LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Readers weigh in on previous issues of the 'Report.'

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Oil Platform (photo credit: INGIMAGE / ASAP)
Oil Platform
(photo credit: INGIMAGE / ASAP)
The danger of Leviathan
I agree with Shlomo Maital who wrote in his column “Shocks, sheikhs and shale” (January 26) that “oil shocks will recur and not to rely either on shale or sheikhs.”
However, his analysis omits one very important factor that will influence Israel’s energy security in the years to come. As the reality of climate change sinks in, Israel will have to join every other country in eliminating the use of fossil fuels. Investments in fossil fuel reserves will become obsolete, rendering them stranded assets.
Israel must not allow the discovery of the Leviathan gas field to blind it to the financial, political, and environmental implications of dependence on fossil fuels. It is crucial that Israel launch a rapid transition to renewable energy sources without delay.
Dr. Mirele B. Goldsmith
New York
The Auschwitz borders
The anti-Semitism that has forever existed in Europe is coming out of its slumber by its constant demonetization of Israel and beatification of the Palestinians and their cause “Malignant role reversal” (January 12).
By returning to the ‘67 borders and establishing a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, which will be controlled by Hamas/Iran, Israel would be faced with what Abba Eban rightfully called “Auschwitz borders.” After all the concessions and offers Israel has made over the years, we are farther away than ever from peace, and European hostility to Israel has reached unprecedented levels. There are no demands made on the Palestinians and they are constantly rewarded for bad behavior by European pressure on Israel to roll over and die.
The Palestinians have made it no secret and openly stated that their ultimate goal is the destruction of Israel. Meanwhile Russia has taken over Crimea and is pouring tanks and troops into Ukraine and the EU still can’t decide if this constitutes a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Howard Jacobs
Kirkland, Washington
What’s in a name?
In his article, titled “Arafat in a suit” (December 15), Moshe Elad maintains that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “has made a strategic decision to raise the negotiating bar too high for any Israeli leader to contemplate.”
Indeed, as we learn, Abbas, who was marketed by the Palestinians as the only leader with whom Israel would be able to make peace, is far from being a man of peace. It has become apparent that the man, who by “internationalizing the conflict” hopes to get the return of all the refugees, all of East Jerusalem, dismantlement of all the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders and independence for the Palestinians without making peace, seems more and more like Arafat. This situation does not augur well for a possible solution.
Dr. Rachel Birati
Melbourne
The fear factor
One cannot but chuckle when our president welcomed French immigrants, “The French are coming” (December 15), saying they should come to Israel out of love and not fear. Starting from the beginning of the last century, we are all immigrants and we have all come to Israel out of fear and lack of choice.
But what makes me really scared is the fear that we have just from living in Israel and I am not talking about Arab terrorism. I am talking about the escalating violence in our society against women, the weak and animals and, specifically, the ever strengthening hold that organized crime has over our country. If we do not understand that we have a real problem on our hands, this phenomenon will swallow us whole.
It is already an accepted institution and a fait accompli.
Gideon Ben Yacov
Ra’anana
Send letters by email to: jrepletters@jreport.co.il Please include your full postal address. The editor reserves the right to edit letters as appropriate. Priority will be given to brief letters that relate to articles in the magazine.