Foreign Policy

Readers of this blog know that I'm recently accused on moving to the left. By my vision, the conservative movement has moved right, clinging on to Trump's victory in November 2024. By my markers, between Trump's unqualified appointments, and the actions of those people, one either has to be in the MAGA or be a Republican partisan lacking in greater values to remain on board.

While the above paragraph explains my current American dilemma, this post is about my issues with current Israel. Up to about mid 2024, I had been a long time admirer of Netanyahu. Although the angst of October 7 cannot be fully understood by those other than Israelis, I thought the destruction of Gaza was approaching domicide. Now, two years later, I'm seeing the same attitude on the West Bank.

I have been looking for an Israeli-American group that reflects my values. They all seem to be either too much on board with the current Israel administration, or too progressive for my DNA. Ironically, J-Street would now be closest to my current perception of the situation in Israel. If I was a joiner, which I have never been, that is where I would be parked.

Talk about wandering, one must wonder more and more about Trump's motives. Attacking Iran on Monday during negotiations seems to have become a Trump/Hegseth formula. Adding demands to join the Abraham Accords to the negotiation is likewise incomprehensible.

Showing Up With Matt Tuerk On WDIY88.1

I listened to a softball interview on local public radio with Mayor Matt.  I'm being kind calling it softball, it was a foamball, as used with very young children. Matt talked about how just showing up is such an important part of his job.

Last year I  met up with Alfonso Todd for a podcast. While I call the project Radio Molovinsky, he calls it Prolifick Radio2.0. Either way, I invite Matt to sit down for an interview with Alfonso and myself.  Over the years I have mellowed, and my questions won't be iceballs, but we're all too old for foamballs.

Assuming Matt agrees to the adult interview, I'll publish a link to the podcast here on the blog after it is recorded.

A Tailor From North Street

The Allentown Housing and Development Corp. recently purchased a home at 421 North St. That block of North Street was destroyed by fire, and the agency has built a block of new houses on the street's south side; it will next develop the other side of the street. The deed transfer caught my attention because Morris Wolf lived in the house in 1903. Wolf signed up with the Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry on July 18, 1861, in Philadelphia, when he was 22 years old. He was a private in Company A, of the 3rd Cavalry. This unit was also known as the 60th Regiment and was later called Young's Kentucky Light Cavalry.It defended Washington, D.C., until March 1862, then participated in many of the war's most famous battles: Williamsburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. Wolf had signed up for three years and was mustered out Aug. 24,1864.

Recently, to commemorate Memorial Day, the local veterans group placed more than 500 flags at Fairview Cemetery. If that wasn't enough of a good deed, the group also set upright more than 300 toppled grave markers. Visiting Fairview recently, I saw they had not overlooked the graves of either Mr. Wolf, or another veteran, Joseph Levine. I have concerned myself with Allentown's Fairview Cemetery for the last few years. I first became interested in the small Jewish section, called Mt. Sinai. This was the first organized Jewish cemetery in Allentown. Currently, all the synagogues have their own cemeteries, and Mt. Sinai has been mostly unused for many decades.

Mr. Wolf lies next to his wife, Julia, who died in 1907. Morris would live on for 30 more years, passing away in 1937, at age 98.
Mr. Levine, a World War II veteran, and his wife, Ethel, were the first and last people to be buried there after almost 25 years of inactivity. When Ethel died at age 93 in 2000, it was the first burial at Mt. Sinai since 1976. Joseph was 103 years old when he passed away in 2006.

The Housing and Development Corp. and North Street are now part of Allentown's new neighborhood initiative called Jordan Heights.Although soon there will be a new house at 421 North St., there is a history that will remain with the parcel. Once a tailor lived there who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg.

reprinted from 2010 

ADDENDUM MAY 25, 2026: In 2015 there was a subsequent burial at Mt. Sinai.

Trees, Trailways and Neglect

 

Every several years I visit City Council to make a pitch for a neglected WPA structure. The Double Stairway in Lehigh Parkway was the kingpin of the Parkway's construction. Commissioned by Harry Trexler in 1928, it was constructed in 1935 as part of the park's entrance road.

When part of the wall fell from neglect, I was optimistic that the stairwell landings would be repaired. I have been lobbying for that restoration for the last fifteen years. In that time the landings have begun to sag, and the steps crumble. What would have been an easy flagstone repair is now a rebuild.

Last night the current park director outlined the $millions that would be spent this year on trees and trails. In response to my pesky question, she told me that within a year they will have recommendations from an expert on how to proceed with the steps. In reality, it is not Mt. Vernon nor the Washington Monument. It is a WPA project, like hundreds of others around the country, constructed during the depression. The problem is priorities. As a student and advocate of the park system for many years, I can tell her the repair is two decades overdue.

None And Slim Won On Tuesday Night

Bob Smith thinks that he and Ryan Mackenzie won Tuesday night. In reality they got passes, because they were unopposed in the primary. 

Their chance to win won't come to November, and I'd put it at slim to none. None for Bob Smith, because Ce-Ce prevailed against a Latina in a Latino district. Last time I checked, Bob was way too white and red for the 22nd state district. Mackenzie on the other hand has a better chance, which I would put at slim. 

Mackenzie's chance is slim because he is docile in regard to an increasingly unpopular president. Bob Brooks pulled off the primary against Ryan Crosswell by pretending to be a blue collar guy. There will be a lot of money spent in the coming months polishing the myths about both Mackenzie and Brooks.

Coffee With Emma and Ce-Ce

This blog did not take any overt positions on the recent primary election. Instead of profiling any candidate, I reprinted my piece on Emma Tropiano, The People's Candidate. I believe that Emma has a kindred spirit in Ce-Ce Gerlach. Now, I understand that a lot of people will take exception to my comparison, maybe even Ce-Ce herself.

Because of inaccurate media reports, Emma was falsely portrayed as bigoted. Her memory now unjustly bears that misconception. Most people today who repeat that slander never knew her. Emma was immensely popular, and easily won reelection to city council, election after election. Ce-Ce Gerlach was the top vote getter this primary, receiving almost double the votes of her fellow candidates.

As someone who knew both women, there are many similarities... Both being extremely accessible, down to earth, and making people comfortable.

Emma was energized to work hard for Allentown, as is Ce-Ce. Emma was passionate about the issues she championed, so is Ce-Ce.

I sat in diners having coffee with both of them, many years apart. I think that they would have understood and liked each other.

reprinted from previous years

ADDENDUM MAY 19, 2026: Ce-Ce had a tough primary today. Although enormously more qualified than her opponent, Tiburcio had party and Latino influencer support. As I pen this Tuesday eve, I don't know the outcome, but I expect Ce-Ce to be the next District 22 representative come November.

photo/The Morning Call

 

ADDENDUM MAY 20, 12:30AM: While I'm glad that Ce-Ce has apparently prevailed, I was disappointed that Bob Brooks won the 7th. It reminded me to back when Jenn Mann won her first primary over Emma. Mann's father was a union boss, who used his influence to bring out enough votes. Brooks will be a straight party voter, while we had the opportunity for an informed and independent voice with Ryan Crosswell.