Jews Have Seen Book Banning Before
I was not surprised to read that a well-acclaimed Holocaust-themed novel was one of dozens of books removed from a Florida high school library (“Jodi Picoult Holocaust Novel Removed as Florida School District Purges Libraries to Comply With State Law,” March 17). In his anticipated quest to be the Republican nominee for president, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has become the culture warrior in shining armor with his anti-woke and anti-regulation crusade. The hypocrisy is that DeSantis is in favor of regulations, but only those, such as selective book removals (bans), that fire up his base and feed his political agenda.
Think of his planned restrictions on women’s reproductive rights after six weeks of pregnancy, prohibition in Florida public schools and universities of what he considers woke speech, and regulations limiting gender-affirming care for the LGBTQ community.
Sadly, Jews have seen book banning before and it didn’t end well. If DeSantis is the Republican nominee, when people go to vote next year, they should be prepared to leave their civil liberties at the ballot box.
Beryl Rosenstein, M.D.
Pikesville
Corrections
The March 17 article, “Amy Burke Friedman Climbs the Career Ladder,” contained an error. The article incorrectly referred to Burke Friedman as a single mother. She is not a single mother.
In the same issue, the article, “New Jewish Cultural Fellowship Artists Debut at Jewish Museum of Maryland,” used incorrect names for the fellowship. The fellowship is actually called the New Jewish Culture Fellowship.
The Baltimore Jewish Times regrets these errors.
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