I commend Taki for his courageous article in the July Chronicles, “Nothing’s Easy About Israel.” Taki mentioned “the irony in my case is that I am a man of the right siding with a pro-leftist cause, that of the Palestinians.” Well, I feel the same way, but my case is even more ironic or strange because I am an anti-Zionist, politically conservative, Orthodox Jew and a die-hard fan of Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul.
 
At the same time, I do not see any dichotomy or irony because we Jews are actually forbidden to have a Jewish state before the Messiah comes. Before World War II, all the Orthodox rabbis held that view. But nothing done by either Adolf Hitler or Bibi Netanyahu can change God’s law.
 
Furthermore we conservatives (and all devout Jews, Christians, and Muslims) are pro-life and support the traditional family. Supporting Israel’s genocidal ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians is not consistent with a pro-life position. In addition, the Israelis like to boast how God promised to them in the Bible the land of the Palestinians (though, as I said before, that is a lie because we Jews are forbidden to have a state before the Messiah comes). And yet at the same time they boast of having the world’s largest gay pride parade.
 
Now you also mentioned correctly how Jews scream anti-Semitism when people condemn Israel’s mistreatment of the Palestinians. Do they not see what the Chinese are doing to the Uighurs in Xinjiang Province? I am outraged by what the Chinese are doing to Uighurs but I do not feel that I have to explain myself to any Chinese American that I am not racist against them. I do not hear Chinese Americans yelling and screaming about “anti-Chinese” racism when the Uighurs are brought up. So next time Jews scream anti-Semitism tell them to knock it off and learn from Chinese Americans how to be unhyphenated loyal American citizens.
 
Finally you mention in your last paragraph, “My problem is that the people who condemn Israel and root for the Palestinians, like myself, stand for everything I loathe in this world.” Yes, I feel the same way when I attend Free Palestine rallies. Most of the participants are socialists. All I can say is to quote the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides who said “accept the truth from anyone who says it.” That is why I greatly revere Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul and greatly miss that they are no longer active in politics. Again I thank you and commend you for speaking out on this subject.
—Yehuda Littmann
Brooklyn, N.Y.
 

Stolen Or Not?

I am losing faith in Chronicles. When John M. Vella, author of “Giving Up on the Suburbs” (August 2021 Chronicles) states, “The theft of the 2020 presidential election… is undeniable,” followed by Srdja Trifkovic ending his column “The Key to America’s Pathologies” with, “The same establishment which stole the 2020 election…,” I can only believe that the editorship of the magazine has bought into Trump’s Big Lie, or such utter nonsense would never be printed in the magazine.
 
I can think of no election that has been scrutinized so closely without finding any significant evidence of fraud. From the attorney general, to the FBI, to the various state electoral commissions, the results as stated have been validated. It is unconscionable for Chronicles to acquiesce in Trump’s rants and those of Lin Wood, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell et al. who make baseless claims that are totally fabricated and unsubstantiated. What next? The acceptance of QAnon conspiracy theories?
 
I generally found Chronicles to be a voice of reason…. I welcomed the return of Paul Gottfried as someone grounded in reality. The current series, “Remembering Right,” gave me hope that we were back on the high moral ground recognizing leaders of stature and integrity.
 
But Donald Trump has no integrity. He was and remains a disaster for the country and he is no conservative. The Republican Party had the chance to say goodbye after the past election and instead chose to cling to his coattails. They have lost me. I have no respect for those like Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, who are nothing more than rabble-rousers. I don’t like to see Chronicles echoing their pathetic lies and misinterpretations. Joseph Goebbels was considered a master of the Big Lie. Look at what happened to Germany. Are those the footsteps you wish to follow?
—Perry Huntoon
Naperville, Ill.
 
I was recently ready to resubscribe to Chronicles, but then I read Edward Welsch’s hit piece on Mike Lindell (“The Madness of Mike Lindell,” September 2021 Chronicles) and changed my mind.
—Jan Brand
Arlington, Texas
 
You can’t rely on politicians. People have to take matters in hand. Mike Lindell has gone to the heart of it. Soros has every politician in fear or otherwise compromised. Join the fight or forget the ’22 election. China has got every state’s numbers compromised—it was a criminal, fraudulent election with more than five states given to Biden.
 
See Mike’s Cyber Symposium, the attacks against it, the harassment—and the deafening silence. Shameful! Disgusting! Of the people, by the people, for the people, but only people who participate. Join now!
—Unsigned letter from
a Chronicles subscriber.
 
As a long-time subscriber to Chronicles, I am requesting that you publish some thoughtful and fact-filled articles regarding the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. This is a topic you have not yet addressed and one which requires the intellectual rigor I now associate with many of your recent pieces.
 
As you well know, the election is the subject of great controversy and division throughout our nation. If it is true that the election was “stolen,” then the subject likely ranks as the top story regarding this nation since its inception.
 
To date, I have not read any factual material published by the conservative right that supports the notion that the election was stolen.
 
If ideas count, and the notion of the stolen election is certainly a dramatic idea, then certainly Chronicles is one of the conservative publications that is best qualified to pick up that topic of a stolen election and rigorously explore it.
—Robert Schermer
Midland Park, N.J.
 

Mr. Welsch replies:

I thank all four of our correspondents who wrote in about several pieces in Chronicles that questioned the validity of the 2020 election results. This issue on that theme is for readers like you.
 
Of the letters published above, note that two are from readers who are skeptical of any claims that there was fraud in the 2020 election results, and two are from readers ostensibly irritated that the magazine has not more fully endorsed the claims of those who believe there definitely was fraud. I’m writing in particular of the views of My Pillow Chief Executive Mike Lindell, who has been a lightning rod on the right for his continued crusade to overturn the 2020 election results.
 
When I wrote my September editorial, “The Madness of Mike Lindell,” which gave my impressions of Mr. Lindell’s Cyber Symposium in Sioux Falls, S.D., I was praised by skeptics of election fraud like Mr. Huntoon and condemned by supporters of Mr. Lindell like Ms. Brand. In truth, I don’t believe in either extreme position, that there was definitely no fraud in the 2020 election, or that there was definitely a complex conspiracy involving China and George Soros hacking election machines.
 
I do believe, as do many Chronicles contributors, that fraud did take place in the 2020 election. But I was also unsparing in my critique of the complex conspiracy theory that Mr. Lindell asserted based on some allegedly leaked insider data, the veracity of which he failed to prove during his symposium. My criticism of Mr. Lindell was that this big conspiracy theory in the end detracted from the legitimate anomalies that put Biden’s victory into question. Maybe Mr. Lindell’s theory is correct, but I don’t believe it can be proven with what we know now.
 
In this issue, Patrick Basham and I discuss some of these historical, statistical, and procedural anomalies in the 2020 vote, which are now thankfully being used in several states to audit the 2020 election results. My piece will try to summarize the arguments made by the experts who spoke at Mr. Lindell’s symposium, who were overshadowed by all the drama and disappointment around Mr. Lindell’s claim to have a “smoking gun” and his erratic behavior during the event.
 
It would certainly have been nice to have gotten the smoking gun proving a big conspiracy that I and most of the Sioux Falls attendees were hoping for, but it would be dishonest to say that we did get it, when we didn’t. But we still have many inexplicable anomalies that put a question mark over Biden’s victory. It behooves us to underline them and to keep reminding people of them, especially when many publications other than Chronicles won’t.
 
I recognize, however, that this middle-of-the-road stance is not likely to fully satisfy either Mr. Huntoon or Ms. Brand. Alas, I’d rather we were divided in the search for truth than united in error.