Southeast Nebraska speaks up: Letters to the editor for the week of Jun. 5, 2026
Our weekly round-up of letters published in the Lincoln Journal Star.
- Updated
Keep your eye on the ball, folks, even if it’s not there.
Everything done currently by convicted-felon Trump, his mendacious cronies, and the entire complicit Republican congressional caucus constitutes a cynical grand-scale bait-and-switch to end “New Deal” and “The Great Society” programs, women's voting and civil rights, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.
- Updated
It is time for Gov. Pillen to resign. Once again he denies the human dignity of a group with a racist statement about many Nebraskans. While signing an executive order on antisemitism he said “anybody that wants to stand up and talk about … the Palestinians, they’ve got to understand that those people are born to kill Jews and Christians.” Those people!
I’ve no problem with the executive order regarding antisemitism. We do have hate crime laws that address physical acts of violence to defined groups, but Pillen deemed this necessary. Hate crimes have increased. What is not necessary are Pillen’s generalized words. He is guilty of what he is criticizing: hate.
- Updated
Palestinians aren’t “born to kill Jews and Christians,” as Gov. Pillen so monstrously insisted. I should know, having spoken on multiple panel events with a Palestinian Christian theologian and an Israeli Jewish ethicist, collaboratively in support of Palestinian liberation. One event was co-sponsored by Christian, Jewish and Muslim organizations.
A Christian theologian myself, born and raised in rural Nebraska, I also attended “Church at the Crossroads” last fall, a conference organized by Palestinian Christians. They spoke about their love of Jesus, affirmed a nonviolent approach to conflict and welcomed a Jewish author and friend of mine to address the 800 attendees.
- Lincoln Journal Star
- Updated
Gov. Jim Pillen signed an executive order Friday establishing standards and reporting measures for state entities to further combat antisemitism in Nebraska.
While doing so, the governor said no student in Nebraska should ever have to hide their faith, their heritage or who they are out of fear.
- Updated
Our governor has violated his own order against harassment and discrimination. He says that “anybody that wants to stand up and talk about Palestinians they’ve got to understand that those people are born to kill Jews and Christians.” Not only does this violate his order it is violently racist.
He also says that, “in Nebraska we do not tolerate hate in any form, the only way hatred can thrive is if history is forgotten.” I wonder if he is talking about the ethnic cleansing that occurred in Palestine in 1948-49 when 750,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes and up to 25,000 were killed when they didn't leave. The only people who seem to want to kill another group is the Israeli government.
- Updated
It is admirable that Gov. Pillen thinks Nebraska should be a place with no hatred toward anyone. "No student should ever have to hide their faith, their heritage or who they are out of fear." Doesn't that include Palestinians? Evidently not, since he then added that Palestinians "are born to kill Jews and Christians."
This statement was even in bold print for emphasis in the May 30 newspaper. Shame on you! No one is born to kill. There are good and bad people in every religion, in every race, in every country. The irony is that bad people run some of the countries, which has resulted in many wars, deaths and devastation that we see in Israel, Palestine, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, etc. Even some of our own government leaders seem to be on a hate campaign against immigrants. Gov. Pillen should sign an anti-hate proclamation for all people, and he should apologize to the peaceful Palestinians who live in Nebraska and elsewhere.
- Updated
If Jim Pillen is concerned about racism, he might start by looking in the mirror. When talking about Palestinians he said, "those people are born to kill Jews and Christians." The fact is the Hamas Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel killed 1,200 people. According to the New York Times, since then Israel has murdered over 70,000 Palestinians last year alone. I would call that genocide.
Gov. Pillen spent a few weeks in Israel last year and now seems to consider himself an expert on the Middle East. I would suggest that he's not.
- Updated
If E15 is so hot why does my auto service manager tell me not to use it?
Richard Piersol, Lincoln
- Updated
Jim Pillen said that Palestinians are “born to kill Christians and Jews." Setting aside the fact that there are Palestinians of a variety of religious identities, Pillen wants us to believe that all people within a group are inherently wrong, that they are born evil.
This is un-American. The founding principles of this country, written into the Declaration of Independence and echoed throughout the Constitution, is that all people are equal. One's heritage does not make one good or evil, it is what we do in our life that determines our character.
- Updated
Gov. Pillen's reported remark referring to Palestinians — "those people are born to kill Jews and Christians" — is a sweeping generalization about millions of individuals. Such a claim is not supported by demographic, historical or social evidence. Palestinians are a diverse population that includes Muslims, Christians, secular individuals, political moderates, political extremists, professionals, laborers, peace activists and many others.
Arab citizens of Israel (many of whom identify as Palestinian Arabs) comprise about 21% of Israel's population and play a major role in Israel's healthcare system. Arabs constituted approximately 25% of physicians, 27% of nurses and 49% of pharmacists in Israel.
- Updated
I understand now that summer is here, Lincoln has eight operating pools, some of which are overcrowded and struggling with filtration issues. Last year they struggled with staffing coverage. Swimming for kids is such a positive activity. We need to ensure that there are plenty of pools for our children to use. I encourage our community to find ways to increase availability to any child who wants to cool off this summer. I would certainly be willing to donate towards this cause.
Linda Knudsen, Lincoln
- Updated
Actions must be organized now to demand U.S. hands off Cuba!
Since 1959, the past 14 U.S. presidential administrations, Democrat and Republican alike, have brutally placed trade and financial restrictions on Cuba, including the oil blockade imposed in January, which has a devastating effect on all aspects of life for millions of Cubans and on the country’s industrial and agricultural production.
- Updated
The key, according to the founders of our democracy, was to vet the candidates and really understand what they stand for. Without this, is it really democracy? And how can we make an informed decision on who best fits the criteria for who we want to be our elected officials?
Gov. Jim Pillen seems to be hiding as much as he is able from the voters. He refused to debate in 2022. That alone in my opinion should disqualify a candidate. When he posts his opinions on Facebook he limits who can reply. He didn't even allow the average Nebraskan the honor of attending the Capitol tree lighting-ceremony for fear of what someone would say.
- Updated
This is probably not the first letter you received on this topic, but I thought I would put my 2 cents in anyway. I have had season tickets to Husker baseball games since before Haymarket Park was built. Before that I attended almost every home game, paying at the box office since the mid-’90s. I sat through every 30-degree game and never left early, sometimes not feeling my fingers and toes. The big donors probably were sitting at home enjoying a beverage not even knowing a baseball game was being played.
When the Huskers hosted a regional, I got a ticket request for the entire session. Now this year I got an email stating that my request time was 2 p.m., five hours after the "Big Donors" got their pick of the seats. Needless to say, when my time came, there were no reserved seats left. But I could go to Seat Geek and pay double for a reserved seat. Big donors, who probably never set foot in Haymarket Park, got their tickets, gave them to a friend and they put the tickets on Seat Geek to make a quick buck. If the university would sell the tickets to the season ticket holders they would use the tickets themselves, instead of trying to make a quick buck. If the university doesn't quit stepping on the little guy, they may not have enough fans to fill in where the big donors leave off. I guess money talks. So sad.
More like this...
Keep your eye on the ball, folks, even if it’s not there.
Everything done currently by convicted-felon Trump, his mendacious cronies, and the entire complicit Republican congressional caucus constitutes a cynical grand-scale bait-and-switch to end “New Deal” and “The Great Society” programs, women's voting and civil rights, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.
It is time for Gov. Pillen to resign. Once again he denies the human dignity of a group with a racist statement about many Nebraskans. While signing an executive order on antisemitism he said “anybody that wants to stand up and talk about … the Palestinians, they’ve got to understand that those people are born to kill Jews and Christians.” Those people!
I’ve no problem with the executive order regarding antisemitism. We do have hate crime laws that address physical acts of violence to defined groups, but Pillen deemed this necessary. Hate crimes have increased. What is not necessary are Pillen’s generalized words. He is guilty of what he is criticizing: hate.
Palestinians aren’t “born to kill Jews and Christians,” as Gov. Pillen so monstrously insisted. I should know, having spoken on multiple panel events with a Palestinian Christian theologian and an Israeli Jewish ethicist, collaboratively in support of Palestinian liberation. One event was co-sponsored by Christian, Jewish and Muslim organizations.
A Christian theologian myself, born and raised in rural Nebraska, I also attended “Church at the Crossroads” last fall, a conference organized by Palestinian Christians. They spoke about their love of Jesus, affirmed a nonviolent approach to conflict and welcomed a Jewish author and friend of mine to address the 800 attendees.
- Lincoln Journal Star
Gov. Jim Pillen signed an executive order Friday establishing standards and reporting measures for state entities to further combat antisemitism in Nebraska.
While doing so, the governor said no student in Nebraska should ever have to hide their faith, their heritage or who they are out of fear.
Our governor has violated his own order against harassment and discrimination. He says that “anybody that wants to stand up and talk about Palestinians they’ve got to understand that those people are born to kill Jews and Christians.” Not only does this violate his order it is violently racist.
He also says that, “in Nebraska we do not tolerate hate in any form, the only way hatred can thrive is if history is forgotten.” I wonder if he is talking about the ethnic cleansing that occurred in Palestine in 1948-49 when 750,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes and up to 25,000 were killed when they didn't leave. The only people who seem to want to kill another group is the Israeli government.
It is admirable that Gov. Pillen thinks Nebraska should be a place with no hatred toward anyone. "No student should ever have to hide their faith, their heritage or who they are out of fear." Doesn't that include Palestinians? Evidently not, since he then added that Palestinians "are born to kill Jews and Christians."
This statement was even in bold print for emphasis in the May 30 newspaper. Shame on you! No one is born to kill. There are good and bad people in every religion, in every race, in every country. The irony is that bad people run some of the countries, which has resulted in many wars, deaths and devastation that we see in Israel, Palestine, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, etc. Even some of our own government leaders seem to be on a hate campaign against immigrants. Gov. Pillen should sign an anti-hate proclamation for all people, and he should apologize to the peaceful Palestinians who live in Nebraska and elsewhere.
If Jim Pillen is concerned about racism, he might start by looking in the mirror. When talking about Palestinians he said, "those people are born to kill Jews and Christians." The fact is the Hamas Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel killed 1,200 people. According to the New York Times, since then Israel has murdered over 70,000 Palestinians last year alone. I would call that genocide.
Gov. Pillen spent a few weeks in Israel last year and now seems to consider himself an expert on the Middle East. I would suggest that he's not.
Jim Pillen said that Palestinians are “born to kill Christians and Jews." Setting aside the fact that there are Palestinians of a variety of religious identities, Pillen wants us to believe that all people within a group are inherently wrong, that they are born evil.
This is un-American. The founding principles of this country, written into the Declaration of Independence and echoed throughout the Constitution, is that all people are equal. One's heritage does not make one good or evil, it is what we do in our life that determines our character.
Gov. Pillen's reported remark referring to Palestinians — "those people are born to kill Jews and Christians" — is a sweeping generalization about millions of individuals. Such a claim is not supported by demographic, historical or social evidence. Palestinians are a diverse population that includes Muslims, Christians, secular individuals, political moderates, political extremists, professionals, laborers, peace activists and many others.
Arab citizens of Israel (many of whom identify as Palestinian Arabs) comprise about 21% of Israel's population and play a major role in Israel's healthcare system. Arabs constituted approximately 25% of physicians, 27% of nurses and 49% of pharmacists in Israel.
I understand now that summer is here, Lincoln has eight operating pools, some of which are overcrowded and struggling with filtration issues. Last year they struggled with staffing coverage. Swimming for kids is such a positive activity. We need to ensure that there are plenty of pools for our children to use. I encourage our community to find ways to increase availability to any child who wants to cool off this summer. I would certainly be willing to donate towards this cause.
Linda Knudsen, Lincoln
Actions must be organized now to demand U.S. hands off Cuba!
Since 1959, the past 14 U.S. presidential administrations, Democrat and Republican alike, have brutally placed trade and financial restrictions on Cuba, including the oil blockade imposed in January, which has a devastating effect on all aspects of life for millions of Cubans and on the country’s industrial and agricultural production.
The key, according to the founders of our democracy, was to vet the candidates and really understand what they stand for. Without this, is it really democracy? And how can we make an informed decision on who best fits the criteria for who we want to be our elected officials?
Gov. Jim Pillen seems to be hiding as much as he is able from the voters. He refused to debate in 2022. That alone in my opinion should disqualify a candidate. When he posts his opinions on Facebook he limits who can reply. He didn't even allow the average Nebraskan the honor of attending the Capitol tree lighting-ceremony for fear of what someone would say.
This is probably not the first letter you received on this topic, but I thought I would put my 2 cents in anyway. I have had season tickets to Husker baseball games since before Haymarket Park was built. Before that I attended almost every home game, paying at the box office since the mid-’90s. I sat through every 30-degree game and never left early, sometimes not feeling my fingers and toes. The big donors probably were sitting at home enjoying a beverage not even knowing a baseball game was being played.
When the Huskers hosted a regional, I got a ticket request for the entire session. Now this year I got an email stating that my request time was 2 p.m., five hours after the "Big Donors" got their pick of the seats. Needless to say, when my time came, there were no reserved seats left. But I could go to Seat Geek and pay double for a reserved seat. Big donors, who probably never set foot in Haymarket Park, got their tickets, gave them to a friend and they put the tickets on Seat Geek to make a quick buck. If the university would sell the tickets to the season ticket holders they would use the tickets themselves, instead of trying to make a quick buck. If the university doesn't quit stepping on the little guy, they may not have enough fans to fill in where the big donors leave off. I guess money talks. So sad.
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