editorials
No ‘One Size Fits All’ in Protecting
Minorities T
he announcement that the Biden administration
is establishing an inter-agency group to
coordinate U.S. government efforts “to counter
antisemitism, Islamophobia, and related forms of
bias and discrimination,” shows that the White House
is interested in more than a ceremonial approach to
address antisemitism. That’s a good thing.

But the combination of so many different forms
of bias — antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black
hatred, anti-Asian hatred, homophobia, transpho-
bia and more — into a homogenized melting pot
of a response risks not adequately dealing with
the complexities of bias against any minority. The
announced approach smacks of trying to please
everyone. We are concerned that it will result in a
response that will please no one.

Each minority community that is a proven target
of the angry, resentful and mentally unbalanced
hate-mongers who are pumped up by the steady
drip of social-media content and loose gun laws is
different. Each is deserving of individualized atten-
tion and the development of a carefully tailored
approach and response. Jews are no exception.

The attacks on Jews continue, with no end in
sight. From spray-painted swastikas and antise-
mitic slogans to taunts, heckling and assaults of
Jewish children and adults on the streets of our
neighborhoods, each disturbing event triggers the
Jewish trauma that our community is not safe.

While we are pleased by the rise in government
dollars earmarked for communal security and the
increasing coordination between law enforcement
and the security monitoring arms of Jewish com-
munities, we worry that much more is needed.

Any plan of action must be based on accurate
information. But it now appears that those respon-
sible for keeping track of hate activity haven’t been
able to gather reliable numbers. The FBI, for exam-
ple, has been criticized for publishing incomplete
data on hate crimes. Thus, the FBI reported a drop in
antisemitic acts in 2021, while the ADL reported an
alarming rise in such activities during the same time.

It turns out that the reason for the disconnect
is simple. The FBI relies on voluntary reports from
law-enforcement agencies. But several major law-en-
forcement regions, including Los Angeles County,
New York, Miami and Chicago, did not submit data for
2021. It is therefore no surprise that without reports
from the very areas where most American Jews live,
the FBI compilations cannot be accurate.

Government officials have explained that many
states and law-enforcement agencies failed to
report on bias and hate activity properly or at all
after a shift to a new reporting system. That means
that the problem of antisemitism is worse than offi-
cials thought and probably closer to what we feel
in our bones. And the same is almost certainly true
for other minorities who are suffering from rising
bias and attacks.

The bureaucratic blunder is disturbing. Even with
the best of intentions, government cannot solve a
problem that it doesn’t fully understand. And with
the White House now proposing to deal with all
forms of bias generically — rather than with delib-
erate focus on each minority community that is
being targeted — we worry that the individualized
and singular needs of each minority community,
including the Jewish one, will not be addressed
sufficiently. That would not be good for anyone. JE
The United Nations, Disappointment
and Irrelevance
W e have long been critical of the world body
known as the United Nations.

Born of a noble purpose as an intergovernmen-
tal organization created to maintain international
peace and security, develop friendly relations
among nations, promote social progress, better
living standards and human rights, achieve inter-
national trust and cooperation, and be a center for
the harmonization of actions and relations among
the countries of the world, the United Nations we
know today is a mere shadow of the lofty institu-
tion it was designed to be. Chief among the reasons
for its failure are the institution’s astonishing lack
of honor and honesty.

The list of U.N. disappointments is long. Two
more occurred over the last few weeks and have
been largely ignored. Perhaps the lack of protest
or comment reflects the irrelevance of the world
body. Perhaps it reflects the futility of criticism.

Most likely, it’s because no one really cares what
the United Nations says or does.

On April 26, Israel will mark its 75th birthday.

That will be a day of great celebration in Israel and
12 DECEMBER 22, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
throughout the Diaspora. But the anniversary will
not be recognized by the United Nations. Instead,
earlier this month, the U.N. General Assembly
voted to commemorate the same day as the 75th
anniversary of the Nakba — the Palestinian term
for catastrophe or disaster — the day that marks
the destruction of Palestinian society and its
homeland that led to the establishment of Israel.

The Nakba Resolution was passed by a vote of 90
in favor, 30 against and 47 abstentions.

Most commentary on the vote has focused on the
lopsided number of countries who voted in favor,
including Israel’s two-faced peace and prosperity
Abraham Accords dance partners, and the stalwart
support of most Western and European Union mem-
bers for the Jewish state, who voted against. We
agree with those comments. But we are bothered
by the 47 abstentions. What is it about this vote that
led to the wobbly-kneed refusal of 47 countries to
take a principled position? And why is it that Ukraine
— a country begging for hard-core Israel support for
its war effort — didn’t even cast a vote?
And speaking of Ukraine, there’s the upcoming,
much-anticipated report of U.N. Secretary-General
António Guterres about Iran’s compliance with the
2015 nuclear deal. In typical, unprincipled U.N. fash-
ion, the secretary-general has yielded to pressure
from Russia not to address the issue of Iran supply-
ing Russia with drones for the war in Ukraine.

Under U.N. Resolution 2231, Iran is prohib-
ited from transferring long-range, payload-laden
drones, like the ones it has provided to support
Russia’s war effort. Russia denies it is using Iranian
drones. Iran admits sending some drones but says
they were sent before the Ukraine war started
in late February. Western states say they have
definitive evidence that both Russia and Iran are
lying, and are demanding a U.N. investigation. The
secretary-general says he won’t conduct an inves-
tigation into compliance issues unless the Security
Council authorizes it. Russia is a permanent mem-
ber of the Security Council with veto power over
such a directive.

So, nothing will happen. And the United Nations
will continue its disappointing tradition of irrele-
vance. JE



opinions & letters
Trump for
Sale T
here seems to be no limit to former president and
current candidate for president Donald Trump’s
narcissism. Nor does there appear to be any limit to his
quest for cash.

In a video posted last week on Truth Social, Trump
promised that he would soon make a “major announce-
ment.” Speculation regarding the announcement ranged
from his possible return to Twitter, a run for speaker of
the House or the formation of a third party to compete
with Republicans and Democrats. But the consensus was
that the “major announcement” would have something
to do with Trump’s announced candidacy for president
in 2024.

But that wasn’t it. Instead, the very next day Trump
announced an online store to sell $99 digital trading
cards of himself as a superhero, a sheriff, an astronaut,
a fighter pilot and a mix of other fantastical figures. The
45,000 Trump action figure nonfungible tokens (NFTs)
sold out in one day. The estimated haul was $4.45 mil-
lion, plus a percentage of any later sales on secondary
markets. But not a penny of sales proceeds will go to the
Trump campaign. Instead, the revenue will go directly
into Trump’s pocket.

His NFT sale announcement was classic hucksterism,
peppered with traditional Trump self-aggrandizement.

Ranging from claims that his years as president were
“better than Lincoln, better than Washington” and prom-
ising buyers of his NFTs that they would be entered into a
series of small-print limited sweepstakes to meet Trump
one-on-one, golf at one of his properties or receive a
ticket to a gala at a Trump resort, the sales schpiel had all
the charm of a Ronco late-night TV pitch for a Vegematic.

Trump critics were gleeful. Supporters were embar-
rassed. Critics claimed to be vindicated as Trump’s
NFT-gate served as further evidence of the man’s self-ab-
sorption and lack of seriousness. Supporters struggled
to contain themselves and to avoid criticizing Trump
himself for the NFT misstep. Instead, they pummeled
his “advisers” and urged the firing of whatever clowns
orchestrated the whole plan or wrote the embarrassing
copy of the Trump sales pitch.

We join the critics. While there is nothing wrong with
Trump trying to make money, we still expect a level of
dignity and restraint in how the man seeking the highest
office in the land conducts himself. We know that Trump
has never felt constrained by convention. And we know
that he views himself exempt from behavioral or other
limitations observed by most others who seek public
office. But the over-reaching nature of this effort — with
Trump literally promoting himself as a cartoon character
just to line his own pockets — seems to go too far.

Nonetheless, given the mounting legal challenges
Trump is facing and the extraordinary legal fee charges
he will be receiving in the months ahead, maybe it’s not
such a bad idea for him to do anything he can to make
some money. JE
Ban Gas-Powered
Leaf Blowers
By Rabbi Beth Janus and Seth Lieberman
R eds, yellows and oranges burst out and dance
around us as fall arrives in Philadelphia. But
soon after this vibrant display of beauty, the roars of
gas-powered leaf blowers seize our attention.

Several weeks ago, we read the story of creation
from Genesis. Here we learn one of our first com-
mandments, “The Holy One of blessing took the first
earthling and placed them in the Garden of Eden, to
serve it and to care for it.” Living on a healthy planet
is crucial for our wellbeing and the survival of all of
God’s creation. This obligation to serve and care for the
Garden of Eden, with its Tree of Life, prompts us to ask
how we are caring for our current corner of the planet.

When our beloved trees lose their leaves, do we
respond in a way that shows care for our Earth?
Too often, we respond with gas-powered leaf blow-
ers. As they work, they unleash carbon monoxide,
nitrous oxides and carcinogenic hydrocarbons into
the air that surrounds us, dramatically contributing
to climate change. Our holy texts provide Jews with
a vital moral perspective. During this time of climate
crisis, our voices need to be amplified.

Climate scientists tell us that we need to reduce
emissions drastically if we are to achieve the goal
of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

After 1.5 degrees, irreversible events will occur.

These catastrophic events will affect us all but
especially those with fewer resources.

While curbing climate change can seem over-
whelming and complex, there are concrete steps
we can take immediately that will have a measur-
able effect. Alongside Washington, D.C., Seattle
and more than 170 municipalities in the country,
Philadelphia can join the growing consensus that
phasing out gas leaf blowers will significantly
reduce carbon emissions.

A 2011 study by the car review company Edmunds
found that using one gas leaf blower for 30 minutes
generated more hydrocarbon emissions than driv-
ing a Ford Raptor pickup truck from Philadelphia
to Juneau, Alaska! Transitioning to electric blowers
immediately reduces the harm.

The Jewish value to protect the earth is clear, but
it is just one of the reasons to ban these polluting
machines. We also share the value of protecting
our community’s residents. The Mishnah teaches us
in Bava Batra 2:8,9 that we must distance animal
carcasses, graves, threshing floors and tanneries
from a city because all of these harm air quality and
residents’ health.

Gas blowers emit up to one third of the oil and
gas used to power them. These emissions cause
asthma, cancer and cardiovascular conditions for
those who live in places where they are used. They
are especially harmful for the workers who strap on
the blowers and must breathe their fumes all day
long. Many of these workers are low-wage immi-
grants who have little choice in what they do to
earn a living.

The simplest and quickest solution is to transition
to electric leaf blowers. We are used to seeing pow-
erful electric vehicles, and the same technology is
widely deployed for both commercial and consumer
leaf blowers. Because of the widespread ban of gas
blowers, the technology is readily available and pos-
itively reviewed by publications such as Wirecutter.

Electric blowers are significantly quieter than gas
ones, and their engines generate zero emissions.

Because the cost of operating battery equipment is
low, the costs will be recouped on average within 10
months. Phasing out gas blowers over a few years
allows landscapers time to plan.

As United Nations Secretary General Antonio
Guterres said at the COP27 conference in November,
“Human activity is the cause of the climate problem.

So human action must be the solution. It is a moral
imperative. We need all hands on deck for faster,
bolder climate action.”
Our Jewish values can power our actions to
address causes of climate change. Join our campaign
to ban gas powered blowers in Philadelphia … we
can protect ourselves, the planet and landscape
workers. Sign our petition at QuietCleanPhilly.org. JE
Rabbi Beth Janus is a Reform rabbi living and working in
Philadelphia. She is a member of the Germantown Jewish
Centre’s Green Team. Seth Lieberman is a member of
the Germantown Jewish Centre’s Green Team and runs
Leadership Breakthroughs, a firm developing scientific and
medical leaders. He is a cofounder of QuietCleanPhilly.

letters Archbishop Sends Holiday Greeting
Together with the people of the Archdiocese of
Philadelphia, I extend prayerful best wishes as
you prepare to celebrate the Festival of Lights in
all of its beauty.

As you light the menorah and recall the glory
of the Temple’s rededication, may you be filled
you with joy and hope. May this Chanukah also
strengthen the bonds of love and affection you
share with family and friends.

Shalom Aleichem! JE
Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez., Archbishop of Philadelphia
Letters should be related to articles that have run in the
print or online editions of the JE, and may be edited for
space and clarity prior to publication. Please include your
first and last name, as well your town/neighborhood of
residence. Send letters to letters@jewishexponent.com.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 13