Like Nixon, he would no longer be kicked around by an ungrateful nation, and went off to make his fortune in business.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFletters good 88(photo credit: Courtesy)Same old Barak...
Sir, - Tommy Lapid states most of the reasons for Ehud Barak's dismal failure as prime minister, then goes on to say Barak should be given the defense portfolio to replace the incumbent, who is spinning his way down to oblivion ("Ehud Barak is the right man," January 11).
But Barak is not campaigning for the office of defense minister. After getting booted out of office for his gross mismanagement of the nation's affairs, he quit politics. Like Nixon, he would no longer be kicked around by an ungrateful nation, and went off to make his fortune in business.
Today Barak arrogantly assumes that a naive electorate believes his goal is to be appointed Labor's candidate for defense. But voters know that were Labor to win the next election Barak would not, as party chairman, accept anything less than the top post.
No, Tommy, there has been no change. This is the same old Barak trying to pull the wool over people's eyes again.
DAVID STAR
Ma'aleh Adumim
...bravo, Tommy
Sir, - I strongly identify with Tommy Lapid's "The right to be wrong" (January 4) as it is the message of a strong leader. I'm not sure I would support Mr. Lapid as prime minister (sorry, Tommy), but every person in Israel, in any leadership position at all, should reflect on what he says: that in order for leadership to be effective it must allow for people to make mistakes.
In his words, if the cost of failure is higher than the cost of inaction - even when inaction is a more egregious mistake - then inaction will become the trait of our leaders. In fact, I think that has already happened. Oh hell.
MATT BERMAN
Herzliya
Memory test
Sir, - "85% of Israelis think their leaders are corrupt, survey finds" (January 11). Hopefully, 85% of Israel's citizens will remember this shocking figure when they vote in the next election.
JUDITH DUBROFF
Tel Aviv
Sir, - I sincerely hope decent Israelis will be able to clean up their corrupt government very, very soon, because I fear if God has to clean it up, it will be very bloody.
LINDA COHN
Portland, Oregon
Better believe it
Sir, - Why would a member of two labor unions, a staunch Democrat from a labor union background; who voted for Ralph Nader for president; who has a low opinion of George Bush; who opposed the Iraq War from the outset; who believes in the Second Amendment's right to bear arms - support Rudy Giuliani for president?
Ahmadinejad. Giuliani is the most likely and most effective person to fight a nuclear-empowered Iranian leader's attempt to wipe Israel off the map. And if the US is, God forbid, attacked in the manner of 9/11, who would you want to be US president?
David Duke attended the Holocaust denier conference. Where is the outrage? I see almost none from the Left. How much do we need to rationalize? Golda Meir said: "If someone says he wants to kill me, I'll believe him."
REUVEN SOLOMON
Forest Hills, New York
'The Business Post'
Sir, - While I commend you on this addition to the daily newspaper, I fail to understand why you chose to print it in Hebrew. Most of your readers get The Jerusalem Post because they have difficulty reading the Hebrew papers. There are many business reports in Hebrew, so I think that out of consideration for your readers you should print this addition in English.
L. PITLUK
Rishon Lezion
Sir, - I felt I must finally comment on The Business Post. The second section of your newspaper carries a daily four-page section on Business & Finance in English - so why would I want to read it all again in Hebrew?
Isn't this a waste of paper, time and energy?
HILARY GATOFF
Herzliya Pituah
The Editor responds:The Business Post is not produced by our editorial team here in Jerusalem. It is a separate product, owned by the same owner, and it is being included free to Jerusalem Post readers for now.
The Post's circulation has been rising steadily these past two years, and the new supplement may encourage Hebrew-speakers with a command of English to try us as well.
We do indeed carry a strong business section daily, and we are supplementing it with translated material from The Business Post as appropriate.
Plain stupid
Sir, - What fools we are. The greatest PR coup of the sports world is staring us in the face, and we can't even see it. We can expose the Arab world for the bigots and racists they are.
Israel should grant Mushir Salem Jawher, who was stripped of his Bahraini citizenship after participating in - and winning - the Tiberias Marathon, immediate citizenship and resident status. We should treat him as the respected athlete he deserves to be.
It would show the world that we in Israel view racial and national boundaries as irrelevant, as they should be in the world of sports - as opposed to the Arab world, which discriminates on the basis of nationality, religion and ethnic origin ("Kenya may bar Tiberias winner from running for 2 years, coach tells 'Post,'"January 9).
DAVID J. WAPNER
Beit Shemesh
HOT & YES against
the consumer
Sir, - It is now clear that HOT's indifference to the hundreds of complaints about withdrawing BBC Prime from its package (the last straw after losing TCM and Mezzo) is a symptom of a conspiracy with YES to squeeze more money out of subscribers. While HOT representatives constantly pressured consumers to upgrade their packages, all of us now transferring to YES will start their basic package already at a higher cost.
It is very difficult to get personal service from YES. It does not have local sales outlets and all negotiations are done by phone and fax, with pressure to sign within a day and give credit card details before even receiving the contract. On receiving it by fax one also signs permission for YES to cancel HOT. This saves one extra negotiations, but also indicates that the two companies are working together.
We have all been manipulated. Readers with legal qualifications might opine whether these games are legal.
WENDY BLUMFIELD
Haifa
Sir, - I must admit to being flabbergasted by the depth of feeling generated by something as mundane as a cable TV company dropping an entertainment channel. I would have thought there were more pressing concerns.
DESMOND STONELY
Scunthorpe, UK
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