Proposed Cedarhurst Park Wall of Tears is a Total Waste of Money

Dear Editor,

The proposed “Wall of Tears” monument planned for Cedarhurst Park is a complete waste of time and money that will serve absolutely NO constructive purpose whatsoever. Exactly for whom is this project for?

The mostly Orthodox Jewish population of Cedarhurst/Lawrence, having grown up with Holocaust survivor parents and grandparents (me included) are well aware of what occurred back in World War II.

Antisemites will in NO WAY be positively influenced by this project. It will only lead to more vandalism.

A more constructive approach would be to use the funding for Jewish growth. For example, back in the early 1970s, a group of Jewish leaders approached the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt’l, with what they believed was a brilliant idea. They wanted the Rebbe to propose that every Jewish family keep an empty chair at the Pesach Seder in memory of someone who died in the Holocaust.

The Rebbe strongly disagreed and instead proposed that every Jewish family INVITE a non-affiliated Jew to their Seder, IN MEMORY of someone who perished in the Holocaust.

The Rebbe believed that we must never forget what happened in Europe, but he also believed that memorials only made people feel depressed and hopeless. The Holocaust, he said could happen again tomorrow morning, c’v.

Instead of the Cedarhurst memorial, we should invest the $250,000 in a project that will help further overall Jewish growth.

For example, how about using the money to start a scholarship fund so that more Jewish children can attend a yeshiva instead of a public school? Or maybe a fund for needy brides or IVF assistance for financially struggling families? The possibilities for potential positive outcomes for the Jewish community are huge.

Another Holocaust memorial will educate no one, have no long-term positive effect on the youth, and will only be an open invitation for more antisemitic vandalism.

Sincerely,

Neil Schwerd

Far Rockaway, NY

Dear Editor,

There are those who believe as they did in Europe, that keeping the focus of Jewish money and goals internal to the Jewish community is more important than making waves that ignite antisemitism. We saw how that worked out in Europe. It’s time for Jewish awakening in America. Holocaust memorials are being built in a number of towns and have also recently been funded by the federal government for traveling memorials. NYS is building a permanent memorial in Albany. It’s time to step up and talk about indisputable history, not politics that can be a source of disagreement. The letter above speaks about Jewish education as a priority. I don’t disagree. But the writer has a myopic view and is fearful that our efforts will result in more vandalism. It’s time for Jews to show strength and step up and not shy away from confrontation from bigots and haters who are monopolizing social media and politics in America.

Norm Kaish

Dear Editor,

It has been revealed that New York City Mayor Mamdani hobnobbed with a terrible Muslim antisemite. The mainstream media is predictably not perturbed by this. They hounded President Trump for meeting with minor antisemite Kanye West. President Trump has been better than anyone else in fighting antisemitism. The mainstream media creates a negative impression that Trump is making the Iran war at the behest of Netanyahu. The media doesn’t give him good credit for fighting antisemitism and helping Israel and the Jews. Instead, everything about Trump is painted in a negative light, while Mamdani and other real antisemites are given a pass. Just one of many examples of the media’s hypocrisy.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Eli Reit

Lakewood, NJ

Dear Editor,

While Rep. Laura Gillen is certainly deserving of praise for her staunch support and defense of Israel, as well as declining to hop aboard the Zohran express, that’s where the accolades end.

The congresswoman has voted time and again to reign in the Trump agenda. In a nightmare scenario of minority leader Hakeem Jeffries becoming speaker Jeffries, Rep. Laura Gillen will likely be among the unanimous Democrat contingent voting to impeach the sitting president of the United States. The congresswoman is a member of a party along with Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Tom Suozzi, Kathy Hochul, et al., who have lost their way. Many have lost their minds as well. A reader of this publication, who I assume is a member of the tribe, cannot in good conscience vote for a Democrat unless they suffer from a severe case of TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome).

The modern Democrat Party has dropped all pretense of being pro-Israel. Even the pretense of not being antisemitic. Just critical of the current Israeli government. Members of the far left in their party have no qualms disseminating vile Jew hatred, and not a peep of protest from the “highest-ranking Jewish elected official” in the country, and “shomer” of the Jewish people. I am, to the best of my knowledge, coining a new phrase here. If you do not wish to see the “Zohranization” expand to this state and country, VOTE and vote as if your life and the lives of your family depended on it. It very well might.

Thomas Lax,

Woodmere

Dear Editor,

I finished work at 2 p.m., picked up my wife at 2:30, and decided why not go to the Israeli Day Parade. Maybe they will have a concert or after party when it finishes at 4 p.m. I looked up on the MTA website how to get to the end of the parade route. We found parking near the 50th Street subway station and took two trains to Manhattan. When we got to Manhattan, we missed the stop on the train and had to get off at the next stop to go back in the opposite way.

When we reached our stop, we realized we were at the beginning of the parade and not at the end of the parade. By the time we would get to the end of the parade, the parade would already be over, so I just said to my wife, “Let’s just go back home and call it a day. At least we tried to go to the parade.” When we were waiting for the train to go back, we saw two Chabad bochurim and my wife asked them, “Did you just come from the parade?” as small talk. We got on the same subway car with the two bochurim and they got off at the 36th Street station. As the train doors closed and the train started moving, right away my wife saw a shopping bag where they were sitting and she ran to it. Inside was a pair of tefillin with no name on it or anywhere inside the shopping bag.

We were going to try to track down the owner but thankfully about 15 minutes later our train got delayed by a stop and an R train, which is a totally different train than we were on, came pulling into the same station and the two Chabad bochurim in a panic came off the subway car. My wife and I recognized them, and we were able to give them back their pair of tefillin. They were very grateful that we just happened to be there at the right time. All the other things that made us miss our stop and not end up at the parade is true hashgacha pratis. Always make sure to write your name and phone number inside the tallis or tefillin bag.

Chaim and Nechama Silverman