Letters to the Editor: We have the wrong leaders for fighting anti-Semitic violence

To the editor: Let’s call the recent deadly attacks on Jews what they are: pogroms.

Many Jews are from families who came to these shores “yearning to breathe free” and escape anti-Semitism. Growing up Jewish in Los Angeles, I never had a thought about being afraid to go to synagogue. Now I fear for my granddaughters and for all of us.

What has changed? I think a good leader sets the tone and morals of the country, but unfortunately we do not have such a mensch at the helm. That it took him 16 hours to condemn this latest violence is unacceptable.

Esther Friedberg, Studio City

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To the editor: Well, I guess it’s good to know that House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) thinks “anti-Semitism is wrong.” That sets a new high bar.

For the record, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) was wrong in his equivocating remarks on designating attacks like the one in New York domestic terrorism. Laws do not make a “police state.”

According to what he apparently thinks, we should rescind laws against bank robbery. After all, we’re a “big, wide-open, pluralistic country.”

Barry Davis, Agoura Hills

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To the editor: As an American Jew, I am of course disturbed by the rising violent attacks against Jewish people and others in our country. We were created as a nation based partly on religious freedoms. That is being seriously eroded now.

I’ve long thought bigotry and anti-Semitism are fostered at home, damaging multitudes of youth. I’ve also long held the belief that every middle school in America should annually screen Stephen Spielberg’s timeless treasure “Schindler’s List.”

Just maybe such an educational experience would have a positive effect on our next generation and beyond.

Ted Lux, Playa del Rey