Letters to the Editor | May 4, 2025

Last year, the news was filled with numerous protests and people all over the country speaking out in anger against our government’s support of Israel in the face of its military’s conduct and seeming disregard for the lives of innocent Palestinians in Gaza. What happened to all of that? The war goes on, and Israel continues its same brutality in waging war, but the outspoken opposition here is now nowhere to be seen, either in televised news broadcasts or in newspaper headlines.

Joe Biden has left office, but our government under Donald Trump certainly hasn’t reduced its support for Benjamin Netanyahu’s aggressive policy. If anything, the Trump administration has been even more outspoken in support. Could it be that a fear of reprisals by the current administration for any form of dissent has taken hold and quieted those voices that were so loud and conspicuous before the election? If so, this should frighten every American. When we aren’t free to speak publicly and voice opinions without fear, especially in opposition to the government, we cease to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Joseph Goldberg, Philadelphia

Jewish tradition values spirited debate, especially when ideas clash — and American Jews have a long history of supporting free speech and due process. In their op-ed, “As Jewish parents of students, don’t use us as an excuse for persecution,” Kenneth and Jennifer Obel rightly criticize the Trump administration for undermining these principles. Under the guise of combating antisemitism, policies threatening campus funding and detaining students without specific criminal charges erode fundamental rights without addressing actual antisemitism. Hate crimes fueled by antisemitism or any other cause should be fully prosecuted under the law. However, indiscriminate detentions in the name of fighting antisemitism risk undermining the very cause they claim to support. The fight against antisemitism depends on protecting freedoms and fostering dialogue — not stifling them.

Wendy and Steven Greenspan, Philadelphia

It is sad and ironic that in his recent op-ed, Justin Kates uses his nightmare experience with the Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles to suggest that “DOGE has a point.” The ironic part is that the Department of Government Efficiency’s indiscriminate gutting of government agencies will most likely have the exact opposite effect of improving government services. A department or agency whose staffing has been drastically reduced to achieve short-term monetary savings will soon provide less or worse service than before. The saddest part is that the author seems oblivious to this obvious point. He concedes that “we don’t necessarily need to bulldoze the entire system,” but that is precisely the goal of the MAGA movement that DOGE so capably represents. Improving government services requires funding and expertise. DOGE goes about its destructive work, offering neither.

Alan Windle, Philadelphia

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