Miami Beach mayor only dropped unconstitutional resolution after outcry | Opinion

O Cinema saved

Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner ultimately dropped his clearly unconstitutional proposal to punish a local cinema for daring to air a movie made by a Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian collective, but only after the move garnered significant negative, national attention for the city.

Meiner has criticized Jewish constituents at commission meetings who don’t share his support for the Israeli government’s actions against Palestinians. He also created “free speech zones,” restricting where and how citizens can exercise their supposed rights. Had these efforts garnered the same outcry as Meiner’s most recent attacks on free speech, this escalation may have been avoided altogether.

Whether one agrees or not with protesters (including those who seek to educate the public on the plight of Palestinians), when it comes to First Amendment rights, we are all stronger together.

Katherine Shehadeh,

Coral Gables

Poignant documentary

Anyone able to put aside the noisy debate around “No Other Land” and watch the film, will likely be profoundly moved. It is a devastating documentary of what Palestinians endure on the West Bank, but also a story of a bond between a Palestinian activist and an Israeli journalist.

Any fair-minded person would note the caliber of the film (with a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). Appreciating it and the documented injustices against Palestinians doesn’t in any way detract from or justify the horrors Hamas committed against Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.

Arguably, the film shows the cyclical doom-loop of violence Palestinians and Israelis find themselves in. The movie stands on its own and deserves to be seen — and debated.

John Andrew Ise,

Miami Shores

Habits change

Our federal government has decided to suspend Radio Martí and I can only applaud it. Not because I lack interest in Cuba’s freedom, but continuing with this antiquated medium is like trying to revive the telegraph in the internet age.

We have no guarantee anyone on the island is still listening to these broadcasts. The only ones truly concerned about the disappearance of Radio Martí are its employees, who cling to their jobs like drowning men on a life raft.

As to publicly funded radio stations, why not take advantage of the push and eliminate National Public Radio as well?

Its programming is riddled with leftist ideology and some of its newscasts aren’t even national, but broadcast by the BBC.

If anyone wants to send messages of freedom to Cuba, let them do so with more effective methods, without so much bureaucracy and at a lower cost for American taxpayers.

Eduardo Montalvo,

Coral Gables

Sign of the times?

Last week, my 10-year-old daughter was discussing a lesson about Women’s History Month at her parochial school. Students learned about all the great achievements women have made in history, including running for president of the United States.

A 10-year-old boy rolled his eyes and my daughter asked him what was wrong with a woman running for president. He responded, “You are such a liberal and a feminist!” My daughter was confused and thought she was being made fun of and called a bad name.

She later asked me what those terms meant. A liberal, I said, is a person who believes in civil liberties and a feminist is someone who believes and supports women’s rights. My daughter asked, “Is it wrong if I believe those things?” I said, “No it isn’t. It means you have empathy for others.”

Perhaps parents should take a moment and listen to what they say at home about the state of our nation’s politics. Our inner thoughts, it seems, are shaping our future generations to repeat the past.

Dee Rodriguez,

West Kendall

About those promises

Kudos to politicians who keep their campaign promises, do not lie to voters nor go back on their word.

To date, these were the promises made and kept by President Trump: reviving the economy; reducing unemployment; increasing military spending; withdrawing from international treaty obligations; purging the country of foreigners who poison the blood of the nation; exacting revenge on political opponents; removing government officials and filling those positions with loyalists; pardoning supporters jailed for violent attacks against political opponents; and restricting government access to left-wing news outlets. Kudos to Trump and the voters who elected him.

Yet, these also were the promises made and kept by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler during a speech on Jan. 30, 1933.

Here’s hoping the historical results are not the same.

Rey Dorta,

Coral Gables

Privatized benefits

One would have to be completely ignorant not to realize that the Trump/Musk presidency is dead set on either abolishing or privatizing Social Security. They are already beginning the process. Seniors will soon need to appear in person at Social Security offices. Difficult enough for many of them, but the Trump/Musk team will worsen the situation by planned shut downs of many or most of those offices. Worse still, they also plan to fire thousands of employees, making the work even more problematic.

When the complaints start piling up as a result of these actions, Trump/Musk and Co. will no doubt begin to trumpet the need to privatize the entire program. That’s a terrible idea for many reasons, but not for the Wall Street firms that will benefit from selling dangerous stocks and bonds to replace the safe support we now have.

The only way to stop this monstrosity from happening is if enough voters contact their Congressional representatives and tell them they expect Congress to block what is already in the works.

Daniel Greenberg,

Pinecrest

Mideast meetup

The documentary, “No Other Land,” is not so much antisemitic as it is a small part of a more complex problem. While it omitted the 80 years of sporadic violence and terror inflicted on Israelis and the world by Muslim extremists who use the Palestinian cause as cover, the film does show hapless Palestinian civilians being displaced from their homes as Israel pushes them further out of the West Bank in an effort to expand control and security.

A more effective strategy is for Israel to sit with its Arab neighbors and discuss security in the entire region. All in this meeting, including Palestinians, should agree to give zero support for any entity or government that espouses the destruction of Israel or any neighboring states.

The contours of a Palestinian state will involve much more work. Not settling that issue runs the risk of using Palestinians as justification for more violence.

Eric Hess,

Miami Beach

Scrutinize judges

The appointment process for federal judges can lead to a lack of accountability and create a sense of detachment from the American people.

Without facing elections or direct oversight, these lifetime appointed judges may feel insulated from the consequences of their decisions and can result in rulings that prioritize ideology over national security and the well-being of citizens and decisions that don’t align with the country’s best interests.

Adrean Lans,

Miami

Condo reserves

I implore Florida’s residents to write to their state senators to support Senate Bill 690, which will allow condominium buildings under six stories high to not have full structural integrity reserves. Currently, buildings three stories or higher must have such reserves.

This arbitrary restriction has hurt many condo owners. My building is just three stories and we have no need for $1 million on hand in the next 10 years. No one can sell their condos now. Isn’t the crazy building flood insurance enough?

Mark Plotkin,

Miami Beach

Fateful words

As Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev said in 1956: “We will take America without firing a shot. We do not have to invade the U.S. We will destroy you from within.”

All Vladimir Putin needed was Donald Trump.

Bob Hunter,

Miami