Letters to the Editor | Sept. 11, 2024

Every year on Sept. 11, we reserve a time for remembrance, reflect on the events, and share our sorrow and compassion for those touched by tragedy. The heroes who unselfishly sacrificed their lives in the twin towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania, and those left behind with scars and memories that will last a lifetime.

We remember and honor those who were killed: At the World Trade Center attack, which included passengers and crew of Flight 175 and Flight 11, the tower occupants, and members of the New York City Fire Department and law enforcement officers. A total of 2,603 people, including 15 fellow Villanova graduates.

At the Pentagon attack, which included passengers and crew of Flight 77, and Pentagon military and civilian personnel. A total of 184 victims, including Northrop Grumman Corp. coworker Julian Cooper. At a field near Shanksville, Pa., which included the 40 passengers and crew of Flight 93, whose unselfish and heroic actions prevented the aircraft from its intended course toward the White House.

We must never forget those we lost on 9/11 or those who continue to struggle with illness related to that day. In remembering there is peace. We love our country; we are all proud Americans. Let’s thank our military members, veterans, and various agencies who are responsible for keeping our nation safe. God bless America.

Michael and Chrissy Skurecki, Dushore, Pa.

Being antiabortion is not the same as being pro-life. Pro-life means embracing all life issues — womb to tomb. That includes working to end poverty, lack of health care, hunger, and homelessness. It also includes being against the death penalty and war. Pro-life demands that we work to solve our gun problem before more children die in schools and more people die on our streets, in our stores, and in our places of worship.

Marie Conn, Hatboro

The trauma gun violence has inflicted upon a generation of our youth is unforgivable. Gun violence is tearing apart the fabric of our society. As voters, we need to hold our Republican legislators accountable for their inaction that has contributed to the deaths of so many innocent children and adults. I researched all of the Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey legislators’ voting records on gun bills over the past few years. Except for Senate Bill 907, mandating the presence of armed guards in schools, for which every Pennsylvania legislator voted yes, I found that every single Republican legislator in the three states voted no on every sensible gun bill. SB 907 isn’t sensible. Pennsylvania legislators’ voting records on firearms are easily accessible on ceasefirepa.org. Delaware and New Jersey voting records are not as easy to find. It would be helpful if The Inquirer would provide information on each candidate’s votes on gun issues.

Susan Baraldi, Lansdowne

Regardless of whether you support the 76ers arena or not, let’s understand that the team’s billionaire owners anticipate a profit windfall by relocating to Center City. Their hedge fund background is all about leverage, and the arena is simply leveraging Philadelphia. I implore our city decision-makers to flip the script here. If, as owners forecast, the positive economic impact is $1.5 billion to the city, let them underwrite any shortfall in their projections, let them take that risk. That would make these competing economic studies moot.

It would also be interesting to see the metrics the owners might agree to in such a scenario. That would provide city decision-makers excellent input as to whether the 76ers are negotiating in good faith or not. If the 76ers are so bullish on a downtown arena, this should be a bet they are willing to take. If the 76ers owners won’t agree to funding any shortfall, then we can assume the Center City arena is probably not a good economic bet for the city.

William F. Spang Jr., Philadelphia

An Inquirer front page last week told the story of hundreds of thousands of Israelis protesting and striking to force their government (led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) to make a cease-fire agreement. Since many in our media like to say that these kinds of protests are antisemitic, shouldn’t they be dealt with the same way our leaders dealt with protesters on college campuses? Seems odd that Israel’s government only considers protests in other countries antisemitic.

Joseph Obelcz, Hatfield, jjobelcz@gmail.com

The headline on the Sept. 2 Inquirer front page read, “Israelis erupt in protest after 6 more hostages die.” On Oct. 7, approximately 250 men and women were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. Among them were Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Alexander Lobanov, and Almog Sarusi. Their bodies were found in one of the tunnels that allegedly led to a child’s bedroom in Rafah. They were brutally murdered execution-style, shot in the back of their heads; they did not “die.” The word murder emphasizes the intentional and violent nature of their deaths, underscoring that their loss was not accidental but a result of deliberate and malicious actions. This phrasing serves to highlight the gravity of the crime, the suffering of the victims. We should understand the significant difference between those two words. As for the hostages, may their memories forever be a blessing.

Sandy Berenbaum, Richboro

I work at Northeast High School, and Keziah Ridgeway is an essential part of our learning community. I am concerned with what I see as the conflation of solidarity with Palestinians and antisemitism, and how this conflation is presented in the media. Although The Inquirer article regarding the complaint by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia against Ridgeway shares her response, it privileges the group’s false allegations.

I think it is important to remember where Ridgeway’s targeting began. Last year, at our annual Black History Month Assembly, students from Sudan made connections between the oppression they are experiencing with that of the Palestinian students at our school. It was a wonderful moment where students from different parts of the world made connections with each other and their people’s struggles for peace, safety, and self-determination. It was brief, it was appropriate, it was only a part of the program, and there was absolutely nothing antisemitic about what the students did or said.

Ridgeway is an incredible educator who supports students to understand the world they live in, make sense of its contradictions, and find their own truth. Our students need each other. They are our future and are inheriting a world fraught with violence, climate catastrophe, and uncertainty. The connections and community they can make in Ridgeway’s classes are the kinds of skills and learning that will be invaluable in their future. Ridgeway and her family deserve peace and dignity. I want to see reporting from The Inquirer that challenges the way she has been scapegoated and targeted. She is a thoughtful, hardworking, loving teacher and mother making sure her kids have the skills it takes to survive and thrive in a world that is quite frankly set on hurting them.

Beth Pulcinella, Philadelphia

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