Stop stalling, senators, and confirm Israel ambassador | Letters to the editor
A reader who's also a U.S. Senate candidate urges senators to quickly confirm President Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Israel.
It has been more than five weeks since President Joe Biden nominated Jack Lew as U.S. ambassador to Israel. And for all that time, Sen. Rick Scott has been silent while extremists like Sen. Ted Cruz held up critical nominations. Now, Israel has been brutally attacked by Hamas terrorists and the United States has no one in our embassy in Israel to spearhead diplomatic efforts.
Americans of both parties stand with Israel, but Israel needs more than words. It needs a direct line to its closest ally. Empty tweets aren’t enough.
I’m calling on Rick Scott to do his job as a senator and vote to confirm Jack Lew to be ambassador to Israel.
Israel is once again in a moment of existential need. This is no time for political games. Florida needs a senator who stands with Israel in words and deeds.
Brian Rush, Tampa
The writer is a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Florida and a former state representative.
(Editor’s Note: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 18 on Lew’s nomination. Scott is not on the committee, but Florida’s other senator, Marco Rubio, is).
Political calculations
Gov. Ron DeSantis never misses an opportunity to take advantage of anything that might bolster his sagging presidential candidacy.
All politicians practice this to varying degrees, but DeSantis, in his Trumpian way, must always seek to lead, as with his assertion that Florida will impose the toughest sanctions of all 50 states against Iran and other countries of concern. He says out loud that such a move is “symbolically important.” In other words, it sounds good and helps him look good.
For extra measure, he delivered that message at a Bal Harbour synagogue. I get it: Someone in his position is required to take a stand on such a horrific event. It’s just so predictable that it has to come with political calculations. He’s not alone in this practice, but he excels in its execution.
Alex Jimenez, Winter Park
From Sandy Hook to Parkland
Terrorism takes many forms. It was just another school day in Sandy Hook, Conn., when in seconds it became a massacre of children and teachers. No one knew what was happening when all of a sudden, the sounds of an assault weapon took their lives. We’ve done nothing to stop it.
People were listening to music in an outdoor theater in Las Vegas when the rat-a-tat-tat of an assault weapon made everyone run for cover, but still killed 58 innocent people. We’ve done nothing to stop it. At a high school in Parkland, on Valentine’s Day no less, 17 innocent lives were lost. A crowd at an Orlando nightclub was enjoying a night of fun when another mass shooting claimed 49 innocent lives.
Terrorism struck Israel by surprise, killing hundreds of innocent people with similar weapons. For Israel and the world, this unprovoked action warrants retaliation to end it once and for all. For those who lost loved ones, the hurt will never leave. Our hearts go out to the people of Israel. Fixing their problem is monumental. It must be addressed by everyone who wants a peaceful world, to preserve democracy. In the U.S., we have to fix our gun laws and prevent these weapons of war — and we can’t even do that.
Linda Gefen, Boca Raton
The politics of disruption
We elect members of Congress in Washington to represent our country, and they take an oath to uphold the Constitution. But it has been abundantly clear (I hope by now to everyone on both sides of the aisle), that a chosen few can disrupt the lives of so many hard-working men and women of our country.
At what point do we tell our members in Washington that it’s enough? Do your job. Stop acting like a spoiled child who didn’t get his way, because at the next election, you might no longer have a job.
Barbara Morris, Boca Raton