June 23: We're with you

I say to the Iranian people: This is your life, rise up and live it how you will.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters good 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
letters good 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
We're with you Sir, - As President Lincoln said: "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." This is what the despotic mullahs have tried to do, and the Iranian people has seen through their Big Lie. I say to the Iranian people: This is your life, rise up and live it how you will. People of all freedom-loving democracies are with you ("Breaking silence, PM and Peres applaud Iranian freedom movement," June 22). REIDA MISHORY-ISSEROFF Kfar Yona Speak out, Mr. President! Sir, - Thelma Susswein made two mistakes in "Precipitous president" (Letters, June 22). First, it is not "politically incorrect " to criticize our president. It happens all the time. And secondly, he has every right to speak up on behalf of Israel. That's why he was elected president. People listen when he speaks, and that's important. He may not always be right, but he certainly has every right to speak out on any topic he chooses! LEONARD ZURAKOV Netanya A tale of 19 cities Sir, - Stuart Cohen, professor of political science - i.e., diplomacy - warns that Binyamin Netanyahu's speech might have been "Too clever by half" (June 21) by refraining from announcing any practical initiative. "Demilitarization" is an important example, explains Prof. Cohen, while conceding the abundantly well-known concerns about the security threats posed by the Palestinians. But he then presents his own diplomatic recommendation - that "the government now needs to formulate a program of practical steps, conducive to the acceleration of Palestinian independence." I can see at least 19 problems in his solution, namely, the following cities: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, Ashdod, Petah Tikva, Beersheba, Netanya, Holon, Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, Bat Yam, Ashkelon, Rehovot, Herzliya, Kfar Saba, Hadera, Bet Shemesh, Ra'anana and Modi'in - all of which will be right in rocket range if "Palestinian independence" is "accelerated." I respect Prof. Cohen's academic expertise, which leads him to conclude that the government must now formulate a program of practical steps. But "conducive to the acceleration of Palestinian independence"? What happened to elementary common sense and rudimentary precautions? SUSIE DYM Spokesperson, Mattot Arim Rehovot Harsh realities Sir, - In his masterful address at Bar-Ilan, the prime minister was both eloquent and forthright in articulating Israel's serious security concerns and the consequent limitations these place on any future Palestinian state. Their harsh reality was clearly demonstrated a day later, when we read about the dispute between the PA and the IDF over the placing of heavy machine guns on the 50 armored personnel carriers built in Russia and transferred to the PA by Jordan ("Dispute over machine guns holds up APC transfer to PA," June 16). Bearing in mind that the Palestinians have no sovereignty as yet, I was truly shocked that they have even obtained these massive armored carriers. They claim they need the armored carriers and the heavy machine guns to crack down effectively on Hamas. The OC Central Command is opposed to the machine guns out of fear they will be used against the IDF. Who is right? ZEV CHAMUDOT Petah Tikva 'A land redeemed, not occupied' Sir, - Conservative leader David Cameron, addressing the Conservative Friends of Israel Dinner, stated: "First, I passionately believe in the right of Israel to exist" ("UK Conservative leader: Commitment to Israel comes from deep inside me," June 21). Mr. Cameron needs reminding that when Chaim Weizmann approached A.J. Balfour in the early 1900s, he pointedly reminded him that Jerusalem had been our capital city 3,000 years earlier, when London was still a marsh. As such, Cameron could have done better than just emulate Tony Blair's spin. Friends don't tell you that you have the right to exist. Cameron's "I need to add something else as a true friend. The expansion of settlements fuels extremism and undercuts Palestinian leaders who genuinely yearn for peace. It is in all our interests to help improve life for ordinary Palestinians" made it clear that he had never read the reports of the meeting in Downing Street, 30 years ago, that Menachem Begin had with Lady Thatcher during her term as UK prime minister. Begin (as conveyed in Yehuda Avner's "Menachem Begin's bag and baggage," November 25, 2003) reminded foreign secretary Peter Carrington that "the settlements were not an obstacle to peace. No Palestinian Arab sovereignty had ever existed in the biblical provinces of Judea and Samaria. The Geneva Convention did not apply. The Arabs had refused to make peace before there was a single settlement anywhere. The settlements were built on state-owned, not Arab-owned, land. Their construction was an assertion of basic Jewish historic rights. The settlement enterprise was critical to Israel's national security." To Thatcher, he said, "I shall tell you why the settlements are vital: because I speak of Eretz Yisrael, a land redeemed, not occupied; because without these settlements Israel could be at the mercy of a Palestinian state astride the commanding heights of Judea and Samaria. We would be living on borrowed time." This is as true today as it was then, and the UK Conservative party should take heed. COLIN L. LECI Jerusalem I'm confused Sir, - It's confusing when the Smith Research-Jerusalem Post poll refers to "illegal outposts" (June 19), when only a week before (June 11), Moshe Dann argued that they are not illegal ("Outposts: Rule of law, or law without rules?") Tovah Lazaroff ("Settling this, once and for all," June 19) referred to these outposts as "unauthorized." If they are "illegal," what law do they violate? And if they aren't, why keep using the term? And if Arabs are doing the same thing, or worse, why are only Jews being punished? JOSH WERBLOWSKY Jerusalem Small and sunny Sir, - I understand that one of the limitations of solar energy power generation systems is that most installations require very large, flat areas. Aora's advantage is that its units can be relatively small, and need not necessarily be installed on level terrain. It would thus seem possible to install an Aora system in an urban area. Each heliostat could be installed on the roof of any building, with the generator on top of the highest tower in the neighborhood. Obvious advantages would be the use of unused space, the reduction in transmission costs and, as a side benefit, the cooling effect on the buildings supporting the heliostats, whose roofs would be shaded from the sun ("Local solar-energy firms' technologies shine brightly," June 22). STEPHEN COHEN Ma'aleh Adumim Paying the price Sir, - I was shocked to see your ad last Friday regarding the price of water from July 1. Israelis are being penalized by the incompetence of governments past and present, which did not make sure there would be enough desalination plants to cope with future needs. STANLEY KERSEN Herzliya Pituah