5/7/2024

May 7, 2024

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Thank you for pausing to “honor the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust & “recommit to heeding the lessons of this dark chapter: Never again.” I hope your words bring some comfort to the “Jewish students facing a tsunami of hate on campuses across the country.”

            I have a friend & colleague whose parents survived a concentration camp. The depth of the trauma is unfathomable. At our faculty meeting yesterday, I inadvertently exacerbated her suffering by calling attention to the encampment that has just popped up on our quad & noting that youth would bring us change. I will see her this morning & hope she feels my love.

            As people witness the horrors of war, seeing the destruction & devastation in Gaza, they experience anger, frustration & impotency. They want to DO something. Sadly, our exasperation can lead to regrettable behavior & the conflict multiplies.

When I speak with people about campus protests, they immediately take a position, identifying which parties are “doing the right thing.” They assume I have taken a side, too.

I am resisting the impulse to identify human enemies. Hoping that someone will “win,” is folly.

I do hope that our youth recognize that our military-industrial system needs major reform. I see a glimmer of that at Brown University where a proposal to drop Boeing, Airbus, Raytheon, & 8 other companies with ties to Israel’s defense establishment from the university portfolio.

            In other news, The UN reports that underfunding is severely hampering their response efforts in Burma. They need $993 million & have only received $63 million to date. With the cyclone season approaching, they need cash now!     

I hope your meeting with President Klaus Iohannis of Romania goes well.

            BYBS,

            RCA