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January 30, 2004/Shevat 7 5764, Vol. 56, No. 19
Letters to the EditorJanuary 30, 2004
Lieberman supported an illegal warEditor:Religious chauvinism should not determine the Jewish vote in the Feb. 3 Arizona Democratic Party presidential primary. Sen. Joseph Lieberman cannot draw upon the Hitler analogy to justify his support for the Iraq war. The Hitler analogy connects the Nazi leader to Saddam Hussein, and Lieberman's use of this parallel is a form of retrospective moralism. Lieberman suggests that if the West conducted a pre-emptive overthrow of Hitler in 1933, then 6 million Jewish lives could have been saved, and correspondingly the pre-emptive assault on the "Butcher of Baghdad" was justifiable because Bush's War prevented further Hussein massacres. Humanitarian interventions are justified, and on this issue Lieberman is correct. But a pre-emptive intervention also must have international validation, and on this point Lieberman is incorrect. Lieberman is morally right but legally wrong. International law is the safeguard of all, and there must be a mechanism by which international approval is bestowed so that the action is legitimized. By supporting Bush's Iraqi war, Lieberman supports unilateralism and illegality. In this case Bush acted criminally, and the Hitler analogy forced Lieberman to validate a criminal. Norman Levine Phoenix Crucial to read the KoranEditor:Last week, Daniel Pipes advised us not to read the Koran because of its many incomprehensible, obscure and contradictory passages. ("Study history instead," Jewish News, Jan. 23) In fact, many other passages in the Koran are, unfortunately, quite clear. As an illustration of the Koran's contradictions, Pipes cited one passage that says pagans may be killed only after the holy month of Ramadan, and another passage that says that it is OK to kill them during the holy month. Either way, the Koran says it is OK to kill infidels; that is precisely why we need to be familiar with what is in the Koran. After all, every one of the Islamic terrorists and every one of the untold thousands of imams, mullahs, sheikhs, ayatollahs and Islamic religious scholars who support the terrorists in their sermons, their writings and their charities - all of them cite passages in the Koran to justify their hatred and hostile actions towards America, Israel, Christians, Jews and other non-Muslims. Shouldn't we at least know what they are referring to? While reading the Koran is not sufficient to understand our militant Islamic enemies, it is certainly necessary. Carl Goldberg Tempe Pastor offers support for IsraelEditor:More than 50 years of pastoring conservative Baptist churches has taught me many things. Israel, like America, has built a great, civilized, wealthy nation out of the desert. Thanks you for your great commentary from Ariel Nathan Pasko on "Give Southwest back to Mexico." (Jewish News, Jan. 16) We pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and we are willing to fight for it. Wesley Darby Emeritus Pastor, First Baptist Church Glendale
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