Into the Mind-Set
Springs
January 18, 2025
To the Editor,
Creative, smart cover shot of cinema, somewhat listless, personnel changing letters on the marquee by Carissa Katz is really fun. Shows great creativity of the photographer to recognize and capture mundane process and The Star to celebrate it, as opposed to say, sledding. And thought-provoking in many ways: How do they organize the letters? They must misspell occasionally? (Then what? Are they dreading that day?)
If I could add, that the melancholy and candid “Guestwords” piece by Lora Rene Tucker was great. Really got into the mind-set of how the holidays’ “triangle” (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s — I would throw in that decadent Halloween, too) can be defeating, especially as we age.
At 65, she is not young but not quite old, stuck in contemplative funk of her life, as we all have been at some point; as blown or lost opportunities loom larger because they’re not coming back and more bad things than good are surely to come. The author finally finds some solace in favorite old blues tunes: Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday, etc., and pushes out of debilitating writer’s block.
JEFF NICHOLS
Out of Nowhere
East Hampton
January 20, 2025
Dear David,
There’s a missionary named Martha who is now in the Hamptons. Staying here and there. She told me she’s here not so much to make converts: “I came here to pray for the sick and elderly.”
Martha came out of nowhere Saturday morning as I was parked on Main Street in Amagansett. She was wearing purple snowpants and a matching down coat. Her fanny pack was green. She appeared at my car window so suddenly that I was startled.
Knocking on my window she hollered, “Would you happen to be going to East Hampton?” I nodded my head. Martha asked if I could drive her, adding, “I’m a missionary.” She was probably in her mid-40s, and I had thought maybe her car broke down. No, she was traveling the world without any mode of transportation. Martha had no bags except the fanny pack.
I answered, “Okay, as long as you don’t rob me.” She didn’t catch the irony, thanked me effusively, and got into the car.
As she belted in, I told her she wasn’t going to convert me. “I’m Jewish,” I said. Martha answered, “Oh, I love Jewish people. Jesus was Jewish, you know.” Martha had a positive vibe and seemed normal and called my dog a “sweet baby.”
I agreed that “Jesus was one of the greatest Jews of all time. He went into his father’s business.” Martha exclaimed that this was true: “He does do his father’s business!” She then explained how her pastor was from Brooklyn, just like me. Martha told me that the Old Testament foretold Christ.
She also told me she didn’t visit hospitals to tend to the sick, saying without explanation that she didn’t want to go into “that lion’s den.”
Just as we arrived at Starbucks, Martha wondered whether I would mind driving her over to Sag Harbor. I couldn’t because I was headed home. She thanked me nonetheless.
As she unbelted she asked if I could give her a donation. I handed her $10.
She said, “God Bless you, Spencer,” and got out of the car. I felt a little richer for the experience.
Sincerely,
SPENCER L. SCHNEIDER
Increased Risk
East Hampton
January 18, 2025
Dear Editor,
Eating meat is no longer just about heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. It’s about dementia, too!
A study of 133,000 United States men and women tracked for more than 40 years concluded that consumption of processed meat products leads to increased risk of dementia and reduced cognition. The study was published last week in the prestigious journal Neurology.
Another study that tracked half a million United Kingdom adults over eight years found that daily consumption of an ounce of processed meat was associated with a 44 percent higher risk of developing dementia and a 52 percent higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. That study was published five years ago in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Ready relief is offered by our supermarkets in their rich selection of legumes, nuts, grains, soy products, and other natural protein-rich plant foods. The American Heart Association provides more details on its website heart.org.
Sincerely,
EDWIN HORATH
For Caregivers
Montauk
January 19, 2025
To the Editor,
Some adults are taking care of other adults who may be suffering from some form of dementias, chronic illness, or cancer. The 36 hours they spend each day throughout the course of their loved ones’ illnesses make them caregivers. Invariably, the single caregiver burns out. What will then happen to the “patient” if the caregiver is no longer there?
Our meetings provide other caregivers, who have faced and may have solved the same problems you are facing. Anger, lack of social interaction, wandering, showering, and unsafe driving are a few of the problems often faced.
Our meetings are the last Friday of the month at 1:30 in the Family Service League office at 316-51 Accabonac Road, East Hampton. Meetings are free. Call for directions (631-324-3344) or for information (631-668-2498).
DAN BRIGANTI
Pet Essentials
Springs
January 20, 2025
Dear David,
I recently became aware of a disturbing situation. It seems the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, our local animal rescue center, has decided to stop distributing free food and cat litter to needy recipients. Instead it has offered merely dry kibble for those with cat companions.
The cost of pet essentials such as food and litter is considerable. For those on limited or fixed incomes it can be an obstacle to being able to care for cats who have become an essential, integral part of those people’s families, making it necessary to surrender their pets to ARF for adoption.
For those who live alone, animals can be a connection to life that would otherwise be absent. Studies have shown how animal companionship decreases loneliness and depression, and even extends longevity.
ARF gives little or no explanation for its change in policy, telling one recipient that there simply wasn’t “as much kindness going around.”
I find this unacceptable, given the support ARF has in this generous community. Why not hold a dedicated fund-raiser to establish a fund for supplying essentials such as canned food and litter to those in need of them?
Rather than accepting this apparently new shortage of kindness, I believe it is incumbent upon ARF to find a solution. If it’s financial, a fund-raiser would solve the problem. If it’s simply a policy change without monetary justification, the implicit judgement and lack of consideration for those pet owners who have come to rely on ARF’s previous generosity is completely unacceptable and deeply concerning.
Semper fi,
JOSEPH GIANNINI
Can Happen Again
East Hampton
January 9, 2025
To the Editor,
Seeing burning, seeing devastation is not the same as smelling it, feeling it, or tasting it in our water. Some say it’s what people deserve or that they should have expected it. Won’t people say the same of us? Primo Levi, who’d seen atrocities close up, wrote, “It happened, therefore it can happen again.”
We live in Northwest Woods, and the pine barrens are close to all of us. But we have insurance, right? But is there a guarantee that there will always be insurance companies at this rate?
It is inconvenient that at this time of ongoing crisis we will soon have a leader not singing “This Land Is Your Land” but instead pines for Greenland.
TOM MACKEY
Annex Canada
East Hampton
January 20, 2025
Dear David,
Oh Canada!
I could not be in greater agreement with President Trump’s perceived mandate to annex Canada as our 51st state. I can only hope that our friends to the north agree.
We should tempt Mr. Trump with the utter stupidity of the idea, because that would just egg him on as the self-proclaimed smartest person in the room. From the other side of the aisle, it’s an ingenious plan to revamp the houses of Congress.
The latest Canadian census puts the Canadian population at a bit north of 40 million Canadians — all of whom would be new United States citizens. That translates into more than 50 new seats in the House of Representatives (the current calculus is that every 775,000 residents are granted a new congressional district), giving this Canadian bloc significant influence over the House agenda, leaving aside whether or not it would shift the House leadership to the Democratic Party.
I would assume that the prime minister would be the appropriate person to nominate at least two senators (assuming a unitary Canadian state, as opposed to splitting it into its constituent provinces). One can only imagine that the nominees would be from Democratic-leaning constituencies (like Montreal or Toronto), which would fundamentally affect the G.O.P. majority.
On top of that, what are the chances of Trump learning French?
I’m all in: allons-y!
Sincerely,
BRUCE COLBATH
Hopes Are for Peace
Springs
January 20, 2025
To the Editor,
A very serendipitous series of events came together this week: the inauguration of Donald Trump and the exit from the presidency by Joe and Jill Biden on the same day we honor the legacy of Martin Luther King.
In a speech while visiting the week before he was assassinated, Dr. King spoke at the Rabbinical Assembly in the Catskills of New York. He said: “I simply want to confront a crisis in our nation. . . . Our priorities are confused, our purposes are confused and there must be a reordering of priorities, policies, and purpose.”
He responded to a question about race, color, and antisemitism that applies to everyone by saying, “. . . for [people] to be struggling for justice and then turn around and be antisemitic is not only a very irrational course but it is a very immoral course.”
Dr. King never shied away from difficult questions or failed to answer them morally. He went on to share his wider thoughts on the Middle East, saying that what is needed above all else is peace. He elaborated with these words:
“Peace for Israel means security and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel, and never mind saying it, as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land almost can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. ”
As we witness the peaceful transfer of power in our country all our hopes are for peace — everywhere. The last four years have been tumultuous, upsetting, dangerous, and full of discord and divisiveness. Let’s hope that 2025 begins a period of cooperation and peace. If we keep this in mind, we will really be honoring the dream of Rev. King and the promise of a strong, united America. And as Dr. King said about Israel, “Peace means security and that security must be a reality.” Let’s hope and work to help make peace a reality for us all.
DONALD SUSSIS
Owes Readers More
Sag Harbor
January 19, 2025
To the Editor,
The East Hampton Star owes its readers more truthful product than contained in the recent “Guestwords” twaddle written by Jeff Gewert, “Beautiful People in an Ugly World,” and his follow-up letter. We cannot possibly respond to all the deceptions peddled by Mr. Gewert, but let us take a stab at a few.
First, in polling, 80 percent of these beautiful people have supported Hamas, a terrorist organization dedicated to the murder of Jews and the elimination of Israel.
Second, his praise for Rashid Khalidi ignores the fact that Khalidi is widely known to insist that Israel has no right to exist in what he says is Palestine, ignoring the history of Jewish people being indigenous to the land of modern Israel from time immemorial.
And, thirdly, he irresponsibly ignores the irrefutable proof of the rape, immolation, and slaughter of innocent Israelis on Oct. 7 by Hamas terrorists. Why would The Star allow this libel to be published?
DAVID SAXE
MITCHELL AGOOS
East End Jews for Israel
Blamed the Victim
Amagansett
January 17, 2025
To the Editor:
I am writing to correct a wildly wrongful statement Jim Vrettos made in last week’s letters column, which I hope was driven by ignorance, not malice: “Norman Finkelstein [was] denied tenure at DePaul University.” Omigosh. Professor Finkelstein, an outspoken scholarly critic of Israel, was supported for tenure by his department and the school’s personnel committee, the venerable American Association of University Professors, and DePaul students, who staged a hunger strike. He was opposed by Alan Dershowitz, already a notorious schoolyard bully and demagogue, who had no connection to DePaul but had announced a campaign to prevent Professor Finkelstein from achieving tenure.
The denial of tenure by the panicked university resulted in a settlement with Professor Finkelstein, which included a statement by DePaul: “Professor Finkelstein is a prolific scholar and an outstanding teacher.”
Jim Vrettos therefore blamed the victim of a resurgent McCarthyism, demonized for his criticism of Israel and supporting scholarship, for being assaulted. This of course is another assault in miniature. I am spending my full time these days in a pro bono law practice resisting a resurgence of Mr. Dershowitz’s infernal tactics against professors at New York University, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, City College of New York, Brown, and elsewhere. Jim, whether intentionally or not, endorsed this resurgent McCarthyism.
For democracy in America,
JONATHAN WALLACE
Regarding my Trip
Montauk
January 20, 2025
To the Editor:
Who is this guy who keeps writing letters about my “Guestwords” essay titled “Beautiful People in an Ugly World” written nearly two months ago? Jim Vrettos conducts himself as the self-appointed inquisitor on behalf of all readers and demands I participate in his inquisition regarding my trip to Palestine this past summer, where I taught documentary filmmaking.
He criticizes The Star for not throwing my essay “in the trash heap” and in the same breath says that’s not censorship. He assumes I have no academic expertise on the Middle East and therefore I should not be allowed to voice my opinion. Scary!
Very few complex problems can be solved by academics alone. Experiential knowledge certainly plays an equally important role, and in my case, it’s combined with decades of reading on the subject. Mr. Vrettos also seems to think there are dark secrets associated with my trip. Reflecting the current trend in politics and media, he attempts to dig up dirt by investigating me and my former business as though that has some bearing on my essay. I do not have a business or a business website as he claims. Both were closed seven years ago when I retired.
I had no outside logistical or financial support for my three-week workshop. I developed my own curriculum and a detailed schedule to accommodate six teams of student filmmakers. I financed my trip alone, traveled alone, taught alone, and walked the streets of Hebron alone, even though Mr. Vrettos still insists it’s a very hostile city. The whole thing cost me over $10,000. I would be happy to submit receipts to The Star as validation if they are interested.
And I find it distressing that Mr. Vrettos would state I have “every right to make money on (t)his venture.” Clearly, he doesn’t understand people who are different from him. I would rather die penniless than profit from the hell Israel and the U.S. have unleashed on these civilians. And it’s not my nature to monetize such things, anyway. That should have been readily apparent in his investigation given I’ve conducted free video workshops for underserved children for 25 years.
Mr. Vrettos presumes to know how to improve my workshop when he knows nothing about the existing one and has no comprehension of what goes into such an undertaking. Yet, he still expects me to respond to his ideas.
He seems unaware that the Israeli government severely restricts volunteers from entering the West Bank so I certainly would not have included Israeli students as he suggests for no other reason than it would have drawn undue attention. The 11 international volunteers traveling to the same education center as me during August were all turned away at the airport and sent home. I was the only one to get through. Given I’m 71, I probably didn’t get as much scrutiny.
My student filmmakers do not criticize Israelis or Americans. Instead, they simply use a peaceful form of expression to respectfully voice their feelings, having grown up under two decades of draconian restrictions on their movement and other basic freedoms, and the psychological trauma associated with living under occupation for so long. It’s very telling and disheartening that Mr. Vrettos has not viewed or commented on these very short films, yet he’s written thousands of words in criticism of my trip and “Guestwords” essay.
I’m not going to indulge Mr. Vrettos any further by participating in his farcical inquisition. I just encourage readers to vet all that he claims or just disregard them. He’s a master of deception and subterfuge. And I suspect with his oversized ego, he’ll see my withdrawal as a victory. I’ll also leave that to the judgement of readers.
JEFF GEWERT