Oct.31

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The War in Israel, Part VII: Readers Weigh In, Yet Again

We got some very positive feedback in response to the reader letters we ran about Israel last week. And so we're going to run some more, so as to reiterate the theme of the item above, namely that opinions on the war in Israel are very divided, and deeply endowed with feeling:

• J.W. in North Canton, OH: I think it's very telling that no Arab country wants the Palestinians. This is in stark contrast to Israel, who has a long history of getting Jews out of places where they are being persecuted. It happened in Russia and Ethiopia multiple times. As you have mentioned, Egypt has made a conscious, deliberate decision to keep the Palestinians out with the wall they erected. Even when Israel tells Gazans to move from the north to the south they do not let them into Egypt. It's not a physical space problem; the Sinai has more than enough land if even to house them temporarily. Of course, if Egypt were to allow innocent Palestinians in, Hamas would not allow them to leave because Israel would eradicate Hamas in a matter of days. Hamas relies on human shields. In their mind, it's their best defense, even if it's morally reprehensible. Israel makes mistakes like any person or country. Israel is not perfect. They are also not the problem. Hamas is a cancer on the Palestinian people. With Hamas in the picture, there will never be peace. It will be long and bloody and world opinion will turn against Israel at some point. I suspect, however, that most Arab leaders will be happier when Hamas is gone.
  
  
• R.L. in Alameda, CA: As an American Jew, all I can say today is that I am offended at the action of the Israeli government in Gaza. The victims of World War II have grown up to become the bullies of the Middle East. Hamas' sneak attack and use of innocents and infrastructure as shields is equally reprehensible. My mother taught me that "two wrongs don't make it right". I get the need to respond. But is leveling the entire territory, including all of the innocents (adults who aren't Hamas fighters, children, hostages, aid workers and journalists) really an appropriate response?
  
  I am an American Jew. Like it or not, there is a segment of our population that will hold me responsible for a government in which I am not a citizen and cannot vote. This thing that has been done cannot be undone. How many more generations must live and die before there is a critical mass of untraumatized people who can say, "Enough!" and sit down to work out the two-state solution that should have (could have) happened years ago? I no longer have any hope that this will happen in my lifetime.
  
  
• S.Ó.C. in Playa del Carmen, Mexico (but from Galway, Ireland): If you have ever wondered why the Irish so often get annoyed at people from the U.S. claiming how they themselves are in fact Irish, just look at Joe Biden as a perfect example. He always proclaims how incredibly Irish he is. Yet, when this Ethnic Cleansing has started in Gaza he has whole heartedly endorsed and participated in this endeavor. Telling 2 million people to leave their homes for "their safety" while they bomb the entire area with no plan to let them return. As they have done repeatedly for 75 years, while government officials keep talking about their plans to commit war crimes. The Irish do not forget, the Irish do not close their hearts to their oppressed siblings. Joe Biden is not Irish, nor are any in the U.S. who back this monstrosity happening in front of our eyes.
  
  
• J.L. in Glastonbury, CT: All right, I'll bite.
  
  You blame the war in Israel on Netanyahu and Hamas, but write, "Meanwhile, the people of Israel, on the whole, bear relatively little responsibility for their government's actions, given the parliamentary system and given Netanyahu's ability and willingness to do whatever it takes to stay in power." and "The people of Gaza, by contrast, are largely innocents. Undoubtedly some of them are pro-Hamas, but most are stuck, since the Israeli government won't let them leave, and Hamas persecutes (and often executes) any 'voter' who does not give their 'support.'"
  
  I don't agree. The people of a nation are ultimately responsible for their government. While it may be tempting to blame the Canadians for the policies of the Israeli and Gazan governments, political power is ultimately derived from the consent of the governed. It surely will be difficult or dangerous for the people of Israel and Gaza to accomplish, but if they don't want to suffer the repercussions of their government's actions they need to change their government.
  
  People often say they hate politics and just want to go about their lives. But avoidance only renders people subjects and not citizens. Consequences of political choices are unavoidable; the adults of every nation (including the U.S.) need to understand that the very lives of our children depend upon our choices. It has always been thus, and always will be.
  
  
• A.F. in Boston, MA: As a Jew, I am intimately familiar with the complex Gordian Knot that is Israel/Palestine. I greatly appreciate your turning over the reins to readers when you are uncomfortable with a subject or readers know more than you.
  
  I too, desperately want to know what a realistic, peaceful solution looks like. However, G.T.M. in Vancouver (and other readers) seem to have come to the issue only in the last 25 years because they seem to be missing the first 50 years of the modern conflict, which perfectly matches G.T.M.'s "peaceful" solution.
  
  G.T.M. proposes two states and everyone sorts themselves out according to where they want to live. If one nation attacked the other, the winner of the ensuing war could subjugate the loser or annex them entirely.
  
  What do they think happened in 1948? 1967? 2005? Israel has been under assault its entire existence by actual nation states and has, under G.T.M.'s framework, rightfully conquered lands beyond the original U.N. partition plan including the West Bank and Gaza from Jordan and Egypt, respectively. Israel even unilaterally left Gaza in 2005 to allow the Palestinian Authority to run the enclave. It was only when Hamas won elections and began firing rockets at Israel that the borders were hardened and blockaded by both Israel and Egypt.
  
  I once again want to remind readers that history has shown that if the Arabs/Palestinians lay down their arms and offer peace, Israel will accept it. If Israel were to lay down its arms and offer peace, they will be slaughtered or expelled from a land they have inhabited for thousands of years.
  
  While Israel is not blameless, especially in the past decade, the path to peace still solidly runs through acceptance by the Arab world in general and Palestinians in particular that Israel isn't going anywhere and has a right to exist as the historical homeland of the Jewish people.
  
  
• L.B. in Boise, ID: Let's be realistic. There are no easy or simple solutions. It takes plenty of people to build a barn, but only one to burn it to the ground. The extremists (on both sides) know that God is on their side, so they will act as terrorists which will make the other side act as terrorists and the cycle will continue. The majority of people will not change their beliefs, and it will continue. The only way for most people's minds to change is when they die. So you can kill every last extremist on both sides or just wait for them to age out and die. Their imaginary god gave both of them the same piece of land, and being imaginary he can not intervene while they duke it out. There is no peaceful solution, come to terms with it.

Thanks to all contributors. We'll have some more letters tomorrow, including a very good one from a reader who has expertise related to Palestine. (Z)