Blame for Gaza, NUMC execs' lavish expenses
Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. Credit: AP/Abdel Kareem Hana
Blame for Gaza starts with Hamas
The editorial “End Gaza crisis, seek peace deal” [Opinion, July 29] addresses the food crisis in Gaza and implies that Israel is somehow responsible for its continuance. This recent chapter of violence is a direct result of the unprovoked Hamas incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with the attendant deaths and abductions.
The Israeli response is not any different than America’s response to Pearl Harbor. Would Americans have been receptive to a ceasefire with the Axis powers without achieving final victory? The Axis powers had the ability to end all the death and destruction of that time by simply surrendering. Were the Allies responsible for the continuance of the war, or did responsibility lie elsewhere?
Should the expectations of final victory be any different from the Israeli point of view?
The editorial concedes that food aid is being sent to Gaza, but it is not arriving at the point of need. I would submit that if Hamas and gangs did not hijack shipments, or Hamas actually surrendered, this food crisis would come to an end.
The common denominator for the solution appears to be Hamas. From this point of view, the responsibility for this humanitarian crisis is rather obvious.
— Richard Meyer, Floral Park
Can we claw back the lobster dinners?
The dinner and hotel costs incurred by Megan Ryan, former Nassau University Medical Center CEO, reminded me of my reimbursement rate as a senior auditor with the state comptroller’s office in the 1970s “Lobster dinners, luxury travel for NUMC executives,” News, July 29].
If my colleagues or I were in the field, away from our own home county or Manhattan, our lunch reimbursement rate was $1.65. The closest we got to lobster was McDonald’s and egg salad and tuna sandwiches.
When we traveled to Albany, we used Amtrak, no jets, and did not stay at an InterContinental Hotel. Expense vouchers were to be submitted promptly — within two weeks.
— Lillian Baum, Long Beach
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