By LETTERS TO THE EDITORUpdated: DECEMBER 24, 2018 10:33Letters(photo credit: REUTERS)Not up to speedHaving read the editorial “Stalled on the tracks” in the Comment and Features section of December 20’s Jerusalem Post, I wasn’t surprised that the Israel Railways Board of Directors has decided to terminate the tenure of the CEO Shahar Ayalon.They seem to be making him the fall-guy for the technical problems and consequent breakdowns and delays to services on the new line because he suggested in his interview with Army Radio that the rollout of the high-speed line was launched prematurely with not all the infrastructure in place.So why did Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz announce an opening date for the line?He must have known that the line was not ready and that delays and possible accidents could occur if it were opened prematurely!It is Katz who is responsible for the public’s loss of trust in the railways – so it is his head that should roll, not Ayalon’s.I am confident that ultimately, the high-speed line will be up and running, but in the meantime Israel Railways are going through a learning process, which will benefit the future expansion of the electrification process throughout the network.SHIMON HAR-EVENSafedAnother ployAt last the people have come out against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his policy of concessions and surrender but not to the extent that they realize that until he destroys our enemies and accepts full sovereignty throughout the Jewish Land, nothing will really change (“Gov’t advances bill to legalize 70 W. Bank outposts,” December 17).This is yet another of Netanyahu’s ploys to garner support in the next election, which he does regularly whenever he senses problems.It is also a continuation of his tit-for-tat policy against the terrorists, which is a horrible indictment of our weakness.One would think that by now, the terrorists would not be occupying our Land, far less, dare to set the agenda.But they do and the prime minister allows it and just follows on, which is why he allows vast sums of money through to Hamas ,together with loads of equipment and goods that keep them strong.Who can agree with such a surrender except those, like himself, who really do not fully believe in the historic Jewish Land for the Jewish People, returned after thousands of years in exile for the sole purpose of building and settling it for the Jewish people?Add on to that, the command to run the land according to the laws and commandments handed down at Mount Sinai and you will see that everything until now has been just the opposite.We were given a jewel by Hashem and handed it to our enemies.The exile mentality is still within us. We still live in fear of what the world thinks of us.We tremble like grasshoppers when in every respect except the one of faith in the justness of our cause, we are giants.EDITH OGNALLNetanyaForgotten and ignoredI am writing as one of Tel Aviv’s forgotten and ignored population – a pedestrian.Cars parked illegally on the sidewalk are the normal practice these days and nobody does a thing about it.Bicycles are a new menace – privately owned, the green/white ones provided by the municipality and the new ones with the orange wheels.Their policy seems to be “leave the bicycle anywhere for collection.”“Anywhere” means strewn across the pavement, standing in the middle – just so that walkers have a job to get around them.The new fad is motorized scooters, with the company Bird (featured in the December 19 issue, “Bird e-scooters take flight in Tel Aviv” and seen on Usishkin Street), as well as privately owned ones.In the very near future I can see walkers, seniors, parents with prams being forced to walk on the road so that these machines can have unlimited access to the pavements.Come on, Ron Huldai! You have been in office for more than 20 years.Time enough to do something about this problem.Pedestrians have rights too and should be able to walk anywhere, without fear of being mowed down by these riders.LUCILLE LAKETERTel AvivWhat, me racist?In the opinion piece “Are we racists?” from December 17, Susan Hattis Rolef dips into the murky waters of the question “are we racists” meaning the Jewish population of Israel.Many statistics are put forward about the objection of parents to have their children friendly with Arabs.The statistics on intermarriage are not mentioned but intermarriage is mentioned as a taboo.Surely objection to intermarriage is also, therefore, purely racist.It follows that when the media discuss and bemoan intermarriage among Jews in the US, they are indeed bemoaning a lack of racism among American Jews.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attacked for his infamous call to Likud voters because the Arabs are rushing to the polling stations. Pure racism according to Rolef.Nonetheless, in the US elections (a bastion of democracy) the leaders of the two parties are constantly analyzing the voting patterns of the Blacks, the Hispanics, the Jews – somehow they are never accused of being racists.Perhaps they have better Public relations advisors.There are many definitions of racism but the “gut explanation” is a feeling of superiority.Israel is constantly bragging about its superior achievements in hi-tech, in academia, and more.Is that racism?When two people are locked in an never-ending war their feelings about one another have nothing to do with racism. More with fear. Leave it at that.YIGAL HOROWITZBeershebaThey’ll be proudA loss of a husband and a son in such tragic circumstances would have defeated the will of most wives and mothers, understandably so (“Rona Ramon, widow of Ilan, dies of cancer at 54”).However, Rona Ramon was a very special lady. Her tireless work establishing the Ramon Foundation will not only be a lasting testament to the memory of her loved ones but will give future young generations the opportunity to follow their dreams.Her parents hopefully will gain strength in the knowledge that their daughter was an exceptional person and one the Israeli nation can be truly proud of.STEPHEN VISHNICKTel AvivMaltreating the readersWas it really again necessary – at a time when Arab terrorists have been on a terrorism wave, killing multiple Israeli citizens – to bring an over-dimensioned three-column color photo on top of the Wednesday Comment and Features section of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at former PLO chairman Yasser Arafat’s tomb?Are the Jerusalem Post editors not aware of how Israeli citizens daily are exposed to life-threatening danger by Fatah and Hamas terrorists ?What is the real “mission” of the Jerusalem Post?SAMUEL NATHANSONPetah TikvaClimate of hateWith all the troubles swirling around US President Donald Trump and his administration, apparently he still thinks this whole thing about rising seas and melting snow (aka “climate change”) is a hoax.So in order to detract from scientific facts that prove it is not a hoax he has created a climate change of his own making.It’s called a “climate of hate” and he proves it every day by sowing the seeds of mistrust and fear including his defense of Mohammad Bin Salman who (according to the CIA and other members of the intelligence community) ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and lashing out at the very tenets and doctrines that make the nation great.We cannot exist in a climate of hate, fear and mistrust.Impeach President Trump and put an end to this embarrassing chapter in our history!HERB STARKMooresville, North Carolina
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