Peters Township, Pa.: I see the president’s plan to drop aid to war-torn Gaza by air as a direct rebuke to Israel, a clear indication that the United States has concluded that it is not doing enough to prevent an even worse humanitarian calamity than what has taken place already.
What has occurred in Israel and Gaza is to be laid at the feet of Hamas. Israel has an absolute right to defend itself from savagery and to try to ensure that the savages can never again launch such a heinous attack as it endured on Oct. 7.
The Israeli retaliation, however, has reportedly brought about the deaths of more than 30,000 people, many of them innocent, many of them women and children. Scarcity of food has brought many to starvation or severe malnutrition. An aggravating factor is the presence of extremist right-wing members in the cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — individuals who have expressed incendiary views indicating a desire to rid the country of the Palestinian population. We will never see a necessary two-state solution while Netanyahu has the ability to stay in power.
I believe the accusation that Israel is committing genocide is overstated, but even if its actions are somehow successful in fully vanquishing Hamas, a new generation of Palestinians will hate and seek revenge against Israel for what it has done to their families. This strife should make us uneasy as Americans, as it serves to spread the prevalence of antisemitic views and actions and leaves our country open to terrorists who would seek to hold us accountable as Israel’s primary benefactor. Oren Spiegler
Atlanta: Voicer Carl J. Cruz-Hafner is wrong about Israeli efforts to prevent Hamas from making good on its promises to inflict repeated Oct. 7 atrocities. People who know about military operations, such as Prof. John Spencer of the Modern War Institute at West Point and Col. Richard Kemp, former commander of the British Expeditionary Forces in Afghanistan, have praised Israel for achieving a ratio under 2:1 for civilian-to-combatant deaths in Gaza, noting that ratios of 9:1 are not unusual in the kind of urban fighting that is occurring in the densely populated enclave. The sad fact is that Hamas’ hiding weapons and munitions in homes, hospitals, mosques and tunnels built under residential buildings guarantees that Israel’s exemplary efforts to avoid killing civilians simply can’t be completely successful. Toby F. Block
Staten Island: Voicer Michael Grisante needs a reality check: According to the Department of Homeland Security, the Biden administration deported, returned or expelled more people at the border each and every year in office than Donald Trump ever did during his entire administration. Its chart bears this out, so your fact-challenged letter is total nonsense! Ellen Settanni
Ossining, N.Y.: Voicer JoAnn Lee Frank — an example of too many people who accept a venal man so devoid of character that he is sociopathic — who mocks Nikki Haley in comparison to Trump, asks the wrong questions. What should be asked is: Why do so many people still support a man who failed so spectacularly while president that historians across the political spectrum rate him as the worst in history, is certainly unfit to hold public office, is a repeated loser in business and in courts of law, and is a proven rapist, fraud, liar and cheat? Robert Rundbaken
Garden City, L.I.: He confuses President Biden with President Barack Obama. He thinks Argentina is a person. He can’t finish a thought without changing the topic. He slurs his speech and tries to cover it by saying, “Well, you know.” He continues to praise dictators like Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban and promises he will only be one for a day. He begs his followers to pay his legal fees, yet brags about his net worth. His followers continue to support him because he has made it acceptable to hate anyone they don’t like, like it’s 1950. Donald Trump is a dangerous and mentally ill person and should not be allowed to ever enter the White House. Paul Falabella
Forest Hills: We have to see the MAGA men differently if we’re ever to get them to change and adapt. It’s grandiosity masking insecurity — a basic, existential malaise that what they saw as normal has changed. The plant has closed and their jobs have become irrelevant, making them irrelevant. They don’t have the skills to adapt. Their towns get smaller and almost disappear because the jobs are not there and they can’t or won’t accept that they have to adapt. They hear someone like Trump, who promises them a world that doesn’t exist anymore, and they buy it, playing into the false sense of security. Biden offered them an infrastructure bill that would create jobs, but the malaise prevents them from seeing it. There’s only the fear that the life they once knew is gone forever. Stew Frimer
Delray Beach, Fla.: I want to know what Donald Trump will say after he loses the general election to President Biden in November. Will he still claim the election was stolen or was it rigged? Or maybe he’ll come up with a new excuse. But he’ll never admit he lost because the majority of American voters didn’t want him to become the president for a second time. Barry Rudd
West New York, N.J.: Trump has been a loser ever since he left office. Now the Democrats are backing a rapidly failing Biden. Nice man, but too old and no visible persona to match the bully Trump. If the Democrats can’t find a younger, more dynamic replacement, they will elect a vindictive sociopath with no moral guiding principles. Trump is dangerous to democracy. Wake up, Democrats, before we all go down with the Orange Egoist. Ken Ludmer
Flushing: I enjoy sitting near the Unisphere and taking in the sights and sounds of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, but Sunday was not one of those days. As I have experienced on several days, there is a food vendor/ice cream truck that blares repetitively a truly obnoxious jingle that drives me and others to near madness. It becomes like the mother of all ear bugs that is seemingly used so customers can find the truck. The truck is quite large and sits right near the Unisphere, so it is not as if anyone could miss it. Certainly, anyone seeking a snack could find it. I am sure the owner/operator makes a tidy sum each day and am sure the absence of the obnoxious tune would not cut profits. Are there any other New Yorkers out there who agree? Paul Knieste
Manhattan: Regarding Pat Smith’s March 4 op-ed “Too taxing in Battery Park City,” here are the facts: This is one of the safest neighborhoods in New York City, whose residents pay real estate taxes (here it’s called a Payment in Lieu of Taxes, PILOT) the same way as every other NYC homeowner — based on the law and assessments by the Department of Finance. Ground rents for the buildings were initially set by competitive bidding when each building was developed. Thirteen of the neighborhood’s 18 condo buildings have negotiated revised ground rents; negotiations with other buildings continue. The revenues collected by the Battery Park City Authority not only fund the maintenance of our beloved parks, the construction of a flood protection system for Lower Manhattan, and essential city services, but also the development of affordable housing across the five boroughs. Raju Mann, president and CEO, Battery Park City Authority
Manhattan: How is it possible that any bureaucracy can charge people who live in a so-called congestion zone $15 every time they drive their car out of their neighborhood? It’s obvious the MTA leadership is incompetent and needs to be reigned in. Its solution is always to charge more. I hope our elected officials actually do something about this money grab. Joseph Duffy
Bayonne: The front-page story of millions wasted on overtime (“MTA leaks money,” March 3) perfectly explains why the MTA needs the billions that congestion pricing will give them to squander, waste and mismanage. I wonder how quickly they will ask for more, or for an expansion of this hands-in-the-pockets racket. William Bannon
Readers sound off on Gaza’s consequences, MAGA men and annoying food truck music
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08.03.2024
Peters Township, Pa.: I see the president’s plan to drop aid to war-torn Gaza by air as a direct rebuke to Israel, a clear indication that the United States has concluded that it is not doing enough to prevent an even worse humanitarian calamity than what has taken place already.
What has occurred in Israel and Gaza is to be laid at the feet of Hamas. Israel has an absolute right to defend itself from savagery and to try to ensure that the savages can never again launch such a heinous attack as it endured on Oct. 7.
The Israeli retaliation, however, has reportedly brought about the deaths of more than 30,000 people, many of them innocent, many of them women and children. Scarcity of food has brought many to starvation or severe malnutrition. An aggravating factor is the presence of extremist right-wing members in the cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — individuals who have expressed incendiary views indicating a desire to rid the country of the Palestinian population. We will never see a necessary two-state solution while Netanyahu has the ability to stay in power.
I believe the accusation that Israel is committing genocide is overstated, but even if its actions are somehow successful in fully vanquishing Hamas, a new generation of Palestinians will hate and seek revenge against Israel for what it has done to their families. This strife should make us uneasy as Americans, as it serves to spread the prevalence of antisemitic views and actions and leaves our country open to terrorists who would seek to hold us accountable as Israel’s primary benefactor. Oren Spiegler
Atlanta: Voicer Carl J. Cruz-Hafner is wrong about Israeli efforts to prevent Hamas from making good on its promises to inflict repeated Oct. 7 atrocities. People who know about military operations, such as Prof. John Spencer of the Modern War Institute at West Point and Col. Richard Kemp, former commander of the British Expeditionary Forces in Afghanistan, have praised Israel for achieving a ratio under 2:1 for civilian-to-combatant........
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