Letters to the Editor: Terrorism in UK

When the IDF or Israel Police kill terrorists wielding knives or worse, the world throws up its arms and talks of extrajudicial killing...

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters (photo credit: REUTERS)
Letters
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Terrorism in UK
Am I the only person to have noticed that when the IDF or Israel Police kill terrorists wielding knives or worse, the world throws up its arms and talks of extrajudicial killings, whereas when the British and European police do the same, there is no comment other than an expression of shock and horror at the coldblooded terrorists?
STEVEN SCHEINER
Caesarea
One of the most frequent points of criticism of Israel from the “liberal” West is the fact that many of those in our high-security prisons have not actually been convicted of a crime, but are held in administrative detention.
The argument used by Israel to support these measures is that these individuals are inherently dangerous and their freedom would lead to considerable harm to the general public. No, no, say the liberals, individual rights supersede all other considerations, and these people must be let out until such time as they actually commit a crime.
Following the dual attacks on civilians in the UK, in which the authorities have acknowledged that the perpetrators were already “on the radar,” I wonder whether the families of the victims would agree with the liberal view. Given the choice of sparing the lives of completely innocent civilians or infringing on the lives of highly suspect people, I have no doubt which way they would go.
Will the left-wing parties stand up in front of these families and say that the sacrifice they made was necessary and honorable? Don’t hold your breath!
HENRY KAYE
Ashkelon
Gal and ‘groping’
Regarding “‘Wonder Woman’ cracks box-office glass ceiling” (June 6), kol hakavod to Israel’s Gal Godot for showing girls and women throughout the world that it is possible to “do it all.” She carried out her obligations as a soldier and advocate for Israel, and as a model, wife and mother of young children. Now she is a major movie star.
As to Hannah Brown’s remark about the “groper-in-chief” as part of her Wonder Woman review (“Gal Gadot fights the good fight in ‘Wonder Woman’” (Arts & Entertainment, May 30), to my knowledge, US President Donald Trump has not been accused of actual groping, only braggadocio.
Of course, this locker-room talk is far from smart, but it was dragged from a clip more than 15 years old.
Unfortunately, in recent memory, there have been liberal residents of the White House involved in far worse sexual abuses against women while actually in power.
Ms. Brown should stay within her limits of expertise and not stray into political punditry.
DAVID SMITH
Ra’anana
Glad to read
I was so glad to read “Denmark freezes $8m. in Palestinian NGO funding” (June 5), following in the wake of a similar decision by Norway. Perhaps Europe is now realizing where its money is actually going.
While a youth center certainly sounds like a good thing – it keeps youth off the streets – naming it after a terrorist definitely gives the wrong message and contradicts, in my opinion, the atmosphere a youth center should build. Extrapolating to the bigger picture, I hope the European countries will now examine their donations to the Palestinian Authority.
Fundraising is not the problem; Israel needs its donors as well. But comparing how Israel uses its funds to the way the Arabs do should be a wake-up call to the world.
The Palestinians were expected to develop fiscal responsibility and financial independence in the years since the Oslo Accords. Paying salaries (not to terrorists’ families), building infrastructure and turning “refugee” camps into towns should have been high on the list of things to do.
Instead, they have perpetuated the “poor people” status, begging for euros and dollars while blaming Israel for their woes.
We try to teach our children how to use money responsibly.
I say to the Palestinian leaders: Grow up!
BATYA BERLINGER
Jerusalem
Expel Al Jazeera
Why does Israel allowed Qatar-based Al Jazeera to be broadcast in Israel (“Qatar pressured to expel Hamas,” June 5)? Al Jazeera is a mouthpiece for Hamas and other radical Islamists seeking legitimacy and the spread of fake news. Ayoub Kara, our new communications minister, should look closely and decide why we shouldn’t expel the station.
MARSHA ROTH
Jerusalem
Needs emphasis
In “Rajoub: Kotel should stay ‘under Jewish sovereignty’ in peace deal” (June 5), you neglect to say that Yasser Arafat made that exact statement, word for word, during a news conference in August 1995. He clarified that while the Western Wall could remain in Jewish hands, nothing else in the Old City could.
That position of the PLO and the Palestinian Authority has not changed. The Jerusalem Post should emphasize this.
DAVID BEDEIN
Jerusalem
The writer is director of the Israel Resource News Agency.
So sorry
I believe your headline “UNRWA sorry for using Syria photo in Gaza campaign” (June 5) has an error.
Not once in UNRWA’s long history of egregious mistakes has it ever erred in Israel’s favor, so this “apology” is somewhat incredulous. I think what you meant to print was “UNRWA sorry it got caught.”
NOAM COHEN
Efrat
CUNY confused
With regard to “Linda Sarsour, vicious critic of Israel, delivers CUNY speech” (June 4), I am ashamed of the City University of New York, one of the great university systems in the United States.
Linda Sarsour made a horrendous speech against Israel at its commencement ceremony. She made her cause – murderous Palestinian rampages – the cause of women’s achievement.
I am ashamed of the feminist movement in the United States.
What has happened there is a war against Israel, not a battle for women’s rights. It certainly is in the interest of women worldwide to loathe the Palestinian record of killing women and children in their beds at night or while they are standing at bus stops.
CUNY has confused free speech with acts of murder and violence.
THELMA SUSSWEIN
Jerusalem
Pedestrians’ rights
As I walked leisurely homeward on the sidewalk after morning prayers, a young boy furiously riding an electric bicycle to school brushed past me without warning and sped onward through large groups of children and parents. I could have been injured by that cyclist, who gave no warning.
This is the constant danger we innocent pedestrians are confronted with as we leap aside to avoid hurtling electric cyclists who give not the slightest thought to the safety of young and old pedestrians.
It is a miracle that there are not more injuries to pedestrians, particularly the elderly and less agile among us. It might be safer for pedestrians to walk in the road! Where are the authorities amid this bedlam? The Jerusalem mayor and municipality? The Jerusalem police? They are conspicuously absent from the sidewalk fray.
They should be coming down harshly and slapping fines and prison sentences on the sidewalk cyclists to at long last deter them.
Or are the authorities concerned that in our democracy, this might be construed as a provocative and unjustified blow to civil liberties?
DAVID HERMAN
Jerusalem
CORRECTION Unlike what was stated in “Palestinian suffering and Israel” (Our World, June 6), in 1949, the Soviets called their state intelligence agency the MGB. The KGB was not established until 1954.