Stephen Gottlieb

Our daughter, who lives in Cincinnati, is recovering from an accident. So we, our son and his family, went there for Thanksgiving this year. We had Thanksgiving dinner at a wonderful old Cincinnati hotel. At an appropriate point I had us focus on what we’re thankful for and started by saying that I’m grateful for the intelligence to have proposed to Jeanette fifty-six years ago. It’s a biological truism that none of us would’ve been the same without Jeanette, but she’s has been a great blessing to us all.

I share many people’s concern about the survival of the state of Israel. The threat of its demise would be tragic, not only to Israel but to the survivors and refugees of the Holocaust and their descendants. Loss of Israel would expose world Jewry to intensification of antisemitism. These are serious issues that go way beyond ordinary international politics.

Like most of you, we will be gathering soon for Thanksgiving. Like many of you I will be giving thanks for a very loving, decent family. All good things in my life have sprung from my wife’s decision to tie our lives together. I have been enormously blessed.

Discussion over Israel and Palestine is largely about blame. There’s plenty to go around – for cruelty, murder, mayhem and stupidity, for refusal to come to the table and refusal to accept the rights and the very existence of others.

Years ago I observed a minor traffic accident in Manhattan. One of the drivers jumped out of his car yelling “You Iranian” at the other. Of course he had no idea where the other driver was from but Iran was the villain of the day.

Machiavelli wrote that a prince had to do hateful things first and quickly so people would forget and get used to a better world. Dribbling out harsh decisions makes people hate princes.

By its deliberate brutality toward noncombatants – men, women, children, even infants – Hamas made clear that it’s not a worthy avenger of legitimate Muslim or Palestinian grievances, but are immoral by Muslim as well as Christian and Jewish teachings and principles. But condemning Hamas won’t stop such massacres, mayhem and murder. How do we stop this and make a better, more peaceful world?

I’d like to talk about some aspects of global warming that I think have not been talked about enough.

The surest path to making America Great Again, the world’s unchallenged number 1, with its strongest economy, would be to support immigration. Immigrants fill jobs going begging now – both skilled and unskilled. They start new businesses, adding to shopping, dining, and entertainment diversity that pull people in to settle, stay and spend.

We can protect our environment and stop global warming in three ways: