Along with Ken Trainor [My infatuation with Israel, Viewpoints, May 20], I oppose Israel’s right-wing government and support a two-state solution. So do most Jewish-Americans. I appreciate that he cares about Israel and his acknowledgement that antisemitism always lurks below the surface in America — something I did not fully recognize until a few years ago.
We do disagree about the recently defeated advisory referendum (purportedly on the right to boycott Israel), but I’m writing to take issue with his characterization of Linda Vasquez’s letter [True progressives care about Palestine, Viewpoints, May 6] and how he dealt with it in the first place.
In her letter, Vasquez calls her referendum opponents “Zionist groupies.” She also implies that they are white supremacists and makes the false assertion that AIPAC organized and financed referendum opposition. (The referendum was actually aimed at an obscure state law, as Trainor notes, but it doesn’t exactly “blacklist” companies boycotting Israel. It prevents state pension funds from investing in such foreign entities.)
Trainor ran the letter without requiring verification of AIPAC involvement or even noting that it was unsubstantiated. In its rebuttal [How democracy works, May 13], the local Jewish Community and Friends for Democracy states that it has a budget of zero and never worked with AIPAC. JCF4D notes that Vasquez draws here on the ugly trope of shadowy, all-powerful Jewish forces pulling strings.
Trainor ran Vasquez’s letter complete with derogatory references to the referendum’s opponents. What if a letter used the N-word or pejorative references to Blacks or Muslims? I’m certain Trainor would never run it verbatim.
Apparently in response to JCFD’s letter, Trainor made no apology. Instead, he wrote a column characterizing the letter as an expression of pain rather than hate. But her motivation should be immaterial here. She wrote a letter with a false assertion and derogatory references.
As JCF4D put it, the local Jewish community should be treated like any other (minority) community. The issue is fairness, not feelings.
Judith Alexander
Oak Park