I was Elie Wiesel’s assistant. He would never compare Israel’s war to Hamas’ terrorism | Opinion

‘Massacre’ wrong

Kate Murphy portrays herself as a student of Elie Wiesel in her Nov. 2 commentary, “On Israel-Hamas war, I must share Elie Wiesel’s lesson.” (11A) But the lessons she says she learned do not represent what I learned from him — as a student privileged to be in his classroom for 10 years from 1978 to 1988, his assistant for eight of those, editor of five books associated with his life and teachings and currently the Project Scholar of the Elie Wiesel Living Archive.

By fighting a war against Hamas, Israel is trying to eradicate a terrorist organization — one which, in Wiesel’s words, “champions death.” As he stated in 2014 in a full page ad in The New York Times and other newspapers, Hamas is a “death cult,” ready and willing to massacre the innocent, including children, to achieve its goals. One of the goals, spelled out in the Hamas charter, is to eliminate the state of Israel.

In contrast, Israel, notes Wiesel, “celebrates life” — meaning, in the course of waging war, it does whatever it can to avoid injuring or killing the innocent.

To imply that professor Wiesel would endorse attributing the word “massacre” to Israel’s war against Hamas is thus not only misleading and twisted but, as his words make clear, in no way faithful to his teachings.

- Avraham Rosen, Jerusalem, Israel

Reliable reads

My compliments to witty “Snarky in the Suburbs” writer Sherry Kuehl. (Nov. 5, 5A, “November brings along a few of her favorite ‘famous’ things”) I look forward to reading her columns. Her humor is captivating. She is a welcome addition to lighten my mood.

Keep adding fun items like this. We can all use a good laugh to start our day

- M.J. Phillips, Lake Winnebago

Drug danger

Thank you so much for the Nov. 5 front-page project “Deadly Dose” about people from this area who have died from fentanyl. I appreciate the various sides the problem presented in your stories.

My son Brian Morris Brown died of an accidental fentanyl overdose on April 25, 2021, one month shy of his 23rd birthday. As the story stated, he chose to do drugs but did not choose to die. Also, the coverage presented the victims as more than their bad choices.

My son was an Eagle Scout, soccer player, former high school marching band member and an animal rescuer. My memorial to him is to raise money every year for the Boonville High School Band Boosters. It won’t bring him back, but it will keep his memory alive for me and the Boonville band community.

It is horrible to lose a loved one to fentanyl. I hope the law enforcement community takes their deaths seriously and actively pursue the dealers, just as they pursue drunken drivers who kill people.

To the other families of fentanyl deaths: May you find your own way to remember your loved ones. Take care.

- Julie A. Brown, Boonville, Missouri

Get it together

Somehow, a brutal reality is getting lost in the continuing circus that is the Republican-led House of Representatives. We risk losing the world’s trust in our national commitments. Not supporting Ukraine with military and humanitarian aid should be unthinkable.

Ukraine’s fight for freedom has cost it at least 9,700 civilian deaths and 18,000 wounded. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley has said more than 100,000 Ukrainian troops have probably been killed or injured as well. The country has also suffered the trauma of 5 million of its citizens fleeing for safety.

We must stand by our commitments to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The cost, though large, is less than 1% of the current national debt. Bipartisan resolve is required now, not costly government shutdowns or continued political infighting.

- Steve Glover, Lenexa

Follow through

The following is a copy of a letter I sent to all U.S. representatives from Missouri. I encourage all readers to do likewise:

So far this year, there have been more than 500 mass shootings in the United States. What do you plan to do to stem this tide?

- Debra Sipes, Independence