November 5: War, not summer camp

In your never-ending attempt to make the world love you, you are making fools of yourselves and endangering your best young people.

By JERUSALEM POST READERS
War, not summer camp
Sir, – Are you Israelis mad? You are harassing your own soldiers at the behest of your enemies (“IDF investigates 400 complaints over Cast Lead conduct,” November 4).
That was war, not summer camp. I would hope that the IDF made things very unpleasant for the terrorists and their enablers in Gaza, a terrorist state.
If I had put my life on the line and then came under investigation because a Gazan didn’t like how I treated him, I’d tell the IDF to shove it, pack and move out of Israel immediately.
In your never-ending attempt to make the world love you, you are making fools of yourselves and endangering your best young people.
ABE KRIEGER
Highland Park, NJ
Where is freedom of religion?
Sir, – Regarding “Non- Jews, citizens ‘without religion’ can now marry in civil ceremony” (November 4): The current bill regarding civil marriages doesn’t actually allow true civil marriages to take place. On the contrary, the proposed bill is semi-racist and contradicts the Proclamation of Independence, which clearly states that our country will provide equal right to all it’s citizens regardless of their religion, race or sex.
The current bill only broadens the gaps between all of Israel’s population sectors.
It is the biggest hypocrisy to force people to be segregated by religion, regardless of their own beliefs.
As an atheist I am forced to believe in God so as to marry in my own homeland which I served and fought for all my life. Where is the freedom of religion? I guess we haven’t progressed enough as a democracy yet, to truly implement the fundamental right to freedom of religion.
ILAN KOKOVIN
Haifa
Improve it or lose it
Sir, – Regarding “Fayyad vows to keep funding east Jerusalem projects” and “Danon: Fayyad crossed a red line by dedicating east J’lem school” (November 3): After an apparently very revealing visit by Danny Danon in east Jerusalem, he concisely concluded what numerous MKs, ministers, city officials and human rights activists have been saying for years: “We have to understand that if we’re not active, we’re going to lose our place, and we already are today.”
With all due respect to Jewish sovereignty over the entire city of Jerusalem, “a united” Jerusalem, “one” Jerusalem and constant vows by MKs and other officials that Jerusalem will never be divided again, nothing much has been done to improve living conditions in east Jerusalem for decades.
So who can really fault the Palestinian Authority for coming in to fill the gap? No one has any delusions about Fayyad’s ultimate ulterior motives in his protecting the “Arab character of Jerusalem and its status as the eternal capital of Palestine.” But Israeli leaders and successive municipal administrations in Jerusalem have admitted time and again the desperate need for more and better infrastructure, classrooms, homes, roads and municipal services in east Jerusalem, yet virtually nothing is ever done.
In fact, the same voices that cry out with righteous indignation against any attempts to redivide “united” or “one” Jerusalem in any way, shape or form have actually done more than any Palestinian official ever did to recreate a very divided “east” and “west” Jerusalem by this inexcusable neglect of residents’ needs.
Had successive Jerusalem administrations and/or the government put their money where their mouths were till now, there would be no need for any Palestinian actions. In fact, given Israel’s sorry record regarding municipal improvements for Arab east Jerusalem, the only surprising thing is why the PA didn’t take any action before.
Fayyad and the PA couldn’t have asked for a better propaganda tool for showing the entire world who really “cares” and “provides” for Arab east Jerusalem.
If we still hope to preserve a truly united and single city of Jerusalem, Danny Danon had better make sure that his newfound “revelation” about east Jerusalem be translated into tangible municipal improvements very quickly.
GERSHON HARRIS
Hatzor Haglilit