Letters 381697

Readers respond to previous issues of the 'Magazine.'

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A TOURIST looks at a view of Mount Everest from the hills of Syangboche in Nepal (photo credit: REUTERS)
A TOURIST looks at a view of Mount Everest from the hills of Syangboche in Nepal
(photo credit: REUTERS)
KEEP ON TREKKING
Sir, – I read with great empathy Brian Blum’s “Trekking memories from Nepal” (This Normal Life, October 31).
Exactly a year ago, being close to the age of 78 and having a knee problem, I joined a women’s group that did a fourday trek in the Annapurna region to an altitude of 3,300 meters at Mohare, which included a week-long stay at the Nangi village. Although not reaching an altitude of 5,400 meters or what Mr. Blum did, I completely identify with every word he wrote.
I hope that Israelis of all ages will continue to hike there despite the two recent tragedies.
RACHEL P. COHEN
Jerusalem
STILL IN FORCE Sir, – Naomi Ragen (“Countering the big lie,” Consider This, October 31) confuses the British partition of the Palestinian Mandate in 1921 with the UN Partition Plan of 1947.
The Balfour Declaration, incorporated into the Treaty of San Remo (1920), which established the British Mandate in Palestine, gave Jews the right to settle in the territory, which originally included all of what is now Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and Jordan. In 1921 the British divided the Mandate into Transjordan, now Jordan, where Jews were no longer allowed to live, and the rest of Palestine, west of the Jordan River, where Jews continued to have the right to settle. This was confirmed in the League of Nations Mandate of 1922.
The UN Partition Plan of 1947 was a General Assembly resolution suggesting, with no legal force, that the part of Palestine west of the Jordan be divided into a Jewish state and an Arab state. But this plan was rejected by the Arab side. It was never put into effect and only a Jewish state, Israel, was established as a successor to the Mandate.
Jordan’s illegal occupation and annexation of the West Bank between 1949 and 1967 did not affect the right of Jews to live there, according to the terms of the League of Nations Mandate, and this right remains in full force, in international law, to this day.
MICHAEL GERVER
Ra’anana
PURE SCAREMONGERING
Sir, – Brenda Katten (“Shortterm thinking outweighs longterm strategy,” Here and There, October 24) does not appear to understand the purpose of street protests.
They are almost universally organized to bring a particular issue to the attention of the general public and, through them, to persuade the government to follow their cause. So, it follows, the reason for street protests in Israel concerning the price of cottage cheese or the lack of social services.
Nominally, the purpose of the misguided protests in Europe and the UK against Israel’s operations in Gaza have been to persuade their governments to stop supporting Israel and punish it for its actions.
Why would there be street protests in the UK against the recent barbaric executions perpetrated by Islamic State? These actions have been roundly condemned by the vast majority of the British people. The British government has not only condemned the killings, but its prime minister vowed to “hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice.” Members of parliament have overwhelmingly approved military intervention against Islamic State in Iraq.
Ms. Katten asks where are the protests against the vile murder of Lee Rigby? Again, what would be the purpose of such protests? This barbaric act was condemned around the world.
In the UK the establishment, led by the queen and prime minister, voiced its utter horror, as did the vast majority of the British people, including several leaders of the Muslim community.
The perpetrators were convicted and given long sentences in prison.
Oh, but wait – there were some protests. They were by the right-wing, fascist, Islamophobic and arguably anti-Semitic English Defense League. I am surprised Ms. Katten didn’t know about this. She seems to have dredged up many, much more detailed facts from her country of origin, such as the number of emails MPs received before the vote in parliament to recognize a Palestinian state.
I would also be intrigued to know what mathematical formulas she uses to extrapolate a Muslim population of 5.2 percent (her figure, which is higher than in the last official census in 2011) to show that Islam will become the dominant religion in a few years and the majority in the population by 2050.
This is pure scaremongering, without any basis in reality.
BARBARA F. BROWN
Jerusalem
FINE REVIEW
Sir, – Please thank Dvora Waysman for her fine review of Moshe Dann’s As Far as the Eye Can See (“Expectations and reality, Books, October 24). It alerted us to what is apparently a very special work.
MORITZ ORSZEWCHOFSKI
Ashkelon
SCHOLARLY AND BALANCED
Sir, – I commend Rabbi Shlomo Brody for presenting in his halachic column a scholarly and well-balanced presentation of the views of Judaism regarding revenge at a time when the murder of innocent people, the destruction of their property and the defacement of their holy places has unfortunately increased (“Is revenge a Jewish value?” Ask the Rabbi, October 24).
His concluding words deserve repetition: “In our imperfect world, humans must join the divine mission of rooting out evil and bringing justice to the world. But we must remain watchful that our actions stem from calculated judgments of justice, and are not rash expressions of pain and anger. Striking the proper balance is a difficult task, yet will ultimately make our country a holy nation.”
SEYMOUR HOFFMAN
Rehovot
OLD CANARD
Sir, – While chronicling our country’s deficiencies for the new year (“‘After the holidays,’” Tradition Today, October 17), Rabbi Reuven Hammer unfortunately repeats one of the Left’s old canards that Israel “controls the lives of millions of Palestinians who have no vote.”
If the Palestinians cannot vote, it’s because their own government is preventing them. Their president, Mahmoud Abbas, was last elected in 2005 for a four-year term! A year later, the Palestinian people used their right to vote and gave Hamas a majority in the legislative assembly.
Since 2009, Abbas has stayed in power by keeping his people disenfranchised. Only someone blinded by ideology (as it is so beautifully put in the old Union Prayer Book) would think that Israel has anything to do with that.
Even though Rabbi Hammer is associated with the Masorti Movement, it would be wrong to ascribe his political opinions and historical inaccuracies to the movement, whose members hold a wide range of political convictions. His opinions are entirely his own, and perhaps it would be to the readers’ benefit if The Jerusalem Post made this clear in the future.
DOUG GREENER
Jerusalem
Write to: maglet@jpost.com Only a selection of letters can be published. Priority goes to those that are brief and topical. Letters may be edited, and must bear the name and address of the writer.