Ever since the Yom Kippur War, Israel has been playing the “land-for-peace” card, meaning we give up land and we get peace; How has this played out?
By JERUSALEM POST READERSLetters 370(photo credit: REUTERS/Handout )Is this gambling...Sir, – Ever since the Yom Kippur War, Israel has been playing the “land-for-peace” card, meaning we give up land and we get peace. How has this played out? After the 1973 war we retreated from the Suez Canal and got... nothing. After Camp David later in the decade we left Sinai. We got non-belligerency, hate articles in the press, no real economic or cultural exchanges, and even a few murders.With Oslo we left Areas A and B, and bombs exploded in our faces. Then, the second intifada brought suicide bombings, wreckage and mourning. By disengaging from Gaza we took with us all our people... and got mortar shells, rockets and a kidnapping.Apparently, we are not playing this card very well. So maybe we should let our “peace partners” play it instead: They give us the land where our settlements are, and we give them peace.I am sure we can count on ourselves to keep a real peace – economic and cultural cooperation, no suicide bombings, no rockets, no mortars.DANIEL BRAUNSCHVIG JerusalemSir, – The demand for a referendum before land can be surrendered to the Palestinians is a symptom of the lack of trust Israelis have in their elected representatives.However, the referendum law is badly worded and far too restrictive.It should be amended to require popular approval for: • Any change in the extent or quality of Israeli sovereignty.This would include an increase, like formally annexing the Golan Heights or any area part of Area C, or a decrease, such as abandoning any part Judea or Samaria.• Any action that is clearly in contravention of the party platform on which the major members of the coalition were elected. One example is releasing convicted criminals, which the Likud vowed never to do.Of course, given the deviousness and immorality of our leaders, I doubt that such an amendment would be implemented.Somehow our government would find a way to reverse it when most needed.Fortunately for me, I hold dual citizenship. If our craven government succeeds in giving my home away I will have the option of returning to a Western democracy, an option I will exercise.STEPHEN COHEN Ma’aleh AdumimSir, – This is not the first time that murderers will be released to start peace talks (only to have a good number of those murderers go back and kill again). But it’s the first time I feel that Israelis with blood on their hands for murdering Arabs should also be freed.It has become all too one-sided.LISA KLEIN Jerusalem...or plain insanity? Sir, – Albert Einstein has been quoted as saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.Releasing murderous prisoners who have been given multiple life sentences, and doing so in the hope of having a peace process when multiple times before such talks have proved unsuccessful, shows this government is insane.I shall not be insane and vote for the Likud again. I believe that with this move the party has undermined its strongest pillar of support within the nation and will be rendered irrelevant in the next election.AVRAHAM SCHWARTZ Jerusalem Jew-free ‘Palestine’ Sir, – One thing that has been ingrained in us since the Shoah is that we must take the threats of our adversaries seriously.Therefore, I have difficulty understanding how we, through our government or the government of the United States, can be complicit in the establishment of an apartheid State of Palestine (“Abbas wants ‘not a single Israeli’ in Palestinian state,” July 31).EPHRAIM I. ZIMAND JerusalemSir, – If Palestine is to be without Jews, there are two ways to react (and they are not mutually exclusive).First, the cost of transfer back to Israel of Jews living in what will be the Palestinian state should be borne by the Palestinians, who might receive assistance from the EU or other groups that feel judenrein is acceptable. Second, Israel should be Arab-free (what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, so to speak). Since this would be precipitated by the Palestinians, they should foot the bill for this as well.HAIM SHALOM SNYDER Petah Tikva Unworthy language Sir, – I felt that both Martin Sherman’s “Resign, just resign!” (Into the Fray, August 2) and Caroline B. Glick’s “Bibi and the true believers” (Column One, August 2) employed needless abusive rhetoric in referring to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and tasteless and vulgar language in referring to Israelis who do not share their political opinions.I realize that the issues under discussion are deeply provocative and sensitive, but nonetheless this sort of language is unworthy of both of these writers, and of The Jerusalem Post.I believe that both Sherman and Glick are well-informed and knowledgeable political pundits, and well-versed in Middle East diplomacy and, of course, the Arab-Israeli conflict. This is why it is so hard for me to understand how both of them fail to understand that our prime minister is trying to deal with an almost impossible diplomatic situation.Netanyahu is walking a very thin tightrope in trying to keep Israel secure and protect its essential interests while at the same time trying to satisfy the unfair demands of an international community that is biased against us and favors our Palestinian enemies.I believe that both fail to fully understand that entirely apart from international pressure, Israel deeply wants and needs peace and security for itself and its Palestinian neighbors. This is why our government is willing to make disproportional concessions like prisoner releases in the hope of moderating Palestinian rejectionism, even though the Palestinians have not yet disabused themselves of their vile dreams of our destruction.I do not expect Sherman or Glick to support policies they oppose, but I do expect them to couch their opposition in relatively refined prose and the understanding I am sure they possess of Israel’s precarious diplomatic situation.KENNETH BESIGKiryat ArbaTell us more Sir, – After reading in your newspaper about a decapitated body in a suitcase, my spirits were lifted to read about Dr.Cyril Sherer (“The good old doctor – 92 years young,” Health & Science, August 4).Dr. Sherer is amazing for his age. Kol hakavod! I wish you would do another article on him, telling us all about his daily regimen and more or less what he consumes each day. He looks 20 years younger than 92! Thank you for brightening my day, Judy Siegel-Itzkovich.Well done! MIRANDA SALTZ Jerusalem The writer’s late husband was a physicianIndia in the NegevSir, – Journalist and travel writer Ben G. Frank’s excellent article about the Cochin Jews of India (“India’s living evidence of Jewish pride and honor,” Travel Trends, July 21) should instill interest in a visit to Moshav Nevatim, 15 minutes outside Beersheba.Many Cochin immigrants settled at the moshav, where the Cochin Jewish Heritage Center will give visitors an excellent background of the community’s past in India. The beautiful synagogue there is a replica of the house of worship in Cochin (now known as Kochi).HURLEY R. LANGERT Jerusalem
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