As much as everyone is now applauding the end of the war and the return of the hostages, there still will not be permanent peace in the Middle East despite what President Donald Trump negotiated. The major problem is that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government will still be in power.
In the Oslo Accords during President Bill Clinton’s tenure, it was agreed that certain land would not be available to Israeli occupation. But when Netanyahu came to power, he and his followers ignored that agreement and allowed settlers in.
The Palestinians decided that Hamas was better to represent them than the Palestinian Authority, and we know now how that has worked out.
Hamas is just biding time to rebuild and strike again. Its mission is and will remain to wipe out Israel. Netanyahu and the right wing do not want a Palestinian state and want to annex Gaza for Israel. Therefore, hostilities will erupt again.
The only hope is the removal of Hamas and Netanyahu and a neutral authority to run Gaza and help Palestinians rebuild. Until those events happen, nothing will really change.
— Judy Arkes, Chicago
President didn’t act earlier
Although there is a tenuous peace agreement between Hamas and Israel that President Donald Trump wants to take credit for, we must also note that at least 67,000 Palestinians died during the war. Trump had the power to put an end to this months ago, something that could have truly made him a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
— Aaron R. Campbell, Chicago
Trump made this possible
What we have witnessed, the last living Israeli hostages released by Hamas, is nothing short of a miracle. On this day of exultation and jubilant celebration, as President Donald Trump is globally lauded for his Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release, I am prouder than ever before to be an American.
Our president has made this day possible. Without him, the last 20 hostages would still be in Hamas captivity, with Israel and Hamas exchanging fire. Trump’s Midas touch has allowed him to move mountains with mere words.
My sincere hope is that Trump will bear the title of Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2026. But in the meantime, may the powers be declare him to be a saint.
— JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater, Florida
Damage that was done
How much credit does President Donald Trump deserve?
The editorial declaring that Trump deserved great credit for the Gaza peace plan was selective in focus (“A remarkable day for peace in the Middle East. Trump deserves great credit,” Oct. 10). The plan of the past few weeks was an about-face for Trump, who for six months has pushed an agenda that included the forced removal of Gazans and inaction that could have ended the war much earlier. Trump could have cut off military aid to Israel in exchange for its leaders getting serious about ending the war. In February, Trump floated a plan to create the “Riviera of the Middle East” by expelling 2 million Palestinians to countries that do not want them and developing the land in Gaza.
Yes, Trump deserves some credit for the current situation, but let’s not forget the damage he has done along the way.
— Andy Olcott, Glenview
People react as they gather to watch a live broadcast of the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza at a plaza known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 13, 2025. The release took place as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. (Oded Balilty/AP)
Shameful characterization
The “remarkable day for peace in the Middle East” editorial includes an egregious and outrageous characterization that should be retracted.
The Tribune Editorial Board said that President Donald Trump deserved to attend the peace deal signing “even if his domestic enemies will not applaud.” This is a shameful appellation. I am not a “domestic enemy” of this president. I am a patriotic citizen who loves the U.S. Constitution and all that this country has promised and has aspired to be for 250 years. I reject this false, inflammatory characterization, and I accuse the editorial board of fomenting more hate, violence and intolerance with language such as this.
Shame on you.
— Cynthia Barnard, River Forest
Board didn’t do homework
I was both shocked and disappointed when I read the Oct. 9 editorial praising Bari Weiss as the new editor-in-chief of CBS News (“From The Free Press to CBS, Weiss’ principles are stellar journalistic ideals”). Not only does Weiss have zero experience in broadcast news, but also, her history indicates a violation of all the “principles” listed in the editorial!
She quit The New York Times in 2020 because the Times apparently was not sympathetic to her extremist views. In 2021, she founded The Free Press, which “repeatedly distorted the truth to conform to its right-wing ideological agenda,” according to Popular Information. Paramount, by the way, purchased The Free Press for $150 million when it hired Weiss.
Yes, that is the same Paramount that canceled Stephen Colbert’s show and settled a frivolous lawsuit with President Donald Trump in order to have a desired merger approved.
The Free Press falsely accused the United Nations of inflating Gaza civilian casualties and of reporting inaccurate famine assessments. An article about Muslims in Canada was called out for inaccuracies and errors.
It is really sad to see the network that was famous for the fearless journalism of “60 Minutes” sink to these levels.
And it is really sad that the Tribune Editorial Board did not do its homework and report the truth about Weiss.
— Mary Wilson, Chicago
Outrage is understandable
What the Tribune Editorial Board failed to mention in the tribute to Bari Weiss was her enthusiastic support for Israel’s onslaught in Gaza. While the rest of the world condemned Israel’s genocide of a defenseless people, a large number of them children, and many Americans decried the more than $30 billion in taxpayer dollars that our government spent to make us complicit, Weiss continued to repeat that tired refrain that “Israel has a right to defend itself.” This is as if no other country has that right.
Weiss has been condemned by other media outlets for her refusal to present a Gazan perspective. The Tribune Editorial Board sees her approach as part of “good journalistic principles.” No wonder many at CBS News are outraged at her new position.
— Marsha Wright, Chicago
Chicago deserves peace
The president of the United States is waging a war on Black Americans. When you see U.S. troops marching through majority-Black cities, hear the rhetoric this president spouts and supports, and the policy violence this administration is pushing, it’s impossible to think otherwise.
The recent military-style Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in the South Shore neighborhood was appalling. South Shore residents were jolted awake by armed personnel in the middle of the night, detained, threatened at gunpoint and humiliated in their own homes. This is not public safety. This is state-sponsored fear.
Thankfully, a federal judge stepped in to block Donald Trump’s illegal National Guard deployments, but we must stay vigilant. As for now, this decision is only temporary.
According to a CBS News Poll, 82% of Black Americans oppose these deployments in their cities. Because we see these actions for what they are: political stunts masquerading as crime prevention.
The idea that a show of military might will make families safer is absurd. These tactics don’t stop crime; they sow distrust. They erode democracy. They remind Black communities, yet again, that our citizenship is conditional in the eyes of those who govern through intimidation.
Elected officials who want to win the trust of Black voters must do more than shake their heads at Trump’s motives. They must confront the threat directly. It is not enough to whisper “this is wrong” from the safety of a press release. Our leaders must meet us where we are — in the neighborhoods under siege — and stand with us against authoritarian overreach. Black Americans will remember where our elected officials stand on protecting our communities and vote accordingly in 2026.
That’s why the NAACP is hosting a rally to defend democracy on Thursday in Chicago. We’re gathering because silence is complicity and complicity is a luxury Black Americans cannot afford. We rally to say our communities are not battlegrounds. We rally to demand that our government serve people, not politics.
Chicago deserves peace, not patrols. We deserve dignity, not deployments. And we will not rest until the government remembers that its job is to protect its people, not attack them.
— Derrick Johnson, national president and CEO, NAACP
Wilson’s misdirection
I am writing in response to Willie Wilson’s most recent op-ed (“Is Jim Crow making a comeback?” Oct. 9), which invokes the spirit of Jim Crow in order to exonerate its contemporary architects. Wilson’s indignation is not directed at the increasing authoritarianism of Donald Trump’s America, but rather at the local leadership of Illinois, as if the statehouse were the source of a national rot. That is not the telling of the truth; it is a form of misdirection. His argument confuses political convenience with fortitude, mistaking proximity to power for comprehension of it.
Wilson cites the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and John Lewis as moral cover, yet ignores the storm closing in on the very freedoms they defended. He speaks of suppression as if it’s local mismanagement, not a federal counteroffensive against justice itself. He mistakes personal comfort for safety, but privilege is paper-thin — under fascism, it burns first.
Let us discuss the realities. The Trump administration has abolished federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs through executive order, thereby erasing decades of progress toward equitable hiring and representation. Trump has undermined “disparate impact” safeguards, rendering it virtually impossible to establish systemic discrimination in housing, education or employment. He has purged Black federal workers. His massive government downsizing disproportionately displaced Black employees, resulting in the hollowing out of the very agencies that were established to safeguard civil rights. His administration has attacked Black education, undermining anti-discrimination guidance, defunding support for historically Black colleges and universities, and waging war on “woke” curricula — an assault on Black intellectual and cultural autonomy.
These are not symbolic acts; they are deliberate, coordinated and devastating structural strikes. Wilson castigates Illinois for its inadequate performance, as if local shortcomings are isolated from the gravity of federal treachery. He disregards the manner in which national policy dictates state struggle. It is impossible to reconstruct a roof while the foundation is being burned.
Wilson appears to be in favor of the National Guard, but it will not serve to protect our communities; rather, it will occupy them. It may target immigrants, dissenters and protesters, individuals who are instrumental in the preservation of democracy.
The new Jim Crow doesn’t wear a hood. It wears a flag pin. And history will remember who stood up and who bowed down when the noose returned wearing a suit.
— Elce Redmond, Chicago
Beyond the sound bites
In recent weeks, political rhetoric has referred to Chicago as a “hellscape” and “war zone.” The truth is far more complex and far more common.
I’ve lived and worked in or bordering Chicago for almost 40 years, and I know firsthand that this city’s story, like so many others, can’t be reduced to a sound bite. Many dramatic statements are made for shock value or social media traction, not to reflect reality or improve lives. This matters in the short term because extreme framing has been used to justify actions against local residents and in the long term because rhetoric shapes perception, and perception influences investment, attraction of talent and opportunity for millions of people.
Chicago is a city of art and architecture, of food and festivals, and of immigrant and religious communities whose cultures and practices have shaped our neighborhoods for generations.
I could list more than a hundred Chicago landmarks, restaurants, museums, sports teams and cultural events, but that wouldn’t even begin to capture the thousands of restaurants and bars, the music and film festivals, the theaters, comedy clubs and dance companies, the scores of parks and outdoor activities, the dozens of distinct neighborhoods, the shopping and the soon-to-open Obama Presidential Center.
Chicago isn’t a “hellscape.” It’s the third-largest city in the U.S., home to a diverse population of more than 2.5 million residents and an area larger than Boston, San Francisco and Seattle combined. At such scale, it takes little effort to find examples of the most extreme or unacceptable behavior, but those snapshots do not define an entire city.
Real civic problems require real solutions. Emotionally charged and dramatic language, similar to the crisis-amplification-solution pattern found in recent executive orders, has become an all-too-common way to justify predetermined policies in response to a “crisis.”
Chicago is sometimes gritty, but always vibrant. It’s a living, breathing city built on creativity, diversity and resilience.
I’m proud to call the metropolitan area home.
— Matthew Tushman, Oak Park
Op-ed crosses the line
I so desperately want to support local media, but after reading the op-ed by Chad Mizelle in the Oct. 13 Tribune (“Where local prosecutors have failed, federal government has stepped in”), I’m seriously considering canceling my subscription. I know the Tribune opinion section tries to be fair and balanced, but this opinion piece crossed way over the line.
In the very first sentence, Mizelle says that “America’s cities are in crisis,” which is completely untrue. Sending armed federal troops into American cities against the wishes of state officials is not acceptable, and it certainly is not the way to fight crime.
Let’s not forget that the Donald Trump administration cut funding for anti-violence and crime prevention programs that actually do reduce crime.
This opinion piece was just a pathetic defense of the outrageous and unconstitutional actions of an authoritative administration. It is not journalism.
Shame on the Tribune opinion team for publishing it.
— Judy Weik, Oak Park
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https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/15/letters-101525-gaza-israel-hamas/
