April 26: End the Denial

Harris rehashes and replays the same hackneyed leftist claim that what we need is real, bold leadership to make peace with our Arab neighbors.

By JERUSALEM POST READERS
Letters 370 (photo credit: REUTERS/Handout )
Letters 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Handout )
Glorious day
Sir, – Whether you agree with Daniel Tauber or not, his op-ed “Should Jordan be Palestine?” (Comment & Features, April 24) illustrates how general perceptions might be wrong. One of these perceptions is the belief that the aims of the many NGOs funded by governments, especially Western governments hostile to Israel, is for us to arrive at a peace agreement with our Arab neighbors.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. The behaviors of these organizations are meant to keep the conflict alive because the people running them depend on these perceptions to keep their lucrative jobs. They accomplish this with the help of many useful idiots who truly wish to see the end of the conflict. Just imagine that these NGOs pack their bags – the ranks of our unemployed would increase.
The same with the UN.
Its Human Rights Council would have nothing to do, as would half the UN staff. The UN’s “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People” bean feast would vanish into thin air; so would the jobs of those arranging it.
Anti-Semitic political parties, particularly in Hungary and Greece, would not have Israel to hide behind in their hatred of Jews. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would have to stay home and, together with his cronies, bemoan the loss of the lovely lucre that has been thrown at them.
All those globe-trotting peace-makers who are kept out of trouble in their own countries by being sent on impossible errands would have to brush the cobwebs off their golf clubs. Jimmy Carter and Archbishop Desmond Tutu would be struck dumb.
The Irish Teachers Union would have to concentrate on the future of its members, the BDS movement would fold its tents, the EU would not have the “settlements” to agonize over, and its foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, would have nothing to do.
Oh what a glorious day.
CYRIL ATKINS Beit Shemesh
End the denial
Sir, – In his op-ed “A bold voice is needed” (Comment & Features, April 24), Tal Harris rehashes and replays the same hackneyed leftist claim that what we need is real, bold leadership to make the peace with our Arab neighbors we so desire.
After all, he claims, we already know what the outcome will be, so why wait and suffer? Harris evidently has not noticed the self-inflicted turmoil, death and destruction that is occurring all around us.
Maybe he should ask pertinent questions: Can we make peace with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas when he doesn’t enjoy a mandate from his own people, or without former prime minister Salem Fayyad? And what about the five million Palestinians who wish to return to their “homes?” Maybe it’s not a bold voice that is needed, but an end to denial.
MATTIAS ROTENBERG Petah Tikva 2013-comfortable
Sir, – Jerusalem’s mayor has a grand vision (“Barkat: I want to bring ten million tourists to Jerusalem annually,” April 21). Hard to see how this is possible considering the city’s dirty and generally rundown state, plus the poor performance of its inspectors.
A case in point is the neighborhood of Ein Kerem. The municipality has systematically ignored its crumbling state. The local park is in a state of decay, the roads are not maintained, and there is an ugly and unsavory state of the unfinished public construction.
Umpteen requests for improvements have been ignored.
Ein Kerem is a historic site, more for Christians than Jews, and has many visitors.
The municipality has a moral right to make the 2,000-year-old neighborhood 2013-comfortable.STEVE GOLSTEIN Jerusalem
CORRECTION “From Our Archives” of April 19 incorrectly stated the fine imposed in 1963 on a postal clerk for fraud.
It should have been “IL 800” (Israeli lira), and not “NIS 800.”