editorials
I n a 5-4 ruling last week, the Supreme Court
blocked the lifting of a Trump-era Title 42
order on immigration, which left in place the
federal directive that has been used to prevent
the entry of millions of asylum seekers at the
southern border.

The Biden administration promised to lift Title
42 — a public-health-based order implemented
at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, which
has been used by both the Trump and the Biden
administrations to expel more than 2 million
migrants on public health grounds. While the
Immigration activists demonstrate in front of the Supreme
Biden administration outwardly sought to termi-
Court in Washington on April 26, 2022.

nate the rule, it is actually breathing a grateful
sigh of relief at the Supreme Court’s Title 42 exten- overwhelmed border states.

sion. That’s because the administration hasn’t yet
The last time this country made a serious eff ort at
developed a plan to handle the mounting mass of immigration reform was in 2005, in a bill co-sponsored
migrants gathering along the U.S.-Mexican border and by Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen.

seeking asylum or other grounds to enter America.

Ted Kennedy. Their eff ort was supported by President
The United States is the destination of choice for George W. Bush. But the bill never got a vote in the
tens of thousands of people from Latin America Senate. Eighteen years later, as the demand for entry
who are fl eeing violence, gangs, poverty, corruption from the south has increased many-fold, there is still
and the depravity of their own governments. But no answer. Everyone acknowledges the problem.

we have no comprehensive plan in place to deal
The most aff ected states in this mess are
with the ever-growing immigration demands. And, Republican-led. And the stunts from those states
even with Title 42 in place, the migration wave has — like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sending two
Trump’s Tax Returns
L ate last month, following a successful multi-year
battle over the right to see former President
Donald Trump’s tax returns, a House panel voted
along party lines to release several years of those
tax returns to the public. The returns were released
on Dec. 30, just days before Democrats will turn
over control of the House of Representatives to
Republicans. Reactions were predictable. Republicans called
the move a vindictive, partisan cheap shot, wholly
inconsistent with historical practice. And they said
the move would result in retaliation against President
Joe Biden and other Democrats when Republicans
take control of the House. Democrats claimed that
the release of the returns was “in the public interest,”
arguing that American citizens have a right to know
fi nancial information about their president and his
claims of wealth and fi nancial success.

When the House Ways and Means Committee
fi rst sought copies of Trump’s tax returns several
years ago, it argued that it needed them to help craft
10 JANUARY 5, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
legislation regarding the Internal Revenue Service’s
presidential audit program. The committee was also
troubled by the fact that Trump refused to release
his returns when running for president or while in
offi ce, as had become the tradition since the Nixon
administration. But those past disclosures were all voluntary — as
there is no law that requires presidential candidates
or those in offi ce to make those disclosures. Trump’s
decision not to release his tax returns — despite
repeated, vocal demands that he do so — was a polit-
ical risk he was willing to take. He got elected anyhow.

The Ways and Means Committee may be right that
changes are necessary in the IRS’ presidential audit
program. And the issues of regular audits of presi-
dential tax returns and the mandatory disclosure of
tax returns and other fi nancial information by those
seeking the presidency may be appropriate issues
for consideration going forward. We can even accept
the argument that the committee needed access to
Trump’s returns in order to help evaluate the need for
planeloads of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in
Massachusetts in September and Texas Gov.

Greg Abbott sending three busloads of migrants
to Washington, D.C., on Christmas — are off en-
sive. But the off -putting moves by Southern
governors are driven by genuine frustration.

Their states are unable to cope with the many
challenges presented by rising migrant numbers,
and there is no federal plan to help.

Nearly two years ago, President Joe Biden
appointed Vice President Kamala Harris as his
“border czar” to tackle the immigration crisis. We
don’t know what the vice president has done
regarding that assignment. But we do know that
since Biden took offi ce in 2021, we have seen increas-
ing levels of migrant crossings, further inundating a
border already heavily strained by irregular migration
and an overwhelmed asylum-processing system. It is
clear that the longer the problem is not addressed with
a comprehensive plan, the worse it is going to get.

The Supreme Court bought the administration some
additional time to get its immigration act together. We
call on the administration to develop an updated,
comprehensive and realistic immigration policy. If
the vice president can’t lead that eff ort, then fi nd
someone who can. ■
such legislation.

But we are hard-pressed to understand how any of
those considerations justify the public disclosure of
Trump’s tax returns for the period of 2015-20. Instead,
it is pretty clear that the primary purpose for the
disclosures was a purely political eff ort to embarrass
the former president.

Yet here, too, reactions to the disclosed information
were mixed, with Trump critics claiming that it shows
him to be a terrible businessman, a tax cheat and
worse, and others accepting of Trump’s claims that he
took advantage of legitimate, legal loopholes to allow
him to avoid signifi cant tax payments. We leave that
analysis to others.

What bothers us is the precedent. In our hyper-po-
larized political environment, the Democrats on the
House Ways and Means Committee have invited a
tit-for-tat response from Republicans. That is not a
good thing. We urge Congress to rise above petty
partisanship and to respect personal privacy, even of
their political rivals. ■
Bill Clark/Newscom
Where Is the Progress on Immigration
Reform?



opinions & letters
Menorahs on Public Property
Can Lead to Trouble
S Judit Zengovari/Minty / AdobeStock
Paul L. Newman
ome Jews were beaming
with pride that there were
large displays of Chanukah
menorahs on public property in
prominent locations in cities across
America and around the world.

Sometimes, non-Jewish politi-
cal leaders were given the honor
of lighting these large religious
displays. I, for one, am not happy, but
before anyone burns a Jewish star
on my lawn or calls me a Jewish
Grinch, allow me to explain.

I’m not opposed to Chabad
leading a menorah parade through Center City, as
it’s akin to parades organized by other groups, both
religious and secular. Nor am I against Chabad, the
group that’s universally behind these PDJ (public
displays of Judaism), but I am against placing a
menorah on public property.

In the past, Chabad has been involved in multiple
lawsuits in several cities as to whether it can erect
a menorah on public property. The Supreme Court
ruled that a menorah, like a Christmas tree, is not a
religious symbol, and therefore can be erected on
public property.

One doesn’t have to be a rabbi or a constitutional
law expert to know that a menorah is not a secular
object. One can celebrate Christmas without a
Christmas tree, however, it’s nearly impossible to
celebrate Chanukah without a menorah of some kind
to hold the candles/oil.

Furthermore, the menorah reminds Jews of the
miracle that occurred after the Maccabees captured
the Second Temple. A mere day’s worth of pure oil,
used to light the Second Temple’s menorah, miracu-
lously lasted eight days.

The menorah was so representative of Judaism
that an image of one, stolen by Jerusalem’s Roman
conquerors, was carved into Rome’s Arch of Titus.

It’s challenging to fi nd a synagogue that doesn’t
employ a menorah image carved into its building,
depict one in its stained glass or possess a large
replica inside its sanctuary. After Israel was founded,
a menorah was selected as the emblem of Israel.

Some may wonder why I, a proud Jew, would
seemingly be against the prominent public display of
this Jewish religious symbol.

I grew up in Cincinnati with a Jewish
population that’s less than
10% of Philadelphia’s. Thirty
years ago, Chabad insisted on
placing a large menorah on the
main square of Cincinnati. Soon
thereafter, the local Ku Klux
demanded the right to erect
its cross on Fountain Square.

Despite objections from a
host of Cincinnati community
leaders, including the Rev. Fred
Shuttlesworth, federal courts
permitted the Klan cross to be
erected on Fountain Square.

Luckily, “good vandals”
destroyed it every time it was
erected and re-erected. In
1995, the KKK won a Supreme Court case allowing
it to erect its symbol of hate on the lawn of Ohio’s
state capital after Chabad was permitted to erect a
menorah there.

Moreover, it’s religiously incongruent that America’s
non-Jewish presidents and mayors, like Jim Kenney,
have been honored with lighting a Chanukah menorah.

I understand their being invited to attend a ceremony
and respectfully watching the event, but there’s
something fundamentally not kosher with non-Jewish
offi ceholders leading a Jewish ritual.

Chabad has done much good. The 1972 Jewish
Catalog listed fewer than 100 Chabad centers in
America and a mere handful worldwide. Today, there
are more than 3,500 Chabad centers across America
and around the world. Chabad has provided welcom-
ing places for unaffi liated Jews to reconnect with
their Judaism.

Chabad locations also serve as safe havens for
Jews traveling to the most remote parts of the world.

A friend’s daughter is alive today because a Chabad
rabbi rescued her from a fi lthy third-world Laotian
hospital and brought her to Bangkok for proper
treatment. She wouldn’t be alive today without that
Chabad rabbi.

The explosive growth of antisemitism and the
ability of the KKK or another hate group to be legally
protected in erecting symbols of hate on public
property cement my feeling that the Supreme Court
erred in its multiple decisions on menorahs. ■
Paul L. Newman of Merion Station is an amateur
historian of African American history working on a
miniseries docudrama on the African American civil
rights movement of the fi rst half of the 20th century.

letters Dignity, Trump Like Oil and Water
It was written in “Trump for Sale” (Dec. 22) that
someone “expected a level of dignity and restraint
in how the man seeking he highest offi ce in the land
conducts himself.” Sorry, but dignity and restraint are
characteristics unknown to Donald Trump.

It was also suggested that “Trump literally promot-
ing himself as a cartoon character just to line his
own pockets — seems to go too far.” Really? Trump
already went too far many decades ago, as he lied,
cheated and deceived his way to the funds of other
people — those who made the mistake of trust-
ing him — and others who, either purposefully or
unknowingly, “went along for the ride” on the Trump
train. His despicable, soon-to-be-clearly-demon-
strated illegal behavior has been out there for all to
see for his entire life.

Surely, we can’t be noticing just now that he is
nothing more than a common criminal, a loser and
a weak and fundamentally dishonest lowlife (his
words, not mine). Indeed, there is nothing wrong
with anyone “trying to make money,” but surely not
deceitfully, on the backs of others.

Frank Friedman, Delanco, New Jersey
Why Publish Editorial?
Is there some good reason you published this “Trump
for Sale” editorial (Dec. 22)? Does it have to do with
any Jewish cause?
I found it to be a most disrespectful and incon-
sequential piece of writing, no matter where your
politics lie. I would not be surprised to be reading it
in the National Enquirer in line at the supermarket.

Do you think you could fi nd something less partisan
to comment on? As much as Trump’s popularity has
dropped, it seems as though the people that dislike
him cannot get enough of him!
I thought the Exponent under new management
was changing. This was an extremely substandard
piece of writing, and I hope you did not get any false
satisfaction from writing it. ■
Ellyn Katz-Levy, Bryn Mawr
SEND US LETTERS
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 publi-
cation. Please include your fi rst and last name, as well your town/neigh-
borhood of residence. Send letters to letters@jewishexponent.com.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 11