May 12: Bridge too dangerous

The results of Peres’s denial of reality will haunt us forever, and now is the time for him to face up to his mistakes.

By JERUSALEM POST READERS
Bridge too dangerous
Sir, – President Shimon Peres describes the Fatah-Hamas accord as “a temporary bridge” (“Abbas ‘absolutely’ still our partner, Peres tells ‘Post,’” May 9).
Just as Arafat was his “peace partner” when the guns he was supplied with were turned on our people and left over 1,000 dead and maimed, so is PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who repeatedly vows to walk in the footsteps of his mentor Arafat all the way to Jerusalem.
The results of Peres’s denial of reality will haunt us forever, and now is the time for him to face up to his mistakes. As president of this Jewish land, he must break his habit of embracing terrorists for whatever reason, for if, Heaven forbid, a peace deal were to be signed, it would be “a temporary bridge” leading to our destruction.
EDITH OGNALLNetanya
Befuddled views
Sir, – I found the befuddled views of Motty Fogel not only disturbing but totally antithetical to the sanctity and meaning of Remembrance Day (“Brother of terror victim Udi Fogel attends TA ceremony where Israelis and Palestinians mourn victims on both sides, May 9).
The massacre of his brother’s family was not and dare not ever be permitted to be conceived as an act to advance peace. It was an atrocious terrorist slaughter prompted by pathological hatred of the Jewish entity.
Unfortunately, Fogel is unable to distinguish good from evil and in his confusion commits the obscene error of equating them.The murderer is never to be equated with his victim, even if there are those who might mourn for him if he is killed.
ZEV CHAMUDOT Petah Tikva
Come back, Ophir
Sir, – I was delighted to read of the possibility that Ophir Paz-Pines may return to the political scene (“Ben-Eliezer tries to woo Paz-Pines back to Labor,” May 8).
Paz-Pines was among the more prominent MKs who sincerely considered the good of the people by pursuing electoral reform. Together with the Likud’s Gideon Sa’ar, he proposed a bill that, had it passed, would have been a serious milestone in realizing a truly representative government.
A number of MKs profess to support electoral reform – only with varying interpretations, some of which favor politicians rather than the electorate. Paz- Pines, along with Sa’ar, came closest to reflecting the people’s needs. His return to the Knesset will give further impetus to this cause.
ELAINE LEVITT Kfar Vradim
Security breach?
Sir, – The security of our refined fuel is now subject to investigation (“Grounded! Contaminated fuel supply paralyzes B-G Airport,” May 6). Without a doubt, one can unequivocally state that this contamination resulted from sabotage or malpractice.
Aviation fuel, like all other products from refineries, is constantly analyzed to ensure internationally recognized specifications prior to its dispatch. The problem thus was not at the production end, but arose during transportation in pipelines, possibly at intermediate pumping stations, which might have been tampered with.
Pipeline filters should have been fitted with high-pressure alarms to indicate clogging.
Were they? Further, were the filters changed or regularly maintained according to the manufacturer’s recommendations? Without security for fuel supply and quality, our military would be unable to function; hence, this problem must be treated as a major security breach.
Should not internationally experienced chemical/process engineers be appointed as independent experts to the various inquiry committees?
COLIN L. LECI Jerusalem The writer is an engineer who has worked on major oil and gas projects as well as refineries worldwide
Bubble of intolerance
Sir, – The Berlin-based correspondent of The Jerusalem Post reports in “German party branch equates Israel with Third Reich” (May 1) that the Left Party branch in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, had published an anti-Semitic text on its website.
The true story is as follows:
On April 27, our secretary was informed by a citizen from Vienna that he had discovered an anti-Semitic pamphlet on our website. The pamphlet was actually on the website of our youth organization – in order to find it, we had to activate the link to that website and then dig for more than half an hour. Obviously, it was so far down that luckily it could not have had any public resonance.
There is no doubt the pamphlet contained anti-Semitic slogans and prejudices, and sought to negate historical facts. It was immediately removed, and we issued press releases in which we distanced ourselves from the pamphlet and sharply condemned it. We also stated that in no case should any criticism toward the Israeli government for its oppression of the Palestinian people be mixed with anti-Jewish prejudices and slanders.
When by April 29 no one had stepped forward to admit to having posted the pamphlet, we reported the affair to the police, and the public prosecutor is now working on it.
All of this should have been known by your correspondent, who mentions none of it.
He and his source – the Ruhrbarone agency, which has always hated the Left and tries to campaign against us whenever possible – create the impression that the pamphlet was part and parcel of our political work. The damage to us, frankly, is real, but we are sure the whole affair will burst like a bubble very soon.
HERMANN DIERKES
UTE ABRAHAM
Duisburg, Germany
The writers are, respectively, head of the Left Party faction on the city council and spokeswoman the local party branch
Benjamin Weinthal responds:
The Left Party in Duisburg and Ms. Abraham specifically are the subject of 16 separate criminal complaints. The public prosecutor launched an investigation because of her possible involvement in posting a flyer that incites hatred against Jews and unlawfully applies the banned swastika. There also has been no shortage of conflicting and contradictory statements from the party.
The website Ruhrbarone is a serious journalistic news portal. Stefan Laurin and his colleagues have over the years reported on rising contemporary anti-Semitism in Duisburg. Ruhrbarone released a video that shows Mr. Dierkes terming Israel’s right to exist “petty” and spreading elements of Holocaust denial.
Welcome them back
Sir, – I wish to thank Norma Davidoff, Richard Shulman and The Jerusalem Post for the interesting article about the Jewish community in Quito (“Few in number, strong in faith,” Comment & Features, April 28), which also mentioned my documentary The Lost Tribe of the Sephardic Jews.
My film has nothing to do with messianism; the main subject is only bnei anusim, some of whom want to return to Judaism, although the rabbis won’t accept them.
We must differentiate between the pure bnei anusim in Ecuador who were portrayed in my film, and others who believe in Jesus and mix the two religions – although some are also descendants of bnei anusim and have a “Hebrew soul.” We should remember that in the past, the “Marranos” mixed two religions, but when they wanted to return to Judaism the rabbis accepted them.
Most of the Israelis and Jewish institutes I have made contact with during the past few years have no interest in supporting investigations or documentaries about this theme. The big question is: Why is society reacting like this to its lost brothers?
YARON AVITOV Quito, Ecuador