Letters To The Editor,Our Readers

PA's UN Gambit

Re: "Pressure Mounts on Palestinians to Abandon UN Statehood Move," (front page news story, June 24):

All the talk of PA President Mahmoud Abbas backing down from going to the UN to get recognition for a Palestinian state is so much wishful thinking. Even if the U.S. and other Western countries veto the effort in the Security Council, the Palestinians are guaranteed an overwhelming positive vote in the General Assembly.

While General Assembly recognition of a Palestinian state is not legally binding without prior Security Council authorization, the Palestinians will reap a public relations bonanza that will energize its allies to take collective measures - such as boycotts and breaking diplomatic relations - against Israel as well as create political pressure on Israel to make greater concessions.

Susan Weitz

New York, NY

Time For Toughness

I heartily concur with your call for President Obama to get tough with the Palestinians ("Time for the President to Tell It Like It Is," editorial, June 24). The U.S. has long suffered with the UN General Assembly's majority voting anti-American positions.

We tend to think the current Palestinian ploy to get the General Assembly to vote, illegally under the circumstances, for recognition of a Palestinian state is an issue only for Israel, with the U.S. seeking to protect the Israeli position. But a pro-recognition vote will dominate public attention for months to come and only encourage the UN's anti-U.S. cabal.

Sol Goldblum

(Via E-Mail)

Power Of The Purse

The U.S. has the power of the purse to get the Palestinians to return to negotiations. While the Arab nations talked a good game when it came to pledging economic aid to the PA, delivery has been sparse. Without U.S. aid, the PA would collapse.

By not using that leverage, President Obama is choosing the Palestinians over Israel in this phase of the conflict. Coming after his betrayal of Israel in adopting the position of the Palestinians regarding the significance of the 1967 lines in future negotiations, one wonders what he meant when he said his administration is a great friend of Israel.

Robert Hoffman

Los Angeles, CA

Real Apartheid

Steven Plaut ("'Apartheid,' You Say?" front page essay, June 24) eviscerates the increasingly popular claim that Israel practices apartheid against its Arab minority. Given the facts on the ground, the argument is not even close.

I have always wondered, though, why few if any in the "Israel practices apartheid" crowd never seem to find the words to criticize countries like Saudi Arabia, where discrimination against Jews and Christians is undeniable and where you'll find real apartheid.

(Rev.) James Blass

(Via E-Mail)

Arab-Jewish Interaction

I thoroughly enjoyed Steven Plaut's front-page essay on the interaction between Arabs and Jews in Israeli hospitals. And while the Plaut article goes a long way toward debunking claims of Israeli apartheid, it also - and this is quite ironic, given Mr. Plaut's staunch right-wing views - shreds some of the myths propagated by the more extreme right-wing nationalists in Israel and the U.S. that all Arabs are maniacal Jew haters who would slit every Jew's throat if given the chance.

If anyone thinks that's a harsh or unfair characterization, just spend a few minutes on Jewish right-wing nationalist websites. There are no shades of gray; everything is black and white. Jews who complain about anti-Semitism every time someone sneezes the wrong way see nothing wrong with making blanket statements about hundreds of millions of people who happen to be Arab or Muslim.

And if that bothers someone like me, who happens to believe there is no such thing as a "Palestinian people" and who feels every Likud leader turns soft upon being elected prime minister, imagine what moderate or liberal Jews think when they see such raw, indiscriminate hatred coming from other Jews.

So thank you, Steven Plaut, for showing that there are right-wing Jews who are capable of nuanced thought.

Gary Atterman

(Via E-Mail)

Yale And

Anti-Semitism (I)

Re: "The Yale Anti-Semitism Outrage" (editorial, June 24):

I was not all that shocked by Yale's recent closing of the nation's most prestigious center for the study of anti-Semitism. Yale is a hotbed of leftist sentiment and the only surprise here was that it kept the center open for five years.

Many colleges and universities and other so-called bastions of intellectual honesty and curiosity like Yale are more and more being driven by hard left professors and rebellious students anxious to shatter traditional views and values, as well as an indecent desire for Arab oil endowment money.

Yisroel Hymowitz

(Via E-Mail)

Yale And

Anti-Semitism (II)

I agree with your editorial criticizing Yale's shutting down what was perhaps America's leading institute for the study of anti-Semitism. However, you did not address Yale's contention that it acted because the institute did not meet Yale's exacting standards. While your discussion certainly points to that being a wholly contrived excuse, you should have directly confronted it.

Max Salzman

(Via E-Mail)

Yale And

Anti-Semitism (III)

Yale, in the name of political correctness and possibly as a result of Arab funding, has come up with the lame excuse that the Center For The Study of Anti-Semitism did not come up to the academic standards of the university. Perhaps Yale should examine the publishing credentials of all its tenured professors to determine whether they reach levels of academic excellence.

Does Yale wish to appease those who insist that Islam is a religion of peace and that terrorist activities cannot be attributed to true followers of that religion? Perhaps Yale wants to show it is free of any association with the right wing of the Republican Party or the so-called radical conservatives who have voiced their support for Israel while condemning anti-Semitism.

Whatever the reason, Yale has blemished its reputation and its academic standing by this abrupt and unjustified action.

Nelson Marans

Silver Spring, MD

Five Years Since

Shalit Kidnap

It should be a black mark on the calendar of the United Nations that five years have passed since Gilad Shalit's kidnapping by Hamas terrorists.

The UN secretary-general should state that he is going to Gaza to see Gilad Shalit face to face. If he is unable to see him, the world will have to presume the worst.

Thelma Susswein

Jerusalem

Read Comments (0)