November 21: Settling for a spitball

I'll settle for even one bomb for every rocket from Gaza. I'd settle for one rocket for every rocket. I'd even settle for one spitball for every rocket from Gaza.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters 88 (photo credit: )
letters 88
(photo credit: )
Settling for a spitball Sir, - Jay Goldstein's letter ("...means our 10 for your one," November 19) proposed firing 10 bombs for every rocket fired from Gaza. I'll settle for even one bomb for every rocket from Gaza. I'd settle for one rocket for every rocket. I'd even settle for one spitball for every rocket from Gaza. When is our government going to actually respond? DANIEL STERMAN Jerusalem Let it pass... Sir, - For the last few days, the media, written and televised, have lost all sense of responsibility toward its audiences. Is Ya'acov Alperon more important than the Kassam, or how about the financial crisis and other economic issues ("Men of no honor," Editorial, November 20)? ARIE RICHTER Netanya ...but don't let it wane Sir, - After the completely irresponsible attack on Ya'acov Alperon, former head of police investigations Cmdr. Moshe Mizrahi said that for the first two months after the attack, crime bosses will go into hiding, but "After a calming-down period, however, when police pressure waned, the violence could start, Mizrahi warned" ("'Cities could be rocked by bombs in Alperon vendetta,' " November 19) My question is very simple. Given the deaths of innocent bystanders during mob hits over the summer, why would police pressure ever wane? Granted it is still more dangerous to drive a car - meaning the odds of being an "innocent bystander" are much worse in an automobile than as the victim of a mob hit. The fact that the police know they should expect a retaliation means that pressure should never, ever wane. MATTHEW BERMAN Herzliya No blaming ourselves Sir, - As long as the Israeli media continues to repeat the mantra of being responsible for the misery in Gaza, then we shouldn't be surprised at the statements spewed out in the UN by their one-sided Human Rights Commissioner. Instead of "Israel condemns UN statement calling for an end to Gaza blockade" (November 19), the headline should have read: "UN statements fail to condemn Hamas for causing misery." Israel will never be heard unless it stops being complicit in accepting blame for the Palestinian misery made inevitable by their own leaders. SONIA GOLDSMITH Netanya Perhaps Schalit too... Sir, - Here we go again. This time, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is promising to release 250 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to the Palestinian Authority to mark the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha ("Olmert pledges to free 250 Palestinian prisoners," November 18). When was the last time the PA showed us a gesture of goodwill for any of our Jewish holidays? How about the release of only one prisoner, namely Gilad Schalit? Or how about a cessation of rocket attacks on our southern communities? Wishful thinking, right? Mahmoud Abbas is concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. What about the humanitarian crisis in Sderot, Ashkelon, etc.? People there are being admitted to hospitals with injuries and shock from the rocket attacks, and homes and fields are being damaged. School children are again being traumatized. How is it that we are the ones always giving goodwill gestures? It's about time this one-sided affair came to a halt. HANNAH SONDHELM Jerusalem ...could be freed for a holiday Sir, - So, Olmert is about to release 250 Palestinian prisoners, as a "goodwill" gesture. How nice of him. As a Christian who has lived in Israel, does that mean that I could have committed a serious and violent crime, and then have been freed for Easter or Christmas? Well, I must say, I feel I should have been informed of this delightfully libertine aspect to the Israeli criminal justice system! JOHN LALOR Dublin