October 18: The death of Europe and who is a fake Jew

Cherry tomatoes, the death of Europe, and who is a fake Jew.

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters (photo credit: REUTERS)
Letters
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Replace Interpol?
Regarding “Israeli politicians decry PA’s acceptance to Interpol ranks “ (September 27), I‘d like to offer a suggestion on how Israel and the West should respond to the admission of “Palestine” to Interpol.
The Palestinians are trying to establish a precedent of getting their non-state admitted to international bodies in the hope that this will lead to their eventual acceptance as a state. Israel’s response should be to seek a counter-precedent: any international body that admits a “State of Palestine” will see an alternative institution established addressing the same issues, thereby effectively challenging its legitimacy and budget. Such alternative bodies won’t be seeking global acceptance, so it won’t be necessary to get all other states to participate.
The case for starting with Interpol is fairly strong: The “State of Palestine” is as likely to use its access to Interpol to undermine the war against terrorism as it is for any other purpose. No Western police force should share intelligence with an agency that is likely to reveal that intelligence to its targets, but a forum for sharing such information is clearly an advantage.
The solution is fairly obvious: establish an alternate to Interpol that will not admit states, or non-states, that cannot be trusted to safeguard information.
Once the first such de-politicized international body is established, it will become easier to set up similarly untainted agencies in other areas. The process should continue until the UN and the rest of its system get the message.
YALE ZUSSMAN
Framingham,
Massachusetts Right to bear arms
In “Cry, beloved America” (October 13), Amotz Asa-El bemoans the American penchant for firearms, protected by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. He missed what, in my opinion, is a compelling argument against the “right to bear arms,” which has also been ignored by many others, including the American judiciary.
The amendment reads, “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed There was a time in American history that there was only a small standing army and there were local militias, whose members brought their own weapons with them, who were called upon to provide the manpower necessary to fight. These militias became the National Guards of the various states and, in the interest of unifying the logistics, their troops were issued arms when they reported for duty, precluding their need to own their own weapons. As a result, if the preamble to the amendment is read as the rationale for the right granted thereafter, there is no longer any justification for not infringing upon that right.
HAIM SHALOM SNYDER
Petah Tikva
Left and Right
The Jerusalem Post on October 17 ran several articles on global Left/Right issues, including “Germany’s Left Party withdraws its anti-Israel initiative” and “Jewish groups urge Austrian gov’t to exclude far-right party.”
It is tragic that a mostly liberal Jewry and its media echo chamber persist in reflexively yelling a collective “Gevald!” every time a European right-wing party or government makes inroads against the suicidal multicultural fascism of the European Union.
In all likelihood Europe and European civilization are finished, thanks to a German-controlled EU that has imported – and continues to import – millions of hostile Muslims into its undefended and indefensible borders. Yet it is this same impulse that has shifted Europe to an extreme Left that is increasingly hostile to Israel and measurably antisemitic.
If Europe is to have any future, it will be thanks to the rise of right-wing parties and governments that are consistently pro-Israel and show few signs of wavering in this regard.
The belief that our friends are on the liberal Left side of the equation is delusional. At the same time, Right-leaning governments in Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia are rejecting the suicide pills the EU is trying to shove down their throats, while supporting the Jewish State.
It is time for us in Israel to wake up and smell the coffee.
As for the rest of world Jewry, they are proving through their actions that antisemitism is hardly needed for them to disappear.
JJ GROSS
Jerusalem
Fake Jews
Shlomo Rechnitz may believe that liberal Orthodox Jews are “fake” (“Liberal Orthodox are fake Jews, says leading haredi donor,” October 17), but in my estimation, a supposed Orthodox Jew not familiar with such tenets of the faith as “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” or “Every Jew is responsible (an areiv) for every other Jew” is more worthy of the title “fake.”
We don’t have enough Jew-haters/ antisemites in this world who would like nothing better than a world rid of all Jews, that we need to attack one another? Please! As I read Shlomo’s screed, coming so soon after the Days of Repentance, I am left to wonder how he spent his time during services on those Holy Days.
I hope the day arrives sooner than later when we are truly one people.
MICHAEL D. HIRSCH
Tzur Yigal
Labour woes
Once again in Ken Loach we have a person with a history of clear antisemitism cloaked in anti-Israel rhetoric (“Ken Loach ‘clarifies’ comments on Holocaust denial,’ October 17).
Loach is a firm supporter of the British Labour Party, whose leader Jeremy Corbyn has shared platforms with known Middle East terrorist groups and who has even found it necessary to suspend one of its own, Ken Livingstone, following Livingstone’s outspoken rant calling Hitler a supporter of Zionism.
This was even a step too far for the rank and file, and a definite tarnishing of the non-racist image the party was attempting to project.
Now Loach has gone a step further in attempting to backtrack on a quote that his refusal to condemn Holocaust denial was misconstrued.
Please spare us the next possible quote from Mr Loach – that some of his best friends are Jewish.
STEPHEN VISHNICK
Tel Aviv
Unsung heroes
With all the ugly news we are presented with daily both in print and from various media outlets it was refreshing to read the poignant piece from Cheryl Azair (“A second child becomes a lone soldier,” October 15).
It was most heartwarming to note of the support, kindness and guidance these lone soldiers and hopefully all soldiers rightly receive in doing their duty to protect us and the state.
These unsung heroes both those in uniform and civilian life contribute in no small way in making this a special place and one we can truly be proud of.
“Light unto the Nations” befits all that partake.
STEPHEN VISHNICK
Tel Aviv
Cherry tomatoes
Amy Spiro’s article on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s TV interview (“PM: I’m ‘at the mercy of shifting tides of opinion,’” October 10) mentions that he is very proud of the Israeli- bred cherry tomato. He may not know that the very first dunam in Israel was grown by Eddy Peretz, an English oleh, in Moshav Sde Nitzan in the Negev.
Peretz and his wife came from New Zealand in 1973 to found the moshav and set it up to grow tomatoes in glass houses for export to Europe. I was one of the first group of 28 families joining in 1974.
AUBREY GORDON
Modi’in