing still while the Star-Spangled Banner played. Disrespecting our national anthem is dishonorable. I don’t care that James is compared to Michael Jordan. He is not someone whom kids should look up to. Every time I come across a military service member or law enforcement officer, I thank them for their service. These pampered athletes should take a trip to Normandy or Arlington National Cemetery and see what sacrifice for freedom is really all about.
Mr. Hecht, your disparaging description of the president last week was disgusting. Trump won because the country saw what happens when Democrats have power. To use and abuse the power of the judicial system to go after a political opponent was a disgrace. Yet you say nothing about the corruption of Joe and Hunter Biden. Silence when it comes to Hillary Clinton and the Espionage Act. James Comey was contemptible, yet you never criticized him. John Brennan is a traitor. Again, nothing.
Mr. Hecht suffers from what Professor Gad Saad calls “suicidal empathy,” a state where hyperactive or misdirected compassion causes a society to act against its own survival, security, and common sense. He would rather watch the collapse of the country at the hands of Marxists than vote Republican. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Mr. Hecht, but look at what is currently taking place in France, England, Ireland, Spain, Belgium, and Italy. We are witnessing the downfall of Western civilization. What policy stance does the Democratic Party currently have that is beneficial to the citizenry? Name one.
Jessica Tarlov, Fox News’ leftist host on The Five, also suffers from this “disease.” She is what I call a “fake Jew.” She might be ethnically Jewish, but she does not observe the Torah or the mitzvos. She intermarried and has no true love of Eretz Yisrael. Yet she hides behind her Judaism every time Greg Gutfeld debates her. She is all in for Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. She is frightened of being labeled a racist or Islamophobic.
Another fake Jew is Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. She was one of six members of Congress to put out a video last year calling for active-duty service members not to comply with orders from their commander in chief. Last week, she told an interviewer that once Democrats take control of the House and Senate, they will abuse that power, as they did under King Commie Obama and Joe Biden, to go after their political opponents again. This is dangerous. Early voting is over on November 1. Election Day is November 3. We must not give these power-hungry Marxists any victory.
Shalom Markowitz
