Rabbi, out of respect for Torah it would be worthwhile to write something like: “I’m not sufficiently versed in the matter,” because from your response here and in similar cases one might get the impression that you are not familiar with this field at all, or that you have not even heard of Hannah Arendt or Eichmann. I recommend adopting the expression I heard countless times in Professor Shalom Rosenberg’s lectures—when people would ask him something like that, he would say: “I do not have total command of the subject.”
Best regards,
one who is concerned and pained for the honor of the holy Torah, which makes the simple wise

Gil,

Many thanks for your concern. I am not worried that people might think I am unfamiliar with Hannah Arendt. I’ve already heard worse things said about me (although I do of course know who she is. Even so, to say that I do not have total command of the subject would be boastfulness without basis).

And to the questioner,
If you want to ask, it is better to present some argument and discuss it. Even someone who knows Hannah Arendt well would not necessarily know what you mean by these general descriptions.

But in Ethics of the Fathers, the wise person is characterized as one who is not ashamed to say: “I did not know.”

Best regards,
S. Tz.

Professor Rosenberg was apparently asked about matters in which he had basic knowledge, but refrained from expressing an opinion where he did not have “total command.” It is also permissible simply not to know…

Especially since Rabbi Michael Abraham mentioned the words of Rabbi Moshe Shapira, that his interest in current events ends with the Exodus from Egypt 🙂