Web Letters | The Nation

Web Letter

I take serious offense to this article. So let's state the facts. Israel is not in violation of the international law. Israel doesn't target civilians. If you know anything about the topic, you'd know that Operation Cast Lead was a door-to-door, house-to-house operation that merely targeted the Hamas terrorists. Unlike Hamas (who have targeted civilians in Sderot for the last five years), Israel does not want to kill civilians. You failed to mention about the bombing of Sderot--figures, everyone does. You are telling me that Israel is in violation of international law. How is Hamas not? Are you aware that back in March of '01, Israel launched a wall-to-wall operation? They were so afraid of killing civilians that they went wall to wall.

Web Letter

First off, I am not a Jew. I am an Irish-American. I am writing only to give everyone another thought to think over. If the province of Quebec in Canada had some people lobbing missiles into Vermont or any other northern state, what would we do? Many of you expect the Israelis to sit back and take it because it isn't so bad that only thirteen or so died, but what if your child or mother was a part of that thirteen? Would you want Obama to say, "Excuse me terrorists, please stop nicely. I don't know if you realized those missiles had explosives in them."

And to whoever claims all sympathizers are Jewish, your wrong. My name is Peter Donnelly and I am not Jewish; I just know who is at fault: those terrorists in Gaza threatening Israel's very existence.

Web Letter

I find it very hard to believe that any one could (would) attempt to present some logic in stating that "Israel feels threatened"

Notice: I said "logic." Israel, the Zionist-Bolshevik state, has been in a continuing expressive state of "threat" from someone clear back into the Middle Ages! I would ask you, do you honestly find the firing of rockets killing thirteen (13) from Gasa a "threat" deserving of a response that kills 1,400? Or would you possibly have considered a more direct attack on the rocket sites?

Israel is sitting on 550-650 atomic, nuclear and thermonuclear weapons developed with the help of France, South Africa, England, the United States and the Russian black market. There is no country in the Middle East, save Israel, that has even one (1). Who is threatening who?

Web Letter

There is no defense for Israel’s actions. None of the half-truths, misconceptions and dated references will bring us any closer to peace. On the other hand, one can not criticize Israel either. Those are American planes and weaponry killing those people. Without the approval of the Bush administration, the attacks on the innocent civilians would have ended long ago. The problem is that our Bushites have been giving their Bushites freedom to kill indiscriminately. But then what can we expect of our Bushites? It is no coincidence that the attacks were launched while our evil emperor was still in power. The question is, What will the good guy do when he takes over?

Web Letter

It seems to me that the Palestnians are reaping what they sowed when they elected a hard-line goverment like Hamas. Hamas and the Muslim world think they can intimidate the Israelis with their proxy armies, yet when reality set in and the IDF gave them a taste of their own medicine, they ran to the nearest camera and cried foul.

Mr. Falk and the rest of the liberal ilk may believe the lies of the Palestinian/Muslim crybabies, but the people who live in the real world see right through them. The only thing that the rest of the world should be doing is making damned sure that the Israelis don't run out of bombs and ammunition!

Nowhere else in the world would the actions of a government like Hamas be tolerated. Yet people like Mr. Falk seem to think that the Israelis should be perfectly OK living under this kind of existence.

Web Letter

Mr. Abraham [letter, below] is right--anyone opposing Mr Falk's view is probably Jewish and therefore doesn't understand how the Palestinians suffer. I know no one has explicitly identified themselves as a Jew, but you can pretty much tell based on the names. I mean, come on--Hersch! Schwartz! Quintanilla! Just so we can be absolutely certain, maybe people could start posting pictures? Then there'd be no question whose opinions on the conflict were legitimate, and who was just a vengeful member of the tribe.

I don't usually resort to sarcasm, but Mr. Falk's commentary and some of the reader response demonstrate exactly why Israel uses force to protect herself. The willing blindness to Hamas's (and Iran's) intentions toward Israel is shameful in its own right, and frightening given the violence such complacency has allowed in the not-so-distant past. If Al Qaeda gained control of Mexico or Canada, what would US citizens consider a reasonable response? Would we be crying out for diplomacy, hand-shaking, partnership?

Web Letter

After reading many of the posts I was shocked by the angry opposition to this article. Clearly, many of you, being Jewish, strongly support what Israel is doing. Some reference the need to put yourselves in the shoes of Israeli citizens being threatened by missiles, others point to Hamas's publicly declared goal of destroying Israel.

It is quite interesting that many who articulated these real concerns did not express any significant empathy for what the Palestinian people are suffering. As a people, having experienced much suffering, it would seem that placing oneself in the shoes of the "other" would definitely be a possibility. On the other hand, the "never again" alternative, along with "whatever it takes," seems to be the most operative alternative opted for by most. In this latter alternative--the "whatever it takes" one--ethical boundaries may become blurred. It's important for you, who vehemently denounce the article, to recognize this.

Also, it has become increasingly clear to me, especially since the Bush administration deceived the American people and undertook an illegal war bringing devastation to Iraq, that we need to be vigilant to being duped by government manipulation and a press that plays a cheer leading role. It is clear to me that those of you who are Jewish should be especially sensitive to this over-hyped nationalism, which leads the people of that nation to do terrible things to the "other." I do take the time to point out what Germany did. There are many more modern-day examples of such extreme behavior brought on by those leaders who have preyed upon the fears, both conscious and unconscious, and the deep-seated biases of its people.

Why do I write this? If you are truly seeking to be just and wish all peoples, whoever they are, to be able to live a human life, freely, and according to their human potential, then it is incumbent upon you to throw off the shackles in which nationalism oftentimes imprisons us. Doing this would require that you go back to objective sources and study the history of the Israeli/Palestinian in a dispassionate way. Perhaps by doing this you would come to recognize that Palestinians deserve a day in court. In fact, you might even take up the fight for a Palestinian state with the Israeli government. By doing so, and if you were successful, it is my judgment that you would not only be doing a wonderful thing for the Palestinian people but also for Israel and world Shalom/Salam.

In the end, you might discover that all the Palestinians ever wanted was a state to call their own, an olive grove to grow olives--a place to raise their children in peace. You might also discover that they are wonderful neighbors, who, together with the Israelis, could build the region into a booming economic block.

It's really not that complex: give the Palestinians a contiguous state! Israel is in the driver's seat. It can and must be done. This is the change we really need!

Web Letter

Israelis do not tolerate casualties.

If diaspora Jews were at risk of being murdered for every Palestinian killed, the genocide would cease. I mean immediately.

One dead Jew in, say, Canoga Park or Brussels--for every dead Palestinian.

The war would be over... and Israelis and diaspora Jews would learn that collective punishment cuts both ways.

Web Letter

What is this stupid little kabuki dance of Israel? This has little to do with peace or self-protection. The Israel blockade left little choice of the Palistinians except to lob stupid little homemade rockets into the air. They had the same accuracy of the Scud and very little explosive power. Israel wants the Gaza Strip and doesn't give a damn how many people they kill. Israel has gone from being world-class heroes to common thugs.

Web Letter

The justification that Israel is responding to rocket attacks is a dishonest ploy and a myth, and I'll tell you why.

It is said that Hamas violated the cease-fire, that the Israeli bombardment is a response to Palestinian rocket fire and is designed to end such rocket attacks. But Israel never observed the cease-fire to begin with. From the beginning, it announced a “special security zone” within the Gaza Strip and announced that Palestinians who enter this zone would be fired upon. In other words, Israel announced its intention that Israeli soldiers would shoot at farmers and other individuals attempting to reach their own land in direct violation of not only the cease-fire but international law.

Hamas still held to the cease-fire from the time it went into effect on June 19 until Israel effectively ended the truce on November 4 by launching an air strike into Gaza that killed five and injured several others.

Israel’s violation of the cease-fire predictably resulted in retaliation from militants in Gaza, who fired rockets into Israel in response. The increased barrage of rocket fire at the end of December is being used as justification for the continued Israeli bombardment, but is a direct response by militants to the Israeli attacks.

Israel's actions, including its violation of the cease-fire, predictably resulted in an escalation of rocket attacks against its own population.