Letters to the Editor August 17, 2020: The UAE piece of the peace puzzle
Readers of The Jerusalem Post have their say.
By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: PIXABAY)The UAE piece of the peace puzzleWhat a day in the life of Israel! The agreement between Israel and the UAE (“A win for The Netanyahu Doctrine,” August 14) is the third with an Arab country and the first in 26 years. The former agreements with Egypt and Jordan were essentially cessation of hostility agreements, and so the UAE agreement is the first only about “normalization.” If there is one point in the history of the country that would signify Israel’s entry to the community of “grown-up” nations of the world, then this must be it.Prior peace-making efforts in the Israel-Palestinian conflict by largely well-meaning Western countries from 1937 on were based on the strategy of: “We’ll force the Jews to make concessions” then the Arabs will do nothing except to continue to kill us.The Trump administration brought a new wind through the region: calling the PA game for what it is, and putting pressure on them to stop their “pay for slay” practices; stopping the rewarding of bad actors in the area; and taking care of the good guys. A significant point in our history was when Netanyahu addressed the joint US Congress in March 2015 against the Iran nuclear deal, a speech that was criticized by the weak-kneed.The cunning fox pulls it off again. May the normalization with the Arab world continue apace.DAVID SMITHRa’ananaThe announcement that Israel and the United Arab Emirates have reached a peace treaty should be welcome news to everyone. One group, however, continues to keep their head in the sand, refusing to see how the world is changing before their eyes (“Palestinians fume over Israel-UAE deal,” August 14).The message should be clear that the longer the Palestinian leadership fume over Israel’s political gains instead of coming to the negotiating table, their share of the pie will continue to get smaller and smaller.When will PA leader Mahmoud Abbas realize that Israel will never return to the pre-1967 “borders” (the 1949 ceasefire lines). With unrealistic conditions, the so-called Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 was always a non-starter and was the opening salvo that took 18 years, until the announcement of the pact with UAE, to officially kill the conditions expressed in 2002.Too bad that Abbas is so busy fuming that he continues to prevent his subjects from really improving their lives.ARTHUR MILLERBeit ShemeshRegarding “Israel, UAE reach historic peace deal,” (August 14), peace between countries is always historic and welcome.The UAE-Israel peace agreement will see Israel hold off extending civilian control to 30% of Judea and Samaria, but the American “Peace to Prosperity” plan sets the new baseline for negotiating an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The 1949 armistice lines endorsed by the Obama-Biden administration have been replaced. Under the plan, the Palestinian Authority would have slightly more territory than Egypt and Jordan occupied until 1967. Israel would have security on its borders and the PA would have their own state, with certain restrictions, and a $50 billion development fund.The UAE agreement will lead to new treaties between Israel and other neighboring states. Eventually the Arab League will prod the PA into renewing final status talks.LEN BENNETTOttawaKudos to Yaakov Katz for paving the way by showing that there is a place for satire on the front page of The Jerusalem Post (“Who else deserves credit? Obama and the failed JCPOA,” August 16). He explains the because of the failed policies of president Barack Obama Israel was able to get closer to the United Arab Emirates.In the article, the author cannot resist reminding his uninformed readers that Netanyahu deserves credit for his diplomatic skills, and that he is a “great statesman” in spite of his having a “flawed character.” He must also remind the readers “that Netanyahu’s current policies are problematic and having him remain prime minister while on trial is bad for Israel.”It makes me wonder if a terrorist should be similarly praised because he brought the remaining members of the family closer together than ever before.MOSHE GOLDBERGJerusalemApparently, nothing breeds success like failure.I thought Democratic nominee Joe Biden had taken leave of his senses when he tried to claim substantial credit for the peace agreement between Israel and the UAE, but after reading Yaakov Katz’s article, I understand the possible connection: it was the failure of the JCPOA and other miserable and misguided Obama-era Mideast policies that inadvertently contributed to the success of the Trump approach.Let Biden at least take credit for that.MICHAL MEISELBaltimoreRegarding “Palestinians vow to thwart UAE-Israel ‘treacherous’ deal” (August 15), it is tragic is that the Palestinian leaders don’t think that they have any responsibility for resolving the conflict. If they truly thought that Israel would do anything close to meeting the demands of the Arab “peace initiative,” Palestinian leaders should have taken steps to guarantee that withdrawal to the 1949 Armistice lines and agreeing to the presence of a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem would not be moves toward the destruction of the nation-state of the Jews.What could the Palestinian leaders have done in the past two decades? They could have replaced the spewing of anti-Jewish rhetoric with the teaching of tolerance; they could have stopped inciting violence and rewarding people for murdering Jews; they could have stopped the missile attacks on Israeli population centers, the digging of tunnels to facilitate the abduction and murder of Israelis, the floating of incendiary devices into Israel; they could have praised Palestinians who sought to work with Israelis (instead of condemning actions that “normalize the Occupation”). And they could have announced that “Palestine refugees” would be given citizenship in the first-ever Palestinian state, dropping the demand that Israel take in millions of people who’d been taught that killing Jews is the path to Heaven.TOBY F. BLOCKAtlantaDon’t embarrass HarrisRegarding “Jewish community vocal over Kamala Harris’s Jewish husband” (August 15), Senator Kamala Harris’s husband may be Jewish, but her record is saturated with antisemitic votes and actions. For example,• She refused to vote to condemn the foundational antisemitism and anti-Zionism of Ilhan Omar.• She refuses to appear at AIPAC.• She voted against the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.• She voted against the Combating BDS Act.RICHARD SHERMANMargate, Florida“What should Jewish voters know about Kamala Harris” (August 13) claims “Harris’s husband has two Jewish children from a previous marriage,” but here’s the fact check about their birth mother via Wikimedia: Name: Kerstin Emhoff. Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota. Religion: Christianity. Her children are not legally, religiously or educationally affiliated as Jews.GERSHON DALINModiin-Maccabim-ReutWhites need not apply? The election of Barack Obama to the presidency created the false impression that skin color is no longer a criterion for the highest office in the United States. The present Democratic Party choice of a woman of color as candidate for the office of vice-president, a position one heartbeat away from the presidency and the leadership of the free world, indicates that skin pigment remains a key criterion and gender has now been added as a second reference point. Even though we live in an imperfect world and politics is the art of the possible that requires compromise, the Founding Fathers of the United States must be turning over in their graves now that accidents of birth are the primary standards of measurement while knowledge, experience, character, and leadership ability are no longer even given consideration.JAY SHAPIROJerusalemGaza hot topicRegarding “Police sappers working around the clock to neutralize balloon terror” (August 12) and “stoppage of fuel supplies fails to halt Hamas balloons” (August 14, page 6), why, in a technically advanced country like ours that can defend against missiles that travel thousands of kilometers per hour, can we not use hi-tech to defend against balloons and kites that travel no more than 20 to 30 kilometers per hour?What happened to the “Light Blade” laser beam system that can take down balloons (“New laser beam system developed to take down drones, burning balloons” December 26, 2019)? If that system still has not been deployed, we should at least use a combination of hi-tech and low-tech to stop this threat. We have drones constantly surveying the border – attach powerful lawn leaf blowers to these drones and blow the balloons back into Gaza. After most of Gaza burns, we will see how quickly they will stop this brand of terror.This should be implemented immediately as it is obviously a burning issue!SAMMY HIRSCHMANKarnei ShomronWe declare it: No more warI disagree with one major statement in “Why the Palestinians stay the darlings of the international system despite rejecting every overture for peace” (August 16).The authors write: “[T]he Palestinians hold real power. Israel cannot unilaterally declare the conflict over, but the Palestinians can.”Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, there are many reasons why Israel simply and loudly declaring the conflict over would engender many positive benefits. First, Israel is powerful enough to simply declare the conflict over. This would counter the Palestinian argument that their war with Israel continues apace, an argument that continues to fuel the present conflict. Israel could then argue to the world – with great basis in fact – that Israel has no war with the PLO and Hamas or the Palestinian people. Of course, Israel would need to continue to maintain its security footing until such time as peace actually ensues. When Hamas or other Palestinian terrorist organizations attack it, Israel will of course respond appropriately but be able to say simultaneously, “See, Israel is not at war with the Palestinians, yet they continue to attack us.” This would put on its head the tired Palestinian trope of small population being attacked by a strong modern country.Second, the Palestinian political organizations and people need to understand that Israel is not at war with them, will not be held hostage to their demands and yet still is open to a fully negotiated peace.Just think of the positive hasbara arising from being able to proclaim to the world that Israel is not at war with the Palestinians. Proclaiming this would go a long way to showing the Palestinians do not have any “real power” over Israel. If the UAE/Israel peace agreement teaches us anything, it is that old paradigms should no longer be followed. Denying power to the Palestinians over Israel’s future in whatever ways are available lmay well lead to their rejection of their constant rejectionism.ROD MCLEODTimratRiveting reportingRegarding “Mysterious fortress may help solve enigmas of North” and two other articles by the same writer on that page (August 13, Page 6), I’ve frequently been tempted to write praises of Rosella Tercatin, but she was so outstanding in today’s paper that I could no longer refrain. Her three articles were so fascinating that I had to savor them all word for word, something I rarely do. I spent more time enjoying that one page than I did on the entire rest of the paper! How refreshing to learn interesting new information about our wonderful country – rather than the doom-and-gloom rehash that awaits the reader in much of the rest of the paper.RIVKA ZAHAVYJerusalemWhat would we do without Seth J. Frantzman? His in-depth daily analyses of the situation in the Middle East are invaluable in understanding the complex interactions in our part of the world. His ability to convey his broad knowledge so eloquently is a major asset to Jerusalem Post readers.ROSALIE MORIAHJerusalemRussia’s putative COVID cureRegarding “Hadassah head reveals Israel’s role in Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine” (August 12), Hadassah had better disassociate itself from the Russian statement approving a COVID-19 vaccine that hasn’t been through Phase 3 clinical trials, or it will lose credibility.Michael Osterholm, a leading US epidemiologist said, “This is a propaganda stunt. Seriously, that’s all it can be. No one in public health could recommend that you put forward a vaccine in most urgent of conditions without a Phase 3 study... I think you’ve heard today from the public health community around the world including WHO, the grave concern about what they’ve done in Russia, and you couldn’t get me to take this vaccine for the life of me.“I would never give it to any of my loved ones and family members and I surely would not recommend it to any of you. So we need to have the kind of data that we can assure the public, that we can assure ourselves, that this vaccine is effective, that it’s safe to the extent we possibly can, and anything short of that I think endangers public health... I uniformly reject what the Russians have done and I think it is dangerous.”MLADEN ANDRIJASEVICBeershebaElecting not to vote Regarding “Why Netanyahu backed off on elections” (August 14), what a surprise that new elections are unlikely. Everyone in the present government has far too much to lose by taking a chance and asking the people to vote on what they think about them.STANLEY CANNINGKibbutz Kfar HamaccabiBridge loan also availableRegarding “Israel tops China in number of coronavirus cases” (August 11), if you believe the data from China I have a nice bridge in New York City that I can sell you at a good price.SHMUEL SCHWARTZRa’anana
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