Letters to the Editor | Oct. 22, 2023

The letters published Tuesday criticizing Penn donors for exercising their freedom of expression on how the university should handle the brutal slaying of more than 1,000 innocent people in Israel are both hypocritical and uninformed. Hypocritical: These writers are nowhere to be found when people espouse unpopular views with which they likely disagree. Are they in the Amy Wax fan club? I’m not either, but where’s their outrage in defense of her rights of expression? Uninformed: The donors didn’t claim the Palestine Writes festival (hateful and antisemitic as some of the speakers were) should have been “canceled.” Rather, that the university should state it doesn’t condone hate. That’s not a high bar. Indeed, none of the pro-Palestinian protests recently ever say much about Israel’s right to exist (much less exist in peace and without having to fear slaughter in their homes or at a concert). When you start speaking up about these crimes, perhaps you’ll find a larger audience — for being heard and understood is the corollary of free communication.

Matthew A. White, Philadelphia

I feel compelled to write to clarify apparent confusion about the word antisemitic. If one condemns anything or everything pertaining to Jewish people or the Jewish religion, one is being antisemitic. However, if one criticizes the current Israeli massacre of Gazans, one is condemning an action which is already declared illegal by the Geneva Conventions. I lament the tragic loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives resulting from the attack by Hamas, but not all Gazans belong to the military wing of Hamas, and they should not be suffering in retribution for what they did not condone. The best solution to this ongoing catastrophe is to form one democratic state in historic Palestine with equal rights and equal laws for all citizens without consideration of ethnicity or religion.

Mary Allen, Philadelphia

The Inquirer Editorial Board said it perfectly: “Every Philadelphian has a stake in Center City’s success.” Unfortunately, the board’s ideas to revitalize Center City are either not realistic or not actionable, such as convincing suburban employers to relocate. If only someone had an actual plan to spend $1 billion-plus of private funds to revitalize an area that houses an empty (and likely soon-to-be bankrupt) shopping mall. The proposed Sixers arena will bring more people into the city, create jobs, increase tax revenue, and revitalize an area that is a ghost town after dark. Hopefully, our new mayor and City Council also understand that revitalizing Center City is critical for all residents and will approve the arena and jump-start the revitalization.

Scott Applebaum, Philadelphia

I’d like to share Michael Schlossman’s optimism about Gov. Josh Shapiro’s ability to “fix” juvenile justice in Pennsylvania. But as his recent op-ed points out, we’ve been down this road before. In the 1970s, the death of a young inmate in an isolation room at Glen Mills Schools led to a complete overhaul of that institution. But then a few years ago, with Glen Mills having basically reverted to that same abusive environment, the place was closed. The problem was, those of us who had helped to bring about those reforms in the 1970s said, essentially, “Well, we took care of that one,” and went on to other pursuits. What is really needed, along with the changes Schlossman mentions, is effective oversight that will outlast one governor’s term in office.

Will Richan, Chester

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