22 Dec Speak Your Vues

SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER

DRUGS

Dear Vues Master:

Why, yes, drug addicts should be given drugs to ease the symptoms of withdrawal. That is literally the common, mainstream way of treating drug addiction, to slowly wean the person off the drugs in a rehab setting.

SD

Vues Master’s Note: Yes in a controlled setting but legalizing would do more harm than good.

 

RESUME

Dear Vues Master:

Greetings, As an older single,I feel obligated to reveal the late ROV’S opinion.He mentioned that a person of both genders has a certain “chein”,charm or favor that can not be represented in shidduch resume.Persons should meet if the basics are on sound ground.Let the element of BASHERT,YAD HASHEM take precedence. My grandfather asked RABBI MILLER ZTL about my father.Rabbi Miller replied that my father ah _came to minyanim,stayed for mishna class,brown bagged his lunch to a daily job. He qualified this by stating he is a GD fearing jew.Perhaps,looking to give a prospective shidduch a chance may alleviate the over forty age shidduch situation.Rabbi Feinstein opined that a shidduch resume may at times bring out the good points hidden in a person.

Thank you, A G

Vues Master’s Note: The bottom line is that we need both the resume and that people should meet. Let us hope everyone finds their bashert!

 

STOP THE STEAL

Dear Vues Master:

Many people on the right believe that the 2020 election was stolen. Many subscribe to election fraud and others subscribe to the media. In terms of election fraud, there is no overwhelming evidence known to the public of fraud that would overturn the election, however, many questions need to be investigated. The American people have the right to know with certainty that there were no major problems with mail-in voting which were used this year on a historical scale. The American people also have the right to know why many states’ rejection levels for mail-in ballots were lower than in 2016, as in 2020 there were historic amounts of mail-in ballots cast. Ballotpedia has data as of now of 13 states’ rejection percentages in 2016 and 2020. Of the 13, 12 in 2020 had lower rejection rates than in 2016 when there was a substantially lower number of ballots by mail cast. Interestingly, in 2016, 6.4% of ballots by mail were rejected in Georgia, while in 2020, when there were so many more ballots by mail cast, only .6% were rejected. These numbers don’t necessarily mean that fraud took place, but it does raise suspicion. At the end of the day, our media’s lack of transparent reporting has caused major division and misinformation in our nation. Last week, revelations of Hunter Biden’s taxes were released to the public. 2 weeks before the election, our media dismissed anything fishy connected with Hunter. This lack of objective journalism is serious negligence and a disservice to voters. According to the Media Research Center, based on new polling, 36% of Biden voters didn’t know about any of the Hunter Biden allegations before the election, and if they did, 13% of Biden voters would have not voted for him, which would have swung the election to Trump. Our media also didn’t report on the Eric Swalwell story released last week showing that a Chinese spy worked for his campaign. ABC, NBC, and CBS didn’t devote a second to the story on their morning shows. Everyone has the right to express their own opinions on their platforms, but to act like one is an objective reporter while inserting one’s own opinions when it could affect an election result, is reckless. That is the true threat to our democracy!

Sincerely, D S G

Vues Master’s Note: It might be too little too late. Seems like the cat is out of the bag and there is no going back!

 

FLOODING

Dear Vues Master: Lately I have seen people complaining about a serious problem of flooding in Borough Park. In your issue of last week (p.30) it is blamed on “improperly pitched streets”, and “years of unmitigated clogging”. There is something very important missing from that picture though, allow me to explain. Years ago, Borough Park had much more open land, ground/soil, in the form of backyards and side yards, gardens where plants grew, which absorbed water when the blessing of rain from above arrived. Zoning codes preserved this open land. However, at some point decades ago (I recall such a thing during the time of the late Councilman Dear) the councilman met with builders, and the codes were changed to allow more building. Over the years this led to the loss of much open land which used to absorb rainfall. When rain falls on a concrete backyard or driveway instead of a garden, it needs to go somewhere. During a torrential rain, the system can get overwhelmed when it gets much more water suddenly than it got in the past. A while ago I read an article explaining that terrible flooding in Houston, Texas in recent years during major storms they had the same source. Much formerly open land had been built on there, during periods of major growth, leaving water without place to be absorbed, leading to major trouble. So many people have paved over land for building and parking, now they are paying a heavy price for that. If they want to address this issue, they should rethink their attitude, and limit, and even reverse such actions. Even if they need place to park, they can use a permeable surface that allows water to enter the ground, rather concrete from which it runs off.

Sincerely, Old Timer

Vues Master’s Note: In theory you are right that it is a contributing cause but that will not change. People want to live the way they do without regard for consequence. It is the Government’s job to make adjustments. We will not go back to the horse and buggy days.

 

HOLOCAUST

Dear Vues Master: I think most people who survived the Holocaust would agree that not everything is the Holocaust. On an unrelated note, most experts in derech eretz advise against calling others’ opinions “moronic”.

SF

Vues Master’s Note: The word moronic is not used very often as you stated because of Derech Eretz. But if one belittles the holocaust he or she is worthy that their comment should be coined moronic. I am sure if you speak to a holocaust survivor to who I spoke to many times as I had relatives survivors will tell you that One must remember and keep on reiterating about the holocaust so that society should not even think of doing it again.

 

PEACE PRIZE

Dear Vues Master:

Let’s just say it like it is. The first African American president to the USA was awarded the nobel peace prize for merely existing. A joint US-Israeli delegation is set to visit the kingdom of Morocco next week on the first-ever nonstop flight from Tel Aviv to Rabat. What? The current president is not deserving of that same prize? What number country is this to make peace on his account? But Trump is bad.

AMP

Vues Master’s Note: Difference is that this President is not a media darling. That is why he stands no chance. We love him for that reason as he stands for the truth is not Politically correct. The media on the other hand is racist against the regular white guy.

 

RESTAURANTS PLIGHT

Dear Vues Master:

Can someone explain to me and my fellow business owners how they city can be so heartless and cruel to us. I can barely put bread on my table but they have no problem suspending outdoor dining in NYC beginning 2PM Wednesday, as the Sanitation Dept issued a “snow alert” ahead of expected 8+ inches of snow. This comes days after they suspended indoor dining on baseless health risks. Do you realize how much money we had to invest in our stores for all those stupid Plexiglas all in the name of health. The biggest health hazard in my eyes are the hungry children of store owners. Cuomo and de blasio should stop playing g-d and let the ultimate master of the world decide who’s more important.

AMB

Vues Master’s Note: But that would take away the power from these money hungry self serving liberals who want to redistribute the wealth of others but not their own wealth.

 

EMERGENCY POWERS

Dear Vues Master:

Incompetent Gov. Cuomo and even less competent Mayor de Blasio have continued their campaign of fear mongering with warnings that NYC is heading towards another shutdown, saying that it will resemble the shutdown that occurred in the spring. This means all non-essential businesses would be forced to shut down. Do your readers realize just how dangerous the power we gave these dangerous politicians by not decrying back in the spring the fact that our religious institutions are being classified as NON essential. We have no-one to blame but ourselves.

JL

Vues Master’s Note: I would suggest that everyone remember this next election and make sure to vote out all city council members and state assembly members who allowed and still allow this travesty to continue. We voted you people into keep checks and balances instead you are puppets and let these Dictators do as they wish. Spineless politicians! Take a Stand!

 

DEBT FORGIVENESS

Dear Vues Master:

Yes, ideally college freshmen should have been financially responsible and not borrow money they have no idea if they will ever be able to repay, but l’masseh millions weren’t and now there is a serious problem. One potential benefit of forgiving some/ all student debt is it will free up millions of dollars that borrowers will now have to use to stimulate the economy. Even if as some have argued, debt forgiveness will favor the wealthy, the money will still end up back into the economy in some way. It will obviously also help the lower and middle class who have high debt. No, it’s not fair for those who saved for years to pay tuition/student loans out of pocket, maybe something can be done to compensate them for doing the right thing. But that doesn’t mean those who are currently struggling and will likely struggle for decades paying off their debt don’t need help. Personally, I can support federal student debt forgiveness only if the government first fixes the core problem (LOL) and not hand out tens of thousands of dollars every year to every 18 year old with a pulse. Otherwise we will end up in the exact same position in 5 years. With that said, do you believe the government should “bail out” the millions of people who have racked up all this debt?

SR

Vues Master’s Note: This is the me generation who won’t take responsibility for their own actions! If the Govt. will forgive debt then we should have a cap on upper education tuition! Why should the taxpayer fund these institutions of self serving liberal schools!

 

SEE THE GOOD

Dear Vues Master:

Nowadays, people look at each other politically, whether conservative or liberal, and assume they know the person just from that. We need to look at the whole person. Not everyone is the same. Everyone has flaws, but good points too. When we see the good, like in a fellow Jew, we can have more unity. Then we have more bracha from Hashem

YMK

Vues Master’s Note: I am looking into this letter and I see that it is a good letter written by a good Jew. Thanks for sharing.

 

YESHIVISHA SPRACH NEWS

Dear Vues Master:

Inspired by the “Yeshivish Shprach” I’d like to see a dictionary of words. grada Lichoira Taka Lemaisa Zicher Ginoy punkt maskim Al Kol Ponim eppes a zach mamesh chaval kol tov Aderaba chashivus punkt farr kert farlozich avada Azoy If anyone can send in the translations it would be greatly appreciated. A

Yeshivisha Yungerman

Vues Master’s Note: I grada would try to translate but Lichoira I am not pasig to the CHashivus of this task. Al kol panim I am maskim that Lemaaseh it is zicher eppes a zach when it comes to saying the word genoy. Actually it may be punkt farkert. I hope you are maskim. Anyone that wants to elaborate is welcome!

 

CENSORING

Dear Vues Master:

With a Biden administration looming on the horizon, Twitter will start labeling or blocking tweets that doubt the efficacy of the Covid vaccine or suggest that it’s harmful, unnecessary or a conspiracy to “control the population.” They wouldn’t ch”v do that before the election, because that would’ve boosted Trumps re-election chances. Our politicians must reign in this rough regime of powerful online media companies. They are unravelling the fabrics of our democracy.

WK

Vues Master’s Note: They have been censoring everything except for holocaust deniers. Is it not interesting that the people who are the worst when it comes to human rights and equal rights the Moslems have all the politicians fighting for their rights. We need to jump in to an Iran deal?

 

SAFE AT LAST

Dear Vues Master:

Mayor de Blasio says he will give up his SUV and ride the subway to show people trains are safe from Covid and will also take the vaccine on live TV to show it’s safe. Now I feel safe.

FT

Vues Master’s Note: When he will donate his stuff to the poor I will feel safe but until he is busy dictating where my money should go I am not interested.

 

FDR, NAZIS AND MOROCCO

Dear Vues Master:

The normalization of relations between Israel and Morocco and the U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara have stirred interest in the history of Morocco’s Jews, including during the Holocaust years. Unfortunately, some pundits, in their enthusiasm over these developments, have misleadingly portrayed the Allied liberation of North Africa in 1942 as the simultaneous liberation of the region’s Jews from their Nazi and Vichyite persecutors. That narrative papers over the harsh reality of what happened after the Allies’ victory. The full story of how President Franklin D. Roosevelt treated the Jews in Morocco and elsewhere in North Africa is a deeply troubling chapter in his administration’s history. On November 8, 1942, American and British forces launched “Operation Torch,” the invasion of German-occupied Algeria and Morocco. In just eight days, the Allies defeated the Nazis and their Vichy French partners in the region. American Jews expected that the liberation of North Africa would also mean liberation for the 330,000 Jews there. In 1870, the French colonial authorities in Algeria had issued the Cremieux Decree, which granted equal rights to that country’s Jews after centuries of mistreatment by Arab rulers (although it did not affect the Jews in neighboring Morocco). When the Vichyites took over North Africa in 1940, they abolished Cremieux and subjected all of the region’s Jews to a range of abuses, including restrictions on admission of Jews to many schools and professions, seizures of Jewish property and occasional pogroms by local Muslims that were tolerated by the government. In 1941–1942, American Jewish newspapers carried disturbing reports that the Vichyites had built “huge concentration camps” in Morocco and Algeria to house thousands of Jewish slave laborers. The prisoners endured backbreaking work, random beatings by the guards, extreme overcrowding, poor sanitation, nearstarvation and little or no medical care. According to one report, 150 Jews scheduled to be taken to the camps were so fearful of the conditions there that they resisted arrest and were executed en masse. With the Allied victory, North African Jews — and their American coreligionists —expected the prisoners to be released and the Cremieux Decree reinstated for Jews living throughout the region. The American Jewish Congress optimistically predicted that the repeal of the Vichy-era anti- Jewish laws would follow the Allied occupation of North Africa “as the day follows the night.” But President Roosevelt had other plans. MEET THE NEW BOSS, SAME AS THE OLD BOSS At the beginning of “Operation Torch,” the Allies captured Admiral François Darlan, a senior Vichyite leader. FDR decided to leave Darlan in charge of the Allied-occupied North African territories in exchange for Darlan ordering his forces in Algiers to cease fire. Many prominent liberals in the United States were appalled by this decision. “[It] sticks in the craw of majorities of the British and French, and of democrats everywhere, [that] we are employing a French Quisling as our deputy in the government of the first territory to be reoccupied,” an editorial in The New Republic protested. The war was supposed to bring enlightened democracy to areas that had been under the boot of fascism — not keep the old tyrants in power. Not only was Darlan still in power, but he also retained nearly all of the original senior officials of the local Vichy regime. Darlan did dismiss one Vichyite of note, Yves Chatel, the governor of Algeria — but promptly replaced him with Maurice Peyrouton, the very Vichy official who had signed the anti- Jewish laws of 1940. Together, Darlin and Peyrouton deep-sixed the Cremieux Decree and kept thousands of Jews in the slave labor camps. Rumblings of concern began to surface in the American press. A December 17 editorial in the New York Times expressed doubt that Darlan really intended to bring about “the abrogation of anti-Jewish laws [and] release of prisoners and internees.” The editors of The New Republic asked on December 28, “Who controls French Africa, Darlan or the [Allies]? And if the latter, isn’t it high time we cleaned up the remnants of fascism that obviously still exist there?” An investigative report in the New York City newspaper PM on January 1 asserted that the Darlan regime was actively discriminating against Jews, and “thousands” remained “in concentration camps.” President Roosevelt publicly claimed that he had already “asked for the abrogation of all laws and decrees inspired by Nazi governments or Nazi ideologists.” But he hadn’t. When reporters questioned him at a January 1, 1943 press conference, FDR replied, “I think most of the political prisoners are — have been released.” But they hadn’t.

 

NO RIGHTS FOR JEWS

The official transcript of FDR’s meeting with Major-General Charles Nogues, a leader of the post-Vichy regime, in Casablanca on January 17, 1943, provides some insight into the president’s thinking. Nogues asked President Roosevelt for voting rights. According to the stenographer, Roosevelt replied, “The answer to that was very simple, namely, that there just weren’t going to be any elections, so the Jews need not worry about the privilege of voting.” The transcript continues, “The President stated that he felt the whole Jewish problem should be studied very carefully and that progress should be definitely planned. In other words, the number of Jews should be definitely limited to the percentage that the Jewish population in North Africa bears to the whole of the North African population.” FDR explained that he wanted to make sure the Jews would not “overcrowd the professions.” He pointed to what he called “the specific and understandable complaints which the Germans bore towards the Jews in Germany, namely, that while they represented a small part of the population, over fifty percent of the lawyers, doctors, school teachers, college professors, etc. in Germany were Jews.” In reality, Jews comprised about 16% of the lawyers, 11% of the doctors, 3% of the college professors and less than 1% of the schoolteachers in Germany. It’s striking that the president of the United States was so quick to believe the wildly exaggerated numbers — and to conclude that German hatred of Jews therefore was justified.

 

AMERICAN JEWS SPEAK OUT

As the weeks turned into months and as the fascists remained in power in North Africa, public criticism of the Roosevelt administration intensified. Near-daily reports by I. F. Stone in PM featured headlines such as “U.S. Policy in North Africa: Why State Dept. Holds Up Repeal of Nuremberg Laws,” and “Hull Admits Anti-Fascist Prisoners Still Being Held in North Africa.” Reports in the New York Times and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s Daily News Bulletin began citing, by name, the camps were North African Jews and political refugees were being enslaved — including one that was just five miles from where “American troops, dedicated to end government by concentration camp, live.” American Jewish leaders were strongly supportive of President Roosevelt — and some 90% of Jews voted for him repeatedly — but his perpetuation of the persecution of North African Jews was just too much. On February 14, 1943, the American Jewish Congress and World Jewish Congress took the unprecedented step of publicly denouncing the president’s North Africa policy. In a joint public statement, the two groups charged that “the anti-Jewish legacy of the Nazis remains intact in North Africa.” Despite three months having passed since the Allied liberation, only a few “grudging concessions have been made” to aid the Jews, while no changes “of an important character have been made in the[ir] political and economic situation.” The statement reminded the president that he had pledged “action to insure that the four freedoms shall without further delay be declared as valid for all the peoples in North Africa, which means the total abrogation of all anti- Semitic laws and decrees and … the release of those of whatever race or nationality who are being detained because of their support of democracy and opposition to Nazi ideology.” The remarkable statement from those two mainstream Jewish organizations was only slightly milder than the charge by Benzion Netanyahu, executive director of the militant U.S. Revisionist Zionists (and father of the current prime minister of Israel), that “the spirit of the Swastika hovers over the Stars and Stripes” in the administration of North Africa. Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, the founder and longtime leader of the American Jewish Congress, then led a delegation to Washington to personally make their case directly to U.S. officials, and Wise’s co-chair, Dr. Nahum Goldmann, organized a group of prominent French exiles in the United States to present the State Department with a petition of their own. The Union of American Hebrew Congregations (Reform) also called on the administration to intervene against the Vichyites. These protests induced a number of other prominent individuals to speak up, among them Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, the exiled French Jewish leader Baron Edouard de Rothschild and leaders of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

 

AGONIZING DELAYS

In March 1943 — more than four months after the Allies liberated Morocco and the rest of North Africa — the Roosevelt administration finally instructed the local authorities to repeal the anti-Jewish measures. The implementation process, however, was agonizingly slow. In April, the forced labor camps in North Africa were officially shut down — yet, in reality, some of them continued operating well into the summer. The Jewish quotas in schools and professions were only gradually phased out. It was not until October 20, 1943, that the Cremieux Decree was at last reinstated. After ten long months of presidential stalling and stonewalling, this disturbing chapter in American foreign policy finally came to a close. The increased public interest in the history of North African Jewry is a welcome byproduct of Israeli-Moroccan normalization. But discussions of that history should include its less pleasant side; that part, too, has important lessons to offer.

RM

Vues Master’s Note: Yes we see that you somehow are always busy with FDR. What about other Presidents?

 

BRACHA ON VACCINE

Dear Vues Master:

Do you need to make a bracha when you take the Covid 19 vaccine?

Thanks Baruch/Boro Park

Vues Master’s Note: Only if you plan to eat or drink it. I don’t think that will help you against Covid!

 

REQUIRED VACCINES

Dear Vues Master:

Do you think that Yeshivas & camps should make it a requirement for students/ campers to take the Covid 19 vaccine?

Kol Tuv Miriam/Kensington

Vues Master’s Note: Well let us see if it is available to everyone. Let us see if there are side effects. I believe the vaccines are not recommended for 16 and under. Time will tell!

 

STORY BEHIND THE SONG

Dear Vues Master:

I just watched the Rabbi Gold video called “The Story Behind the Song ‘’ because I read Ari Hirsch’s interview in The Jewish Vues with Rabbi Gold over Chanukah & it was really great! My favorite story was Shlomo Simchas. What was your favorite?

Kol Tuv Yechiel/Flatbush

Vues Master’s Note: I think they were all great but am looking to hear more feedback from our readership!