MONTY M. ZION Tel MondDiplomatic malpractice
Sir, – Uri Savir’s rationale for supporting the creation of a Palestinian state gives the reader a feeling of having fallen into a time warp (“October opportunity or autumn tsunami?,” Savir’s Corner, September 23).The exact same reasons were given for supporting the 1993 Oslo agreement, which resulted in an ongoing reign of terror that has cost lives and maimed thousands of Jews and Arabs, and in increasing uncertainty regarding Israel’s diplomatic position.Publicizing his thoughts on how Israel should conduct relations with its neighbors is equivalent to a health column written by a quack whose patients have died under his care.JAY SHAPIRO
Karnei Shomron
Change is good Sir, – While not all of us are happy that change is on the horizon, change will eventually come.There is no difference between what happened in 1948 at the UN to what is happening now at the UN with the bid for a Palestinian state. When will we all open our eyes and accept that change is good? We must not stop progress.Why hinder this state? Let it grow, let it blossom, just like the State of Israel did in 1948.I travel every year to Israel and have accepted it. Eventually, all Israelis will accept Palestine. Let it be now.
SULTAN SARSOUR Winston-Salem, North CarolinaElection year love Sir, – Former US congressman Robert Wexler’s apologia for President Barack Obama (“Defending Obama’s pro-Israel credentials, Comment & Features, September 22) is full of half-truths, but the height of its deception relies on Obama’s recent role in the rescue of our six embassy personnel in Cairo.Yes, we are truly grateful that they were not killed. However, let’s not forget that it was Obama who threw Hosni Mubarak under the bus and championed the Arab Spring, which is now rapidly turning into an Islamic Winter in which the West loses Egypt.Had Obama not risen to the challenge during the sacking of our embassy, his stark failures in the Middle East would have been all the more focused. As the economy in America slides ever more quickly into a second recession, he needs some small measure of success to trumpet to his fading Jewish donors.While we may for the moment be coincidental political bedfellows, let’s not lose sight of the fact that most of Obama’s prior actions suggest he would toss us in the same direction he did the former Egyptian president.CHAIM A. ABRAMOWITZ JerusalemSir, – History works in unusual ways and there is often a direct link between events that seem unrelated.Even the most prescient pundit could not have foreseen the connection between the prurient behavior of an obscure American congressman and the unusually pro-Israel speech made by President Barack Obama last week at the United Nations (“Obama at UN declares ‘no shortcuts’ to peace,” September 22).Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner of New York’s ninth congressional district was forced to resign because of salacious behavior. His district has a large Jewish constituency. In the special election held two weeks ago to replace Weiner, the Republican candidate won a seat held by the Democratic Party for more than 80 years.This sent an alarming message to Obama, who has been in campaign mode since assuming office. The message, among other things, is that his treatment of Israel may cost him a large share of the Jewish vote and reduce contributions to his campaign by Jewish donors.His initial response to this alarm was seen and heard in his speech at the UN. His attitude toward Israel during the coming election year will undoubtedly continue to be a reflection of electoral realities rather than his basic beliefs and sympathies.
RUTH ROSENBERG Jerusalem
Maybe he means it Sir, – Unfortunately, Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas shows how far removed he is from reality if he seriously thought US President Barack Obama was not serious when indicating he was against any move by the PA to get the UN to recognize Palestinian statehood now.We Israelis must now seriously consider the state of Abbas’s mental health if the PA leader is so enwrapped in his own extraordinary notion of driving a coach and horses through all accepted principles of international law that he is unable or unwilling to understand Obama’s plain English.PETER SIMPSON Jerusalem
No such games Sir, – Speaking on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League, I can unequivocally say that Isi Leibler is totally mistaken when he suggests that American Jewish organizations have become reluctant to criticize American policies toward Israel (“The silence of American Jewish leaders,” Candidly Speaking, September 22).When necessary, we have not hesitated to speak out, such as when the Obama administration focused on Israeli settlements or when it was implied that Israel was harming American interests.What really seems to bother Leibler is that an American Jewish organization would at any point say something positive about the administration.The truth is, we do not have the luxury to just be critics.America is too important to Israel to play such games. So when America interceded to prevent a disaster at the embassy in Cairo, we praised the administration. When the US openly indicated it would veto the unilateral declaration of the Palestinians at the Security Council, we commended it.There are those on the Left who never criticize the administration and those on the Right who never have anything good to say. We at the ADL cannot and will not fall into either position.The relationship is too serious to play such games.
ABRAHAM H. FOXMAN New York
The writer is national director of the ADL
SONYA FEDERMAN
Jerusalem