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October 20, 2000/21 Tishri 5761, Vol. 53, No.4
Letters to the EditorOctober 20, 2000
Violence in israel sparks reactionBloodshed is senselessEditor:Violence is threatening the Middle East peace process, claiming more victims every day. Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon sparked the current tragic cycle with a deliberately provocative, high-profile visit to Jerusalem's Temple Mount. This behavior should be fully investigated, and if warranted, charges should be brought against him. But no provocation can justify the current violence. Sharon's irresponsible behavior does not excuse Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, whose security forces have been involved in shootouts with Israeli soldiers, and who reportedly gave an initial "green light" to the riots and eventually lost control of the situation. However now is not the time to lay blame. To do so would consign the region to a future too bleak to imagine. Indeed, these bloody confrontations are a grim reminder of what will come in the absence of peace. There are those on both sides who suggest that the current situation warrants ending the negotiating process. They are wrong. The blood now flowing in the streets is the result of this type of thinking. Israel's unresolved relationship with the Palestinians will further postpone the day when Israel will assume its rightful place in the community of nations and the Palestinians will realize their dream of statehood and economic prosperity. The American administration is working hard to stop the shooting and bring Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Arafat back to the negotiating table. They should heed this call and build on the substantial progress made during their negotiations at Camp David. Gordon Weiner Tempe Din hides truthEditor:Here we go again! The secular press pointing the blame at Israel for this new/old, Arab/Israel fighting. To be expected, one wearily supposes. Followed by some of the English language Jewish press, suggesting the same. Also no longer a surprise. Coverage in Jewish News last week contains three pictures of the sad activities, each with a cutline that suggests the "spontaneous" nature of the fighting was triggered by Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount. (It has been reported by the acting Foreign Minister of Israel, Shlomo Ben-Azi, that the head of Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, Jibril Rajoub, gave assurance that Sharon's visit would pass peacefully). In the same issue of Jewish News, there is also a column by Joseph Aaron which, if taken seriously, as it surely has been, would have one believe that the Jews of Israel have an indecent, complacent attitude toward death. Particularly, Aaron contends, those belonging to something called the "right wing." What a ghoulish idea! Forgetting, of course, that it was Menachem Begin, the rightest wing of all, who first made peace for Israel - and for Arabs, too, it should be noted. As I write this, there comes a news bulletin from Hebron that the Palestinian Authority is encouraging - through its Tanzim, Fatah militia - children to participate in clashes with Israel Defense Forces by offering families $300 per injury, and $2,000 for anyone killed. Martyrs for sale! Stan Mayersohn Scottsdale Editorials should tell it as it isEditor:I thought it very interesting that your editorial "A time for responsibility" (Jewish News, Oct. 6) was followed by "Seeds of Peace" (Jewish News, Oct. 13). Both directly and implicitly criticized Israel. It is difficult to comprehend how you can question "finger pointing," when Palestinian-planned violence erupted preceding Ariel Sharon's visit to the Muslim shrine the Dome of the Rock, which reportedly he had cleared with the Palestinian Authority; when rocks were being hurled on innocent Jewish worshipers; when Joseph's Tomb, a shrine holy to Jews and under the supposed safekeeping of the PA was destroyed following the murder of an Israeli soldier; after the tortures, murders and maiming of Jews who had lost their direction - acts of violence and deaths perpetrated by Palestinians, with Palestinian police participating or merely watching - before Israeli retaliation. You must be aware of guns being fired by Palestinians into Jewish homes in the Gilo section of Jerusalem and elsewhere. Surely you must be aware that Palestinian police, surrounded by young rioters with rocks, were shooting live bullets at Israeli soldiers. As you stated in your "Seeds of peace" editorial, the Palestinians believe they have been given too little too late. Of course, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's concession of nearly all land in the West Bank, a generous adjustment for Palestinian refugee acceptance, a promise of statehood, United Nations control over the Temple Mount (claimed by Palestinians and Arafat never to have housed the Jewish First or Second Temples), Palestinian control over the Muslim and Christian quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem - almost everything Arafat demanded was simply insufficient, and all in exchange for a promise of non-violence, of peace from the Palestinians. What Arafat does want is all of Israel, labeled "Palestine" on his maps, in books issued to Palestinian children, by repeated statements in speeches to Palestinians, through children's summer battle-training camps, by hateful comments in all Palestinian controlled media, by transporting youth gangs, rocks, fire-bombs and guns to areas where they want to see a bit of action. My heart goes out to that 12-year-old child killed when caught in crossfire. We don't read, however, that his father took him to help throw rocks at Israelis. Helen Kriegsfeld Phoenix Israel stance impacts voteEditor:Texas Gov. George W. Bush, lacking experience, especially in foreign policy, has indicated that as president, he would rely on others for decisions. Should he win the race for president, his advisors would be from the same cast of characters who advised his father. They are the same ones who gave us trickle-down economics and our huge national debt. They also gave us Willie Horton. Israel is again in a precarious position and needs every ally it can get, but, realistically, has only one ally in the world, the United States. In her present crisis, this has been clearly illustrated by the United Nations Security Council, which voted 14-to-0 unfairly condemning Israel. The United States abstained to maintain its status as an honest broker. Bush's family and his vice-presidential running mate, Dick Cheney, are heavily involved in oil, as were others in the elder Bush's presidential administration. Can we forget the Bush-Baker (former secretary of state James Baker) team that favored the oil-producing Arab states and exhibited a strong anti-Israel stance? In the 1973 Mideast war, when Israel's planes and tanks had been decimated, Golda Meir appealed directly to President Richard Nixon for replacements, turning what could have been the end of Israel into victory. Imagine what would have happened if the presidency had been in the hands of George Bush-Baker or George W. Bush-Cheney? M. Herbert Nathan Phoenix Call to actionEditor:Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority condone and encourage violence against Israel. No matter what Israel gives up for peace, it is not enough. In return for agreeing to almost every concession Arafat has demanded, Israel has received only an unending stream of broken promises. The bloodshed, media distortions and international criticism of Israel continue. We must stand up and tell the truth about what is happening in Israel. We must let the world know that we are one people. Ken Schnitzer Phoenix |
