My family has roots in Maine dating back to the early 20th century. I myself was born in Lewiston, raised my family in Wayne and owned and operated a sawmill in Livermore Falls.

I am very proud of my heritage as a Jewish Mainer. I am also very proud of my congressman, Jared Golden, for his courageous and just support of Israel and more recently condemning Rep. Talib’s blatant antisemitism.

You see, the chant from pro-Palestinian groups we hear in refrain, “From the river to the sea,” that Talib herself spoke is a real threat of genocide toward my Jewish brethren in Israel. The phrase means that Arabs, not Jews, will occupy the area between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea. The only way for this to happen is to kick the Jews out of Israel, or kill them all.

Either way, it’s a call for genocide — not a call for freedom as Talib suggested. It harkens back to the mindset behind Lebensraum, the Nazi goal to extirpate Jews from Europe in order to have “living room” for Aryans. 

This is not hyperbole, even in the slightest. The groups supporting Hamas’ efforts in Gaza, like Iran and Hezbollah, have routinely called for the destruction of the only Jewish state in the world. Freedom for Gaza means freedom from Hamas.

I thank Congressman Golden for protecting not only his Jewish constituents, but Jews around the world.

Bruce Bornstein, Wayne