Isn’t it time for Israeli organizations – for example the New Israel Fund – to support MEMRI and others in their fight to expose something that makes peacemaking and amity much more difficult?
By JERUSALEM POST READERSWorthy causeSir, – Your editorial “The longest hatred” (August 17) recognized the importance of the cash award to MEMRI (“MEMRI receives $200,000 grant from US State Department,” August 16).So isn’t it time for Israeli organizations – for example the New Israel Fund – to support this group and others in their fight to expose something that makes peacemaking and amity much more difficult? The NIF claims that it supports any cause likely to advance peace and rapprochement, and it could not deny that the increase of hatred and prejudice runs counter to such worthy causes. Is such a cause less worthy of support than, say, Adala or Yesh Din? I doubt it.LOUIS GARB JerusalemJust the factsSir, – As one who taught students how to detect bias in newspaper reporting, I am appalled by “Filipino child born here faces deportation” (August 17) and your continual use of terminology implying that children are the ones subject to arrest and deportation, when it is the parents who have allegedly violated the law. (The question of whether they should be allowed to stay is a separate issue.) I subscribe to The Jerusalem Post because I expect objective reporting, yet I see that you often succumb to sensationalist headlines that would make our enemies gloat.BEVERLY LEWIN Ramat HasharonWrong language
Sir, – In “Arabs failed to get their story out first” (Yalla Peace, August 17), Ray Hanania has the issue almost backwards. The problem is not that the Arabs haven’t been able to effectively communicate their narrative in English. (In fact, they have become so good at this that the media lap up everything they say, true or not.) No, the real the problem is that since day one, they have been unwilling to communicate the truth to their own people in Arabic.From broadcasting to the Arabs living in early Palestine that they should flee their homes so the Jews could be eradicated, to today’s Nazistyle propaganda used to brainwash Arabs throughout the Middle East, including young children, to believe that Israel and the Jews lie at the root of all their problems, it is specifically what is being communicated in Arabic that is keeping them in their backward, hate-filled existence.The Arabs do not need a wellwritten English book of fiction – they need someone to speak the truth to them in their own language.MENACHEM LIPKINBeit ShemeshSir, – By referring to Leon Uris, author of more than 15 well-researched historical novels, as a writer “commissioned” to tell Israel’s story to the English-speaking world, Ray Hanania has shown just how far he, like many Palestinians, is prepared to stray from the truth.Contrary to what Hanania says, the fabricated Palestinian narrative has eclipsed the historical facts.But he has no cause for concern: It is those who consider truth to be of greater value than fiction who need to worry.BERYL RATZERNetanyaSir, – Ray Hanania is mistaken.The Arabs’ message has been clear and was summarized by the Khartoum resolution. Which part of “no” is hard to understand?GEORGE LEBOVITZ JerusalemSir, – Regarding Ray Hanania’s column, how about teaching the Arab leadership a very simple English phrase to get the ball rolling: “We recognize Israel as the Jewish State.”That ought to do it.ZE’EV M SHANDALOVMa’aleh AdumimWishful thinkingSir, – There was a very positive statement made by our prime minister in which he said he would go anywhere, even to the West Bank, to make peace (“Netanyahu tells American lawmakers he’s willing to go to Ramallah to talk with Abbas,” August 16).If he were to go there and the people were to accept his presence, it would be a sign of normalcy.However, for the record, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has stated unequivocally that not one Jew can remain in a Palestinian state.This is a statement of utmost racism and shows the world exactly what a Palestinian state would be. Why does the world, and especially Israel, persist in wish fulfillment and not deal with reality? That is the reason so many treaties and negotiating positions wind up as failures.TOBY WILLIGJerusalemHostage either waySir, – Letter writer Josh Trevers (“In a heartbeat,” August 16) suggests that the US further its political interests by continuing to hold Jonathan Pollard until Israel freezes settlement construction.Using the same logic, might the US further its financial interests by demanding for Pollard’s release a large sum in unmarked bills, with a warning not to go to the police?YONATAN SILVERJerusalemToo lateSir, – Gershon Baskin (“The summer of discontent,” Encountering Peace, August 16) complains that the residents of east Jerusalem lack Israeli citizenship rights.Post readers are likely aware that upon uniting the city, Israel offered citizenship to any resident who desired it. Those who accepted the offer enjoy the privileges of citizenship. Those who refused are in a poor position to assert that they should be granted equal privileges.MARK L. LEVINSONHerzliyaIt’s personalSir, – My thanks to Caroline B.Glick for documenting aspects of the Atlantic Monthly interview with Tzipi Livni (“The Left’s Faustian bargain,” Our World, August 16).Livni’s statement – that even if there is a plan on the part of seemingly moderate Palestinians to try to take apart Israel in stages, it is still Netanyahu’s fault – is outrageous. The markedly leftist assertions by this former darling of the Likud, and views shared by other Kadima MKs such as Ze’ev Bielski and Tzachi Hanegbi, confirm that personal ambitions frequently override basic beliefs.MONTY M. ZION Tel MondOff-topicSir, – Shmuley Boteach, leading a Birthright Israel trip last week, took his group to the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to visit the ambassador (“Politicians cannot save America,” No Holds Barred, August 16).After the visit, he led the group in a sing-along of “God Bless the USA.” How nice! Boteach, who discloses only two sentences earlier that the participants in his group were visiting Israel for the first time, decided to end the trip with a reinforcement of what the members of his group already felt and knew: that America is their home and their country, and they should be proud of it.So what was the whole point of the trip? Wasn’t it to show them that Israel is the home of the Jewish people? Instead of singing patriotic American songs that the youngsters have probably been singing their whole lives, Boteach should have taught them “Hatikva” and led them in song by the walls of the Old City.I really wonder what message these young adults came away with.CHANA PINTORa’ananaAnything butSir, – Lately you have referred to Gaza as “impoverished.”I do not want to say it is the paradise of the world, and it surely is much worse off than most places in Israel. Yet I am sure you could find quite a few places in the US that look poorer. Even in central Europe there are localities that could stand the comparison.Call it what you wish – just not impoverished.RICHARD PRAGERPrague
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