October 1: No get-out clause

This land is historically and legally God’s land, given by Him to the Jewish people only, with no get-out clause to give it to any other.

By JERUSALEM POST READERS
Letters 370 (photo credit: REUTERS/Handout )
Letters 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Handout )
No get-out clause
Sir, – Police have been authorized by the High Court to curb already restricted Jewish visitation to the Temple Mount if violence by Muslims appears imminent (“15 Palestinians arrested for rioting near Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate,” September 29). To this I have a question: Were Jews to threaten violence if Muslims visited a Jewish holy site, would Muslims be denied entry for fear of Jewish riots? It is just a pity the police do not see how their actions weaken the Jewish people’s historic rights to its holy sites and even the Jewish land. After all, if, as seems obvious, we recognize the rights of our enemies above Jewish rights, then surely we are accepting their narrative that we are the “occupiers” of another people’s land – in which case, let’s stop the charade and hand the lot over, lock, stock and barrel.
There is just one little flaw. This land is historically and legally God’s land, given by Him to the Jewish people only, with no get-out clause to give it to any other.
So I say to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: We have the best case in the world for keeping our land. All we need is faith and courage to stand up for the justness of our cause. Then we can once more be a proud people with our head held high and back held straight.
EDITH OGNALL Netanya
Nothing new there
Sir, – Eugene Kontorovich’s excellent piece (“How the EU directly funds settlements in occupied territory,” Comment & Features, September 29) is a real eye-opener, though I’m sure the European Union has pat and well-rehearsed answers, including crying foul at Kontorovich’s allegations along the lines of helping Turkish residents who should not be blamed for the unlawful occupation of the area by their Turkish government (which the EU, of course, condemns unequivocally, etc., etc.).
No matter what spin the EU tries to put on its flagrant contradiction and hypocrisy vis a vis its policy on Israeli “occupation,” Kontorovich is absolutely right to conclude that no matter what we do we will suffer discrimination and “special” treatment. In my view this should be no surprise given Europe’s infamous history regarding Jews and Judaism.
As our sages taught, there is nothing new under the sun.
GERSHON HARRIS Hatzor Haglilit
Hard to grasp
Sir, – Nicholas Meyer (“Holocaust narratives,” Comment & Opinion, September 29) says anger is rarely expressed when writing about the Holocaust.
Although this is understandable, it is a little difficult to digest.
I believe that mankind in general, and the Jewish people in particular, still cannot grasp the sheer dimension of the Holocaust.
The mind just cannot cope with the it.
Perhaps in a generation or so, when survivors’ grandchildren and great-grandchildren have grown up, someone will say, Why wasn’t someone angry?
JOYCE KAHN Petah Tikva
Letters about letters
Sir, – With regard to “Drug of last resort” (Letters, September 29), treatment resistance in schizophrenia remains a major unmet challenge of modern medicine despite the use of clozapine for more than three decades.
Clozapine is a unique atypical antipsychotic that in some cases may alleviate symptoms of treatment- resistant patients. In general, patients who do not respond significantly to other presently available antipsychotics and do not have medical or other contraindications should be offered a trial with clozapine.
Measurements of clozapine serum levels may be informative, particularly in regard to safety issues. Unfortunately, as worldwide research and psychiatric practice indicate, clozapine use is not devoid of significant efficacy and safety drawbacks. A high percentage of patients do not respond even to clozapine, and many treatment-refractory inpatients are actually maintained on it.
Overall, routine measurement of antipsychotic serum levels was not shown to improve outcome.
In addition, a major contribution to the relatively reduced use of clozapine is built in its unfavorable side effects profile. Of particular concern are potentially life-threatening alterations in white blood count, necessitating under present regulations repeated blood draws and monitoring.
With many patients, due mainly to non-compliance and paucity of support systems, the implementation of these procedures is impractical, further resulting in clozapine underuse.
URIEL HERESCO-LEVY Jerusalem The writer is director of the psychiatry department at Herzog Memorial Hospital
Sir, – I write in reference to “Priorities first” (Letters, September 29). While I fully agree that Jews should be living in Israel, why in the world would someone want to scuttle another’s option for being buried in the Holy Land? Jacob Mendlovic says he would allow for the burial of those he terms “illustrious.” Care to define that? Would that be someone who does not engage in lashon hara (idle gossip), or perhaps someone who is kind to his wife and children at all times? Maybe to be illustrious one needs to have attended a minyan every day.
In addition, Mendlovic states that the land where these individuals are being buried “will be needed for other purposes.”
Does the writer think that land in a cemetery will be needed for a corner grocery or perhaps a bank? What other purposes could land set aside as a cemetery serve?
ZE’EV M. SHANDALOV Ma’aleh Adumim
You can breathe
Sir, – Your editorial “Obama’s misguided linkage” (September 27) states that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will not be solved until US President Barack Obama and other world leaders realize that it is Islamic extremism that is perpetuating the conflict and fueling violence throughout the Middle East and elsewhere.
I suggest you do not hold your breath hoping Obama will ever accept your premise. While other world leaders might, his numerous speeches praising Islam, his bowing before the Saudi king and his clear statement that America has never been and will never be at war with Islam should be enough to convince you.
MONTY M. ZION Tel Mond
Surefire incentive
Sir, – Just this once I agree with David Newman (“Succot celebrations in the Jewish state,” Borderline Views, September 24) in that the three-day festivities outside Israel are indeed a punishment.
I would like to go further and suggest, with some Talmudic basis, that the rabbis should declare Yom Kippur to be a twoday fast outside Israel. This would undoubtedly increase aliya.
MICHAEL WILSCHANSKI Elazar
No arms sales
Sir, – In reading “China’s inscrutability in the Middle East” (Comment & Features, September 22), I was dismayed to discover a statement that is patently false: “...Israel is now the second-largest provider of military armaments to China.”
The fact of the matter is, Israel does not sell any military material to China. This has been the case since 2005 under a legal agreement with the US Defense Department – an agreement US and Israeli officials take very seriously to avoid the sort of major diplomatic crises that occurred in 1999 and 2005 with American anger at the sale of Israeli military technology to China.
A cursory level of research will easily confirm these facts, as will conversation with informed government officials.
Unless evidence of weapons sales surfaces, it is simply false and potentially damaging to Israel’s ties with China and the US to suggest that a Sino-Israeli arms relationship exists.
SAM CHESTER Tel Aviv The writer is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and an expert on China-Middle East affairs