“The idea about Gaza” has sparked an earthquake of Biblical proportions around the globe, and Trump, in his way, still insists that the U.S. “will take Gaza.” He recently uploaded a video, created with A.I., on his social media accounts, showing himself and Netanyahu enjoying granitas on a Gaza beachfront. I also wrote an article for SLpress about what Donald Trump had said.
After the article on the Athenian news site, I wrote a “Note – reaction…” to a prominent newspaper in New York City. To my surprise, my text about the unimaginable things Trump said gained some attention. Tom Feyer, the Letters Editor at The New York Times (NYT), emailed me asking about my submission: “Is the text exclusive to The Times – and written without A.I.?”, “Do you have any connection (including financial) to the topic of your letter?”, and, “Is the light editing OK?”
I answered all the questions. And, as someone once said, “[It is] by far the best letters page in the world […] and Tom Feyer deserves a Pulitzer of some kind for his dedicated work there.”
The letter was published online on February 5, 2025 (the newspaper has 11.4 million subscribers!) and, in print, on February 6 (with an average weekday print circulation of 279,000 copies). As Mr. Feyer mentioned in a follow-up email: “[It] is also running in the Sat-Sun edition [February 8-9] of the International NYT – available abroad and perhaps in some parts of the U.S.”
Getting something published in the NYT – “it is head and shoulders above any other major newspaper in its class” – is incredibly difficult, as they receive an average of 1,500 submissions daily, ranging from articles to texts, letters, and essays.
And here follows the full text as it was published (It’s here, the second one):
Opinion | Outrage Over Trump’s Proposal to Take Over Gaza. Re “Trump proposing takeover of Gaza as U.S. territory (front page, Feb. 5):
To the Editor:
President Trump’s proposal to take over Gaza, displace two million Palestinians and turn it into a tourism haven — “the Riviera of the Middle East” — under U.S. control is not only reckless but unthinkable as well.
A two-state solution, which allows both Israelis and Palestinians to coexist peacefully in their respective territories, would be far more constructive for the region’s stability.
To suggest that Palestinians should simply abandon their homes and move to Egypt or Jordan is an oversimplified and dangerous proposal.
It’s easy to champion such big ideas when you speak next to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has built his career opposing the creation of a Palestinian state, but this callous disregard for the lives and dignity of the people of Gaza is appalling. The United States should support peace and building bridges, not imperialism through annexation.
I am sorry, but people who voted for Mr. Trump in order to punish Kamala Harris over Gaza have to shoulder their share of responsibility for this insanity.
Dimitris Eleas, Brooklyn
What happens in that region is a painful situation, and as I said earlier: Trump still insists that the U.S. will take Gaza. At the same time, seeing your name printed in The New York Times brings a bit of happiness and gives the world a fresh coat of paint. A happiness that must be shared with all the progressive readers of the Countercurrents.org.
Dimitris Eleas is a New York-based political scientist, researcher, writer, and activist. His e-mail is: [email protected]. (This letter was originally published in the New York Times.)
