By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)On violence...Recently, while wandering around the entrance level of a shopping mall in Tel Aviv, I came upon a stand with a wide range of knives. The attendant was on the phone, with his back to the stand.Anyone with malicious intent could easily have snatched one or more knives and gone on a rampage.I know Israelis live on the cusp of yehiye beseder (things will be okay), but to exhibit a range of knives within easy reach is unpardonable recklessness!LEVI J. ATTIAS GibraltarThe term “lone wolf” is being used to describe the Arabs who are undertaking the current wave of attacks. But the term should not be understood as setting them apart from their society – they are very much a part of their society, having been groomed in schools and mosques, and by politicians and the media, to attack Israelis.I suggest that Israel charge the Palestinian Authority for the expenses entailed in capturing, prosecuting and incarcerating these terrorists. This is justified because these are not “lone wolf” attacks – the PA pays terrorists and their families, and holds them up as model citizens and heroes. If it bears the burden of paying for convicted terrorists’ room and board, and all other prison expenses, it might decide to discourage attacks.In addition, an attacker’s assets should be seized and used to compensate his victims. His family’s assets should be included in the compensation pool.If banning Jews from the Temple Mount and freezing settlement construction could bring peace, I would consider these steps. But to such as US Secretary of State John Kerry, who seems to know what will assuage our Arab cousins, I ask why, in countries around the world that have no Temple Mount or settlements, Islamists kill more people each year than died in 350 years of the Spanish Inquisition? Please explain!KLARA TYOMKIN JerusalemIt has become conventional wisdom that the cause of the current spate of Palestinian violence is a lack of hope. The exact opposite is the case.Some Palestinians wish to have a national state, some wish to join the Arab peoples, and some desire to be part of a caliphate. But all are united in a single hope, and that is to rid the land of its Jews. So it is actually hope that fuels the Palestinian fire.Until this simple truth is recognized here and abroad, the situation will be hopeless.SIDNEY HANDEL Tel AvivWe complain about the foreign media yet ignore that our own media continue to send messages that tell the terrorists: “You are succeeding, so continue!” The proof? Our media concentrate on interviewing people who say they are frightened to go out, and for every 10 negative comments, they bring only one or two that stress we have to get on with our lives. They also like to keep showing how few people there are in restaurants and shops.Our Arab MKs are not the only ones who incite to violence. It’s just being done in a different way.EMANUEL FISCHER Jerusalem ...and mitzvas The other day, I did a mitzva: I helped a woman in my building with her bags.She had just come home from the hospital, and had difficulty walking. I could see that she needed assistance, so I carried her bag (not that heavy, but it could have been). We took the elevator up to her apartment and she was all set. She thanked me.Doing this mitzva and helping someone who needed assistance made me feel good. Let’s all consider doing a mitzva at least once a week.AMY ROSENFELD New York
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