Letters to the Editor | Feb. 9, 2024

Manufactured “news” does a disservice to Inquirer readers and to our nation. What else is one to make of the lead story on the front page claiming that “Some young Pa. voters can’t bring themselves to vote for Biden this year over the war in Gaza”? Of course, people at an anti-Israel rally or on a campus that is a hotbed of anti-Israel activity are going to tell a reporter that they will not vote to reelect President Joe Biden because they perceive him as too “pro-Israel,” whether or not that is a fact.

Reporting from the Middle East is deliberately hyperbolic, and most media, including Inquirer standby the Associated Press, rely on statistics handed to them by those behind the Oct. 7 massacre of Israelis: Hamas, which has pledged to annihilate Israel. Hardly an objective source. This article is just another opportunity to publish more anti-Israel propaganda — and its placement was designed to apply even more political pressure in an election year on the Biden administration. Please take your finger off the scale.

Steve Feldman, executive director, Greater Philadelphia Chapter, Zionist Organization of America, office@zoaphilly.org

How can the Israel Defense Forces destroy Gaza? How can it kill 27,000 people? How can it starve the people, destroy their homes, and remove access to power, water, and hospitals? The answer is the American people. We have given it the money, weapons, and intelligence. Who is responsible for pushing the Palestinian people off their land? We are. Who can stop it? We can. If the American people spoke up with one voice and said cease-fire now, it would stop. If our representatives heard us say no more money until Palestinians are safe, it would stop. So what would any reasonably intelligent human living anywhere think when the United States gives Israel billions more in aid?

Richard Metz, Erdenheim

Advocates of the federal menthol cigarette ban, such as former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter in his recent op-ed, do not appear to be aware (or willing to accept) that many of this nation’s leading criminal justice experts believe a menthol ban would be detrimental to race relations while lacking any semblance of a public health benefit.

About 85% of African American smokers use menthol cigarettes compared with just 34% of white smokers. With the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office’s “Racial Injustice Report” finding that Black defendants get charged far more than whites in many of the most common criminal charges (they also comprise nearly 70% of Philadelphia’s police stops despite representing less than 40% of its population), it is easy to see why banning a product used disproportionately by the Black community could worsen their disproportionate run-ins with police.

When signing legislation to decriminalize marijuana in Philadelphia, then-Mayor Nutter stated, “This type of action will keep kids out of the criminal justice system; will keep people’s records clean so they can get a job.” Why is he extolling the positive criminal justice virtues of decriminalizing one smoking product while dismissing the negative implications of criminalizing another that is overwhelmingly used by Black Philadelphians?

Jason Altmire, former Pennsylvania Democratic member of Congress, hospital executive, and adjunct professor of health care management at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

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