Letters to the Editor | July 15, 2026

Who is keeping count of the people killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents? Reports indicate that 10 people have died at the hands of ICE during President Donald Trump’s second term. Here’s another bleak number: zero. That’s how many trials we’ve witnessed in connection with those deaths. There are so many unanswered questions: How are these masked men not in jail awaiting trial? Who are they? How many, if unmasked, would be insurrectionists pardoned by the president? How many are his “stand down,” white, right wing, radical, racist extremists like the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, or Patriot Front? Are their actions acceptable? Are murders now legalized anywhere in this country? How many more lives will be lost? Why should the murders cease, when the killers face no retribution or penalty? You tell me, what will it take to end this ever expanding “legalized lawlessness”?

William Cohen, Huntingdon Valley

I was gratified to read Paul McElhinney’s op-ed about the Dreyfus affair. Many are still not aware of the extent to which antisemitism pervaded the French world of the 1890s when the Jewish French Army captain Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused of spying and exiled for five years. My talented great aunt — who was Jewish — painted many oil copies of Renoir paintings; I still wonder if she was even aware of Renoir’s deep antisemitism and anti-Dreyfusard sentiments. When the writer asks what we have learned, I must ask why our great museums like the Barnes and the Philadelphia Museum of Art have never confronted the antisemitism of the times and the deep involvement of Renoir and Degas, among others, in the French art world’s stirring debates over the Dreyfus case.

Susan Dyshel Sommovilla, Elkins Park

Paul McElhinney’s excellent analysis of the Dreyfus affair omitted two key elements. Theodor Herzl, an assimilated Jewish journalist covering Dreyfus’ arrest, was incensed that Jews were still subjected to antisemitism when they tried to join European society. Herzl became obsessed with the idea that Jews should have their own country. After Dreyfus’ conviction and exile to Devil’s Island, Herzl wrote Der Judenstaat, The Jewish State; organized the first Zionist Congress, which sparked some Jews living in Eastern Europe to migrate to their ancestral homeland; and lobbied the crown heads of Europe to support a Jewish state in what was then Palestine.

After Dreyfus’ exoneration, he rejoined the French Army as a major. He retired a year later but served in World War I as a lieutenant colonel. Last year, France posthumously promoted him to the rank of brigadier general, a position he would’ve easily had if he hadn’t been scapegoated.

Paul L. Newman, Merion Station

Kudos to SEPTA for their service during the World Cup. Instead of raising the price of a ride, like NJ Transit, SEPTA kept its normal price and provided free rides and DJ entertainment for people waiting for the trains. I’m certain that our guests left Philly with wonderful memories.

Joseph Grinkewicz, Philadelphia

Thank you, Ayaan Shah for your op-ed on how a new proposal in Washington could gut American science. For those who missed it, I share the following.

How would you like to go to your doctor’s office with a medical need (important to you) only to be told by the person responsible for scheduling office visits, that you would not be put on the schedule because your needs were not in “the national interest.”

This is what the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing in its published 100-page proposed rules. This is a plan to restructure who gets to cut research funding and decide which studies are allowed.

The OMB plan is to have political appointees make decisions about whether or not rigorous, peer-reviewed grant proposals get approved and which grants in process are allowed to continue. People with no experience, unqualified to make scientific evaluations will determine what will affect all of us in the years ahead.

And, ask yourself like I have, what is “the national interest” anymore and why do unqualified people get to define this term in the various offices they hold? This is another test of loyalty to the administration. One that will hurt all of us and generations to come. So — speak your mind. Share your stories of why scientific research decisions must remain in the hands of those with knowledge, not the gatekeeper who is not qualified.

Judy Endicott, Dresher

Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) recently stated that he would leave the Democratic Party if it became anti-Israel and did not support Israel’s right to defend itself.

But destroying the means of sustaining human life in Gaza is not self-defense. This includes Israel’s devastation of Gaza’s fields, orchards, greenhouses, water infrastructure, and homes.

After the ceasefire began, Israel destroyed an additional 1,500 buildings in Gaza. Multiple United Nations agencies and humanitarian groups also report that Israel has blocked or severely restricted shelter supplies, including tarps, timber, plywood, and sandbags from entering the Gaza Strip. Families are forced to live in permanent tent cities, with their makeshift homes infested with rats and parasites.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “We are disassembling Gaza, and leaving it as piles of rubble. And the world isn’t stopping us.”

Being pro-Israel should not mean downplaying or denying the atrocities Israel has committed.

Terry Hansen, Grafton, Wis.

The microbursts on Saturday uprooted at least four large trees within five blocks of my house. The electricity was out and my neighbors and I figured it was going to take a long time to recover. Peco was on our block within four hours to get the electricity back on. Tree specialists came out the next day to get the trees off destroyed cars and out of the streets.

Neighbors made new friends, consoling and supporting each other.

Thanks to the city for a quick and efficient response!

David Tatgenhorst, Philadelphia

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