Opinion

As of Sunday, November 17, 2019, when I wrote my column, there had only been three witnesses who testified in open session at President Trump’s impeachment hearing: Acting Ukraine Ambassador William Taylor, Assistant Deputy Secretary of State George Kent, and the former United States Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovich.

James Mattis and John Bolton either resigned or were fired by the president as defense secretary and national security adviser, respectively. Months later, the president referred to Mattis as “the world’s most overrated general.”

By the time this column is published, the open hearing of the impeachment inquiry will have begun.

The fact that we are at this juncture is due to people who put our country before their own personal gain.

When I bring up the president’s foibles, the refrain I usually hear from the Jewish Trumpians is that he is good for Israel. Therefore, I will address current events with that in mind. There are two major issues involving the president. One is the holding up of funds from Ukraine and the second is the situation in northern Syria. The president’s conduct in both should cause supporters of Israel concern.

Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld, in his column, “Reform Jew Responsible for Wall Street Scandal” (Queens Jewish Link, October 31, 2019), bemoans the fact that this headline will never happen. He gave an example from The New York Times about Michael Milken, which did not mention that he was Jewish. Rabbi Schonfeld argues, in contrast, that when it relates to an Orthodox Jew, there is a different standard. His example is from a Daily News article, “Rudy Pals Aided by Jewish Bigs,” which has a smaller headline of “Right-Wing Orthodox Helped Get GOP Access.”

On occasion, I have written to take issue with some of the comments made by fellow columnists. This week, I was proud of the tone set by the Queens Jewish Link (October 3, 2019). For example, Rabbi Oppenheimer, as he has before, has addressed the importance of the Jewish community working together even with our religious differences. Moshe Hill wrote about how those who have political disagreements should not engage in personal attacks. I agree with both sentiments and hope we can act this way the entire year.