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Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Israel, Iran, US — a fraught, combustible triangle
Trump lost any credibility to negotiate in this instance because he was negotiating with Iran when Israel attacked. Iran already feels betrayed. Advertisement Trump unleashed his bully call to Iran Tuesday: Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Let Netanyahu finish his own war. Maybe Xi Jinping can step in and find a way out. Trump, especially with Pete Hegseth heading the Defense Department, could end up backing us into another protracted war. Donald J. Bermont Concord US has given Iran reasons to be hostile to us It would seem that Jeff Jacoby, in detailing Iran's crimes against the United States without any examination of the causes of Iranian hostility toward us, would like us to imagine that our history with that nation began in 1979 with the sacking of the US embassy in Tehran. We should look further back to 1953 when the CIA and British intelligence, to protect British oil interests, engineered the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh and installed the shah, whose corrupt and repressive regime was supported by the United States over the next 26 years. Advertisement What righteous rage would Americans feel if a Muslim nation overthrew our own elected government and supported a police state for decades? If we continue to imagine that other nations should passively welcome our interference in their affairs, we will continue to make the world a more dangerous place. Derek Stolp Sandwich Nothing 'brilliant' about a war's unfolding In his column on Israel's war against Iran, Jeff Jacoby writes, 'Israel's Operation Rising Lion has so far unfolded brilliantly.' There is nothing now, nor has there ever been anything, brilliant about the death and destruction of war. We humans consider ourselves to be so very intelligent. Yet we use this gift far too often to dominate and kill one another. Did we not learn anything from the devastation of the 20th century? We believe ourselves to be smart, but we are not nearly as smart as we think we are and yet, at the same time, too smart for our own good. Technology used to be more primitive and its destruction limited. Now we use vast amounts of technology and resources to destroy on a global scale. Until we find a better way to settle our differences globally, we risk the end of our civilization. Advertisement 'Brilliant'? War is shameful. Rick Cutler West Barnstable Uh-oh, our hotheaded president is warmongering Oh, great ( What could go wrong? Andy Spiegel Winchester Media should remember that both Iran and Israel are under attack The June 17 front-page story, a report from The New York Times headlined 'As Israel attacks, residents flee,' detailed the damage done in Iran by Israel's missile strikes as well as their impact on civilians there. There was little mention of harm done to civilians in Israel. For example, there is Eldad Tzahor, my friend and downstairs neighbor for the years he was doing biomedical research at Harvard teaching hospitals. He had been continuing his work on heart regeneration and regenerative medicine at the This is one personal account. In Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Herzliya, apartment buildings were destroyed. Civilians were injured and killed. Others were left homeless. Israel has been under siege by Iran, directly and through its proxies, for years. It would behoove the media to be a little more balanced in its reporting. Andrew Fischer Brookline
Boston Globe
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Antisemitism — both a scourge and a topic of debate
Many of the strongest supporters of Israeli and US policies toward occupied Palestine prefer to see no difference between a) opposition to their politics and b) antisemitism, as if the two can never be distinct from each other. They resort to cries of antisemitism as a way to admonish anybody and everybody who expresses criticism of Israeli policy. This tactic is disrespectful to Jews, Jewish history, Jewish culture, and Jewish values. It is a grotesque distortion of everything Jews have faced historically, and it minimizes the much-needed recognition of Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Yosef Brody Advertisement Brooklyn, N.Y. Antisemitism among the young is seen more frequently on the right Judging from the headline on Jeff Jacoby's column — 'Antisemitism is growing worse on the left. And on the right.' — one might conclude that he sees an equal level of bias between these groups. This impression is reinforced later in his piece: 'Antisemitic attitudes today run strongest among the young — on both sides of the political spectrum. Repeat: both sides.' Yet a Advertisement Antisemitic opinions or actions, regardless of where along the political spectrum they may occur, are intolerable. But it's useful to know where this pestilence finds its greatest support. Know your enemy. Richard M. Nasser Brookline Do more to examine the history of Christian antisemitism Memo to Christian communities, from a fellow Christian: Your Jewish friends and neighbors are wounded and alarmed by the rising tide of anti-Jewish hate that Jeff Jacoby writes about. They wonder: Will the tide keep rising? How far will it go? Could it portend a return of horrors inflicted on European Jewish communities in centuries past? If things get worse, will non-Jews stand with their Jewish neighbors against the forces of hate? Christian communities have a responsibility to help, and a way to help. They can start by infusing their own communities with greater awareness of the history of Christian antisemitism. The story of Western antisemitism is darker, longer, and much more Christian than many Christians are aware. Christians should learn and tell this history, with due attention to Christian responsibility, as a regular part of Christian faith practice. Christian preaching should discuss it. Christian adult and youth education programs should explain it. This will help contain today's rising antisemitism while at long last giving Jewish communities a measure of assurance that Christians will stand with them against anti-Jewish hate. Stephen Van Evera Co-chair Lexington United Against Antisemitism Lexington Oct. 7, 2023, attack brought out an insidious hatred You know a hatred is insidious when hateful rhetoric comes from both sides of the political spectrum and when anger arises against your group after innocent civilians are murdered and taken hostage on a joyous holiday. Thank you to Jeff Jacoby for describing this injustice, and thank you to reliable allies who stand up against the ancient hatred of antisemitism. Advertisement Edwin Andrews Malden
Boston Globe
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Antisemitism is growing worse on the left. And on the right.
Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up But for how long? The book ends with disaster averted and Mordecai and Esther enjoying royal favor. Yet Ahasuerus — as vainglorious, amoral, and mercurial as ever — remains firmly on the throne. What assurance do Persia's Jews have that the capricious king who first endorsed genocide and then countermanded it isn't going to reverse course again? One of the timeless lessons of Purim and the Book of Esther is that when society is ruled by depraved or unstable people, no one is safe — especially not vulnerable or vilified minorities like the Jews. Advertisement Again and again across the centuries, Jewish communities that believed themselves secure and welcome woke up to find themselves targeted by haters. Ten or 15 years ago it was still possible to believe that 21st-century America could never succumb to such antisemitic frenzy. But anyone with eyes to see knows better now. In the wake of Oct. 7, 2023, Jew-hatred that was once confined to the fringes has spread toward the mainstream. Advertisement It is rare now to see a synagogue that doesn't employ armed guards to keep worshipers safe. Jewish schools have had to Antisemitic attitudes both sides. For many years it was an article of faith among liberals, including liberal Jews, that antisemitism in America was Republican leaders, to both their credit and their political advantage, have focused a spotlight on the eruption of antisemitic speech and demonstrations at Unfortunately, too many conservatives and Republicans are making the mistake that partisans on the left used to make and refusing to acknowledge that antisemitism on their side of the aisle remains a serious problem. During the 2024 campaign, Advertisement Yet the same administration that is targeting Columbia for tolerating antisemitism has just elevated a Pentagon spokesperson, Kingsley Wilson, who has The Book of Esther opens with the description of an opulent party hosted by Ahasuerus — a party, the Talmudic sages taught, to which the cream of Persian Jewry was invited. The Jews of that era imagined that their position was secure, only to learn how quickly their stability could collapse once the air was poisoned with antisemitism. For Jews, vigilance is always imperative. From Haman to Hitler to Hamas and its supporters, To subscribe to Arguable, Jeff Jacoby's weekly newsletter, visit . Jeff Jacoby can be reached at
Boston Globe
09-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Mar-a-Lago's ‘trade deficit' isn't a problem. Neither is America's.
All that, of course, would be in addition to the palatial dwelling itself, which was built of Doria limestone imported from Genoa, marble blocks from Cuba, and Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Trump may be a fervent protectionist who Mar-a-Lago, which exports nothing except perhaps some Nevertheless, Trump has long persisted in believing that the way to expand American wealth is to make it harder for Americans to import goods from abroad. Hence his new trade war, launched with the imposition of a 25 percent tariff on most imports from Canada and Mexico and now scheduled to take effect on April 2. Advertisement 'The tariffs are going to make us very rich and very strong,' But that can only be true if the way to enrich Americans is to reduce their choices and raise their prices. It's crackpot economics, and even if Trump's most devoted acolytes can't see that, the market can. When the new tariffs kicked in, Wall Street began hemorrhaging; by the end of the first trading day, the US stock market had Trump's rhetoric about trade oozes with nationalistic resentment. 'We support Canada $200 billion a year in subsidies one way or the other,' None of that makes sense. To begin with, Trump's basic facts are wrong: The US trade deficit with Canada a trade deficit is not a subsidy . When US consumers and companies buy goods, services, equipment, and commodities from Canadian suppliers and manufacturers, they aren't bestowing a gift or paying above the market price. They are spending their wealth to buy things they want or need and can afford to pay foreigners to supply. The United States is not being cheated when it imports products from Canada and around the world; it is being enriched. Just like Mar-a-Lago. Advertisement Contrary to Trump's petulant claim, we do need Canadian lumber. Otherwise, American construction firms wouldn't Americans . The same is true of all international trade, just as it's true of all trade across state lines and municipal lines. Both sides benefit or there would be no deal. For most of the past 50 years, the United States has run a trade deficit with the world. For most of those 50 years, the US economy has rocked. Curtailing Americans' ability to do business with their neighbors will not make America great again. It will only make it poorer, no matter how much Trump insists otherwise. To subscribe to Arguable, Jeff Jacoby's weekly newsletter, visit . Jeff Jacoby can be reached at
Boston Globe
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
With terrible timing, Wu blunders on crime
'My condolences and all of our thoughts,' she said as the cameras rolled, 'are with the family of the individual whose life has been lost.' She used her opening words not to praise the quick-thinking cop who likely prevented one or more homicides, not to reassure the public that Boylston Street was safe, not to express compassion for the two people who were nearly stabbed — not even to announce that, as with all police killings, an investigation was immediately being opened. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up No: Wu's first instinct was to offer condolences for the knife-wielding aggressor who had been killed before he could commit homicide. Advertisement As a matter of simple empathy, it is natural to offer words of comfort to the loved ones of someone who has died suddenly and terribly. Whatever wrongdoing Jaramillo may have been involved in, there is no reason to be unkind to his family as they Advertisement Even before the shooting, Wu was scheduled to appear Wednesday at a high-stakes hearing on Capitol Hill. She has been summoned, along with the mayors of New York, Chicago, and Denver, to testify Wednesday before the US House Oversight Committee about the city's so-called sanctuary policy and its impact on public safety. The committee's Republican majority has been touting the hearing as a showdown that will link the Democratic mayors to dangerous crimes committed by immigrants without legal status. In reality, Boston is not notorious for harboring criminal offenders; Advertisement I doubt that Wu intended to suggest she cares more about criminals than about victims. But it isn't hard to understand how such a subtext could be inferred. Expressing sympathy is a natural human response, but the wrong context and timing can transform a moment of compassion into a political liability. Wu's words reinforced that Democrats and progressives have But the mayor's miscalculation on Boylston Street is a reminder that in our unforgiving political climate, every utterance can ignite partisan flames. Now, her impending congressional appearance becomes even more daunting. With critics poised to seize on every nuance, she faces the double challenge of defending both her policies and her lapse in judgment. To subscribe to Arguable, Jeff Jacoby's weekly newsletter, visit . Jeff Jacoby can be reached at
