Opinion

Since I previously commented on the Democratic National Convention, in the interest of equal time, I will focus on the Republican National Convention, akas the Trump Family Hour. I have little doubt that those Trumpians who last week trashed the DNC will gush lavish praise on the Republican convention. To paraphrase CNN commentator Van Jones, if you are Trump supporter you wanted to throw things at the TV watching the DNC, and the reverse if you are a Biden supporter. The feelings are totally different when it is your own party’s convention.

COVID-19 has dramatically affected our lives since March. Sometimes it feels like the only thing that changes is the date on the calendar. At times, it’s like a bad dream that never seems to end. It appears that we are going to be forced to deal with the virus until there is an effective vaccine that is widely available.

For the first time in history, a presidential convention was held virtually. If you were a delegate, then you would be disappointed by missing the excitement and the energy of the crowd. However, as a viewer, I liked this format better. There were fewer interruptions and the program moved faster.

In 1968, there were two candidates for president: Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr. and Republican Richard M. Nixon. The anti-war protestors targeted Humphrey first at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August of that year, which led to the famous riot outside the convention hall and pandemonium inside. In addition, throughout the campaign, anti-war protestors went after Humphrey. This contrasted with Nixon, where there were few protestors outside the Republican National Convention and on the campaign trail.

The Trump administration helped broker the agreement between Israel and UAE. There may be some who were unhappy with the agreement because it forced Israel to put on hold its annexation of land in the “West Bank.” However, most supporters of Israel are happy with the deal. At a minimum, it splits the Arab countries, helps Israel economically, and should make it easy for other Arab countries to make deals with Israel.

Normally, it’s difficult to get into the right frame of mind for Tish’ah B’Av. It’s the summertime; children are at camp, and teachers are off from school. Many people are up in the country. It is a time to relax after having a busy year. Even though you’re limited to what you can do during the Three Weeks, there’s always the anticipation of Shabbos Nachamu and the remainder of the summer vacation.