To the Editor:

Responding to the “Opinion” letter from Tom Ellis, how could you print such a vile, hate-filled anti-semitic letter? And why does a letter about Israel's war in Gaza even belong in a local newspaper? I’m guessing you didn't do any fact-checking because there are too many errors to know where to begin.

Steve Rider

Guilderland

Editor’s note: The Altamont Enterprise runs an open forum for the free exchange of ideas, generally limited to local issues. The point is to allow people with varying viewpoints to understand one another.

I wrote an editorial soon after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel after a Jewish mother spoke to the Guilderland School Board — “What will rise from the flames of war?” — using a local lens to look at an important issue. It then seemed only fair to allow readers to share their views. While I turn away letters every week on national and international issues, I have allowed these because of the editorial.