Get things into perspective

MALCOLM FINN Kfar Shmaryahu

It is clear from prior Washington Watch columns that Douglas Bloomfield does not like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or US President Donald Trump. His comments on December 28 (“Netanyahu’s Hanukka gift”) reinforce this.

Since virtually each US president and presidential candidate, along with both houses of Congress, have endorsed the concept of Jerusalem being Israel’s capital, and since Bloomfield feels it is such a terrible idea, can I assume that he wrote equally vitriolic

Transportation Minister Israel Katz’s announcement of the intent to name a train station near the Western Wall after President Donald Trump reeks of cognitive dissonance. He could not possibly mean to link Trump’s name to such a holy area because at least two-thirds of the American Jewish population finds this man’s actions and words to be wholly contrary to Jewish beliefs and principles.

Trump has exhibited clear and convincing evidence of xenophobia. His statements regarding immigrants, Muslims and others demonstrate disdain for how we as Jews are taught to treat all people, not just our own. His comments on the heels of the awful Charlottesville white-supremacist gathering, eschewing condemnation of neo-Nazis and Klansmen in favor of a statement signifying there were bad people “on both sides,” was a low point in American history.

Moreover, we are just coming off an election in the state of Alabama in which Trump actively

With regard to “Is Netanyahu corrupt?” (Editor’s Notes, December 22), I have no idea if the suspicions against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are likely to amount to anything. I have just one question: If the cigar issue turns into a major politi cal ax by which to topple the prime minister, how many lives will those cigars cost?

It doesn’t take much imagination to see that the minute the prime minister is thought to be vulnerable or at the point of having to stand down, Israel’s enemies will seek to maximize on any political instability and perceived military hesitation of command and make the very most of the situation. It only required the president of the US to state that he wished to move his embassy to Jerusalem for rockets to rain down and serious stabbings to take place.

It is absolutely right that Israelis ask their politicians to be accountable, but let’s get things into perspective. CLIVE ROSENFELD London