Letters to the Editor June 10, 2020: Annexation nervosa

Readers of The Jerusalem Post have their say.

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters (photo credit: PIXABAY)
Letters
(photo credit: PIXABAY)
Annexation nervosa
Regarding “Berlin ups pressure on Israel to nix annexation amid calls for sanctions” (June 7), so the honorable German foreign minister is coming to warn us of “serious consequences” if we dare to annex (our own land).
What has he got in mind? Auschwitz, perhaps?
Germans don’t only lack a shred of shame, but they also – and the European Union – take themselves way too seriously.
Where is Menachem Begin when we need him? I recall with some pride the dressing down he delivered to the German ambassador for having the chutzpah to even have an opinion on Israel’s security. Germans need to come to grips with the reality of a strong independent Jewish state that needs neither their opinion nor their warning.
YEHUDIT LIPNER
Jerusalem
Regarding “Why the uproar over sovereignty?” (June 7), Moshe Dann is absolutely correct. Palestinian leaders have refused to negotiate for much of the nearly three decades that have passed since the Oslo Accords were signed. Thus, it is no surprise that Israel is about to transfer land assigned to it in the Accords without Final Status agreements having been reached. Nor is it any surprise that the Palestinian Authority is screaming. Hamas, having sworn it would never negotiate with Israel, still complains bitterly about the insult of Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza.
It is important to note that saying, “There will be no PLO state” isn’t the same as saying, “There will be no Palestinian state.” The actions of the Palestinian leaders will determine if they ever get the state they claim to want. They need to turn their attention away from efforts to replace the nation-state of the Jews with a Muslim-majority state and they also need to begin preparing their people for life in a state co-existing peacefully with the Jewish state. A good starting point would be using the funds donated for the benefit of the Palestinians to improve the economy and build the infrastructure needed by a viable state, one in which its citizens (including those claiming descent from Arabs who fled Arab-initiated wars against the Jews and Israel) would be helped to become productive citizens.
TOBY F. BLOCK
Atlanta, GA
Just in case anyone had any doubts, “Annexation as a distraction” (June 8) shows for sure now that Jeff Barak absolutely loathes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Barak, Netanyahu has done nothing right all these years of his stewardship of our country. He ruined bipartisan support in the US by undermining US president Barack Obama’s Iranian nuclear deal. If only Netanyahu had really undermined that horrific deal and caused it not to be implemented! Netanyahu has “recklessly placed all of Israel’s eggs in the basket of the most volatile and divisive president in modern US history.” No love lost for Donald Trump, either – the best US president and friend to Israel in the White House in the past 72 years (according to Michael Oren). 
But Barak has nothing to fear. I, too, believe that all this talk of sovereignty will come to nothing.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing what he does best; talking up a big game. He’s a fantastic communicator and usually says the right thing. But when it comes down to actually living up to what he promises, like most politicians, he comes up short. Bibi can take a lesson from his good friend, Trump, and actually do a few things of what he promised pre-election. Say what you will about Trump, he has done what he campaigned on. He made America great again (pre-corona and rioting, of course).
Only when Israel starts to build in E1 across the way from my home in Ma’aleh Adumim will I believe that we will exercise sovereignty over Yehuda v’Shomron.  
NORMAN DEROVAN
Ma’aleh Adumim
Columnists Jeff Barak, Susan Hattis-Rolef and Ehud Olmert, who never miss an opportunity to lash out at the prime minister, are at it again. Sovereignty, the dream of the country’s founders and a vast majority of her citizens these past seven decades is about to come to fruition. Yet, it’s obvious these three “Never Netanyahu” partisans will take whatever the opposite position is from Bibi.
Barak has pulled out the old, “we’re going to upset our allies” canard – allies such as Germany. Germany! He doesn’t want to upset presidential candidate Joe Biden either, even though Barak knows full well the Democratic party’s favor is already lost to Israel. He’s also pulled out the already-debunked two-sided card that Jordan will abrogate the peace treaty and the Palestinians will no longer pursue peace with us. That’s a joke!
He further claims Israel does not have US President Donald Trump’s backing, of which he says results in more than half of Israel’s citizens opposing annexation. Except that Israel does have Trump’s backing and Netanyahu has made it clear repeatedly that he will take this step only in conjunction with the Americans and their map. And, of course, he took a personal pot shot at the prime minister, declaring that he needs this to bulk up his legacy so it can compare to past Israeli leaders. Hattis-Rolef and Olmert echo this.
So Netanyahu starts off with three strikes against him among the Jerusalem Post columnists. Let’s hope he doesn’t try to bribe the Post editors for more favorable coverage.
ALLAN KANDEL
Los Angeles, CA
Color commentary
“Kamala Harris’s prospects surge as Joe Biden searches for running mate” (June 7) provides a comprehensive analysis of the various women, particularly of color, being considered by Joe Biden to be his vice-presidential running mate.
The one point not mentioned – and which will probably not be considered by most voters – is that in the event of death or incapacity of the president, this person will have her finger on the nuclear button.
Gender and skin color are definitely not appropriate criteria for this responsibility.
JAY SHAPIRO
Jerusalem
Floyd void
“Minneapolis mayor jeered for refusing to back defunding police” (June 8) is just the latest example of mob psychology replacing rational thinking. Every outrageous proposal receives legitimacy if it is made in the name of the tragic figure of George Floyd. The defunding or disbanding of any police force would only result in anarchy and chaos infinitely worse than the current mess.
The fluidity of public opinion is best illustrated by the old truism that a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged and a liberal is conservative who has been indicted.
DR. SAMUEL DERSHOWITZ
Jerusalem
Droning on and on
After reading “A look inside Iran’s massive drone army” (July 9), it is not difficult to imagine a new kind of drone war with 10,000 pre-programmed kamikaze drones simultaneously attacking Israel with 100 kg. bombs from the north and east. Will the IDF be capable of a defense – and will the IDF be able to do the same to Israel’s enemies?
GERSHON DALIN
Modi’in
Brash religious clash
Regarding “‘East Jerusalem is Israeli, open the city’” (June 5), Moshe Dayan’s 1967 statement, “East Jerusalem is Israeli... open the city,” was ironic since in the newly reunified capital, he in refused to allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount. Instead, as he notes in his autobiography, he said, “It was evident that if we did not prevent Jews from praying in what was now a mosque compound, matters would get out of hand and lead to a religious clash...”
Somehow Dayan failed to realize that Arab countries waging wars and constant acts of terrorism to eliminate the Jewish State of Israel were already elements of a “religious clash.”
It’s time to rectify Moshe Dayan’s mistake and allow Jews to pray openly and in minyanim on Har Ha’Bayit.
PESACH NISENBAUM
Jerusalem