COLIN L. LECIJerusalemSir, – As inspiring as the tent protests and marches have been, they will achieve very little.The issues the protesters have raised are but symptoms of a graver malaise – governmental paralysis resulting from obsolete, money-squandering coalition politics that are the handiwork of indirect elections. Until such time as Israel has a twoparty system whereby the party in power, be it Left or Right, is able to enjoy the majority necessary to pursue its platform for a full term, any changes will be topical at best, and mere window dressing.The demonstrators should narrow their demands to one thing and one thing only: an electoral system whereby MKs must be residents and representatives of specific districts, and directly accountable to their local constituents. Under such a system Israel will become a true democracy for the first time, and the pathetic reality of agenda-driven tails wagging power-hungry dogs will be a thing of the past.Such a government would have both the durability needed to prove itself and the support of voters who know they wield the power to terminate the career of any MK who is unresponsive to his or her constituents.The quality of our politicians would rise dramatically because people of substance will finally be tempted to enter the fray without having to serve for years as lapdogs and gofers to entrenched hacks.It would make almost no difference whether the Left is in power or the Right. The voter will have a chance to see what the winning party can accomplish when it is given the time needed to actually pursue a policy – any policy.J.J. GROSS JerusalemSir, – Let’s imagine for a moment that the recent demonstrations will have had a positive effect on the government. Contractors will be required to build a greater percentage of units for low-income families, more resources will be invested in the school system, and the health and welfare services are improved. It becomes clear that a democratic model indeed has merit.It might be naive to believe, but would the Israeli example not encourage the Arab populations that are struggling to find more democratic solutions in their own countries? Perhaps we should set an example with a clear response on the part of our government.MOSHE KAPLAN HerzliyaSlavery and newspeakSir, – The Labor Court’s logic in issuing back-to-work orders to young doctors who quit is inscrutable (“Medical residents expect court to nix resignations,” September 4).After seeing how the system works, these people no longer want to be physicians. That's their right. A person’s letter of resignation doesn’t become “illegal” simply because a fellow employee submitted a letter of resignation at the same time. The contracts statute explicitly says that if an employee breaches a contract you can prevent him from working for someone else, but you can’t force him to come back to work for you.The court’s position is also duplicitous. Veteran physicians struck for nearly six months, but that didn’t warrant a back-to-work order. Now many – not even all – residents quit and the state is suddenly concerned about how this will affect the public health system.What hypocrisy.One marvels at the stupidity: If hundreds of residents don’t return to work or return but don’t actually do any work, what’s the state going to do? Fire them? What a great way for the court system to show its impotence.DANIEL FEIGELSON RehovotSir, – George Orwell must be turning in his grave. In 1984 he wrote about newspeak and double- think. This is exactly what happened with Judge Nili Arad’s ruling. She has redefined the meaning of resignation to mean strike.When an individual resigns from his or her job but is told it’s illegal to do so, in effect this person is a slave. I find it hard to believe that not one political analyst saw fit to comment on this.Dr. Leonid Idelman and the IMA betrayed the medical residents.He agreed to keep them at the level of slave wages. At least in the Histadrut members can vote on a contract.Idelman should resign. I believe that the residents should resign from the IMA and form their own organization. They should also continue to submit their resignations on an individual basis until they are accepted.KEN KALCHEIM DimonaOur own doingSir, – Louis René Beres’s “A hard look at what we must not allow” (Comment & Features, September 4) is a catalogue of unimaginable horrors. This scenario would be the result of Israel not taking responsibility for its own security, for having no faith in the country’s strength to fight for what is right.Sixty-three years since our state was established with much blood and tears, we are still afraid to speak out lest we upset those we call friends.YENTEL JACOBS NetanyaSir, – Louis René Beres wrongly attributes the lines “This is the dead land/This is cactus land...”to T.S. Eliot’s great poem “The Waste Land.” In fact, they are from the poet’s “The Hollow Men,” another great poem.SASHA LEVY Modi’inNo incentiveSir, – Ex-chief of General Staff Dan Halutz says we should negotiate with Hamas, noting it is “not much different...regarding terror activities” than the PLO of the Oslo Accords era (“Former chief of IDF General Staff says Israel should talk to Hamas,” September 4).Considering the total and utter failure of everything resulting from that misbegotten move, I would like to point out to Halutz that this is not, in fact, a positive incentive for negotiation.
MENACHEM G. JERENBERG Ramat Beit Shemesh