Sir, – Instead of asking if we remembered to change our clocks overnight between Thursday and Friday (“Did you remember to turn your clocks forward?,” March 30), it would have been beneficial to have warned us in the previous day’s newspaper.By chance I noticed it in a Hebrew paper at the hairdressers.Otherwise I would not have known.Someone slipped up there!HILARY GATOFF Herzliya PituahTax the rich Sir, – I disagree completely with your March 30 editorial (“Fighting tax evasion”).Why in the world should the rich not pay more taxes of all kinds? Certainly their income taxes should be higher so that they would become a part of the troubled masses who pay, even though they don’t have much income.What’s wrong with that? No one who makes millions will work at increasing his fortune any less just because he has to pay a few thousand more in taxes! If there are so many tax evaders, certainly the authorities should work harder at nabbing them, by all means. But don’t lower taxes for those with high incomes.LEONARD ZURAKOVNetanyaNot just complaints Sir, – Sad is Hirsh Goodman’s “A painful story” (PostScript, March 30) about his broken ankle and torn ligaments and the related hospital problems.This differs from a careless fall in my dark flat at 10 on the night of February 17, because by 11:30 p.m. a highly-professional and efficient staff at Terem had registered me, taken X-rays and put my broken right wrist and arm in a cast, which alleviated some pain.Within a few days my emergency cast was replaced, new Xrays were analyzed by an orthopedist at the Mekor Baruch Trauma Center, where further treatment took place until the injuries had healed enough for physiotherapy, which since has been of great help.When my husband collapsed some time ago, he was rushed to the emergency room at Shaarei Zedek Medical Center and later received intervention in its cardiac department. We Clalit Health Fund members will always be grateful for the caring attention given to us by so many medical staff members in different places, at none of which we “went private.”It is a pity that Goodman’s experiences were so difficult. We wish him a speedy and pain-free recovery.ESTER ZEITLINJerusalemA decade on Sir, – Ten years ago Israel was shocked by the horrendous Passover massacre in Netanya a few blocks from where I live (“At Netanya’s Park Hotel, survivors mark 10-year anniversary of worst terrorist attack of the second intifada,” March 28), and the government constructed a separation barrier to stop Palestinian terrorists from infiltrating.A decade later the world, feeling sorry for the Palestinians and totally indifferent to the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, is angry with Israel for constructing the wall and for not “allowing” the Palestinians to have a sovereign state on the West Bank.That is how modern history works. Terrorism pays. Terrorism got the French out of Algeria and it got the Israelis out of Gaza and Southern Lebanon.After all, who wants to pay the awful price for holding land that brutal and determined terrorists claim? Personally, I would be in favor of the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state on the West Bank if such a state were to unequivocally assure Israel that it would represent no future threat and that it would protect Jewish historical places and give Jews reasonably unlimited access to those sites.What are the chances that the Palestinians would agree to such assurances? Nil. I would like them to prove me wrong, but I can’t imagine that happening any time soon.So history has to stop here. This time we have no place else to go.We cannot allow determined, brutal terrorism to win again.BARRY WERNERNetanyaWaste of timeSir, – So “Ehud Olmert maintains Abbas is ‘partner for peace’” (March 28). Our president also repeats this over and over. The late Yitzhak Rabin said the same about Yasser Arafat. It just proves the saying: You can fool some of the people all of the time.Of course they want peace – but completely on their terms.They will not and in fact cannot compromise on a deal with Israel unless their militant bosses give their complete approval.Olmert said he held 36 meetings with Abbas. These were not negotiations; the Palestinians were just shadow boxing to satisfy the Americans and other countries that support them financially.It is a pure waste of time and energy to think we can reach an agreement with the Palestinians unless we are prepared to capitulate to all their main demands.W. MALKINSONRa’ananaLet them see it Sir, – Regarding “Next round of escalation with Gaza will be ‘more violent,’ public security minister warns” (March 28), if the government would allow foreign correspondents representing major media outlets to accompany IDF troops into Gaza, they would see for themselves that Israel bends over backwards to protect civilians while Hamas uses them as human shields and fires from UN installations. They would report this and there would be no need for another Goldstone Commission.Hopefully, the IDF would also destroy Hamas and all the other terrorist organizations and not allow them to survive to bombard us again.LEONARD GOODMANBeit ShemeshNot so far Sir, – Isi Leibler makes a fundamental mistake when he characterizes Peter Beinart and J Street as representing far-Left Jews (“AIPAC at the pinnacle of success,” Candidly Speaking, March 28).Although I condemn their views on Israel, I consider them as Jews of the Left who still support Zionism. By contrast, Jewish individuals and groups of the far-Left, such as Prof. Neve Gordon, expatriate Israeli academic Ilan Pappe, the Israeli group Breaking the Silence, the American group Jewish Voices for Peace and the British group Jews for Justice for Palestinians, relentlessly instigate hatred of Israel and Israelis among non- Jews couched in the soothing language of peace.With the former, we mainstream Jews can still find common ground. The latter are beyond the pale and with them we have nothing to talk about.JACOB MENDLOVICToronto
April 2: Wrong Way
Why is the United States so intent on warning Israel about the consequences of a strike on Iran?
Sir, – Instead of asking if we remembered to change our clocks overnight between Thursday and Friday (“Did you remember to turn your clocks forward?,” March 30), it would have been beneficial to have warned us in the previous day’s newspaper.By chance I noticed it in a Hebrew paper at the hairdressers.Otherwise I would not have known.Someone slipped up there!HILARY GATOFF Herzliya PituahTax the rich Sir, – I disagree completely with your March 30 editorial (“Fighting tax evasion”).Why in the world should the rich not pay more taxes of all kinds? Certainly their income taxes should be higher so that they would become a part of the troubled masses who pay, even though they don’t have much income.What’s wrong with that? No one who makes millions will work at increasing his fortune any less just because he has to pay a few thousand more in taxes! If there are so many tax evaders, certainly the authorities should work harder at nabbing them, by all means. But don’t lower taxes for those with high incomes.LEONARD ZURAKOVNetanyaNot just complaints Sir, – Sad is Hirsh Goodman’s “A painful story” (PostScript, March 30) about his broken ankle and torn ligaments and the related hospital problems.This differs from a careless fall in my dark flat at 10 on the night of February 17, because by 11:30 p.m. a highly-professional and efficient staff at Terem had registered me, taken X-rays and put my broken right wrist and arm in a cast, which alleviated some pain.Within a few days my emergency cast was replaced, new Xrays were analyzed by an orthopedist at the Mekor Baruch Trauma Center, where further treatment took place until the injuries had healed enough for physiotherapy, which since has been of great help.When my husband collapsed some time ago, he was rushed to the emergency room at Shaarei Zedek Medical Center and later received intervention in its cardiac department. We Clalit Health Fund members will always be grateful for the caring attention given to us by so many medical staff members in different places, at none of which we “went private.”It is a pity that Goodman’s experiences were so difficult. We wish him a speedy and pain-free recovery.ESTER ZEITLINJerusalemA decade on Sir, – Ten years ago Israel was shocked by the horrendous Passover massacre in Netanya a few blocks from where I live (“At Netanya’s Park Hotel, survivors mark 10-year anniversary of worst terrorist attack of the second intifada,” March 28), and the government constructed a separation barrier to stop Palestinian terrorists from infiltrating.A decade later the world, feeling sorry for the Palestinians and totally indifferent to the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, is angry with Israel for constructing the wall and for not “allowing” the Palestinians to have a sovereign state on the West Bank.That is how modern history works. Terrorism pays. Terrorism got the French out of Algeria and it got the Israelis out of Gaza and Southern Lebanon.After all, who wants to pay the awful price for holding land that brutal and determined terrorists claim? Personally, I would be in favor of the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state on the West Bank if such a state were to unequivocally assure Israel that it would represent no future threat and that it would protect Jewish historical places and give Jews reasonably unlimited access to those sites.What are the chances that the Palestinians would agree to such assurances? Nil. I would like them to prove me wrong, but I can’t imagine that happening any time soon.So history has to stop here. This time we have no place else to go.We cannot allow determined, brutal terrorism to win again.BARRY WERNERNetanyaWaste of timeSir, – So “Ehud Olmert maintains Abbas is ‘partner for peace’” (March 28). Our president also repeats this over and over. The late Yitzhak Rabin said the same about Yasser Arafat. It just proves the saying: You can fool some of the people all of the time.Of course they want peace – but completely on their terms.They will not and in fact cannot compromise on a deal with Israel unless their militant bosses give their complete approval.Olmert said he held 36 meetings with Abbas. These were not negotiations; the Palestinians were just shadow boxing to satisfy the Americans and other countries that support them financially.It is a pure waste of time and energy to think we can reach an agreement with the Palestinians unless we are prepared to capitulate to all their main demands.W. MALKINSONRa’ananaLet them see it Sir, – Regarding “Next round of escalation with Gaza will be ‘more violent,’ public security minister warns” (March 28), if the government would allow foreign correspondents representing major media outlets to accompany IDF troops into Gaza, they would see for themselves that Israel bends over backwards to protect civilians while Hamas uses them as human shields and fires from UN installations. They would report this and there would be no need for another Goldstone Commission.Hopefully, the IDF would also destroy Hamas and all the other terrorist organizations and not allow them to survive to bombard us again.LEONARD GOODMANBeit ShemeshNot so far Sir, – Isi Leibler makes a fundamental mistake when he characterizes Peter Beinart and J Street as representing far-Left Jews (“AIPAC at the pinnacle of success,” Candidly Speaking, March 28).Although I condemn their views on Israel, I consider them as Jews of the Left who still support Zionism. By contrast, Jewish individuals and groups of the far-Left, such as Prof. Neve Gordon, expatriate Israeli academic Ilan Pappe, the Israeli group Breaking the Silence, the American group Jewish Voices for Peace and the British group Jews for Justice for Palestinians, relentlessly instigate hatred of Israel and Israelis among non- Jews couched in the soothing language of peace.With the former, we mainstream Jews can still find common ground. The latter are beyond the pale and with them we have nothing to talk about.JACOB MENDLOVICToronto