Leonard Grunstein, a retired attorney and banker, founded and served as Chairman of Metropolitan National Bank and then Israel Discount Bank of NY. He also founded Project Ezrah and serves on the Board of Revel at Yeshiva University and the AIPAC National Council. He has published articles in the Banking Law Journal, Real Estate Finance Journal and other fine publications. He is the co-author of "Because It’s Just and Right: The Untold Back-Story of the U.S. Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel and Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem."
I had the privilege of seeing then US Senator John F. Kennedy ob"m, when he was successfully running to become the President of the United States, in 1960, on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY.
His love of America and message of “getting America moving again" was electrifying. As President he proposed tax cuts, not increases. He embraced the American free market system and was against the dystopian systems of socialism and communism.
Young Jack (or JFK as he was popularly known) Kennedy, commanded a PT Boat (PT-109), in World War Two. He was a genuine hero. After a Japanese Destroyer sunk his ship, he personally led the survivors to safety. He also personally saved a number of the crew, swimming back and forth in the ocean, until he delivered them ashore to safety. He was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his heroism and a Purple Heart.
His Pulitzer Prize winning book, Profiles in Courage, profiled eight US Senators, who courageously took principled stands for constitutional integrity, individual liberty and rule of law. It was a classic expression of American devotion to Western culture’s tradition of limited government, free and reasoned debate and individuals overcoming doctrinal policy constraints imposed by political party affiliation or the dictates of the mob.
Who can forget President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address where he boldly declared to fellow Americans the guiding ethic that has made this country great, ‘"ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country".
JFK was a genuine and consistent supporter of Israel. He firmly believed in the existence of the Jewish State of Israel, which he viewed as a US national commitment not a partisan one. He rejected the myth that Israel was the source of Middle East tensions and praised its democratic and pioneering spirit. He also spoke of the special relationship between the US and Israel. Indeed, Israel is one of the US’ most treasured allies, with truly shared values and interests.
When JFK was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, the world seemed to stand still. I remember well hearing the sad news on the transistor radio, while I was standing by my bike, talking to a friend. We, like so many, just froze in silence. It was a moment engraved in our memories, as well of those of so many others that day.
To hear El-Sayed tritely invoke the name of John F. Kennedy to contrive a baseless claim that he too is being subjected to allegations of dual-loyalty, is galling. JFK confronted anti-Catholic prejudice head on and pledged absolute separation of church and state.
El-Sayed’s issues are manifold. It’s not about his faith; it’s about his policy positions and record. There are serious questions about a letter he cosigned, which endorsed the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood authoritarian regime of Mohamed Morsi and explicitly called for him to purge the media and police as quickly as possible. El-Sayed also penned an Op Ed, where he supported the Muslim Brotherhood endorsed protesters against Egyptian President Mubarak and panned Israel.
The financial backers of his campaign also include figures associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as other Islamists. Indeed, some of the co-signers with him of the letter noted above are also substantial supporters of his campaign. There is also the apparent support by his family of the Muslim Brotherhood, which standing alone might not be disqualifying; but given these other matters noted above calls for further examination.
Unlike JFK, El-Sayed opposes military aid to Israel, which JFK championed. El-Sayed also viciously libels Israel. Imagine, he can’t even say whether the terrorist Iranian Regime, which has been in a state of war with the US for 47 years, calls it the ‘Big Satan’ and threatens to wipe it out, is the bigger threat to US security than Israel, the US’s loyal ally and treasured security partner. There is also the matter of the IRGC being a US designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO), and the Iranian Regime’s proxies, FTO’s Hamas and Hezbollah, all of whom have brutally murdered Americans.
El-Sayed’s platform of tax the rich, so called ‘Medicare for all’ (tax-funded, government controlled and rationed socialized medicine, to replace all private insurance) and government ownership and control mechanisms for key industries contradict the core ethic and policy positions of JFK. Frankly, they are an anathema to the American traditions that made this country great. The guiding principle is not to ask what your country can do for you; but rather what you can do for your country.
In summary, it’s fair to say, El-Sayed is no Jack Kennedy.