June 4: Guarding Jerusalem

We can be grateful that some of our previous, egotistical prime ministers failed in their desperate quest for so-called peace at any cost.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters good 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
letters good 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Guarding Jerusalem Sir, - Caroline Glick's speech on accepting the Guardian of Zion award this week was magnificent ("Jerusalem: The eternal front line," June 2). She fully deserves this highly prestigious prize, awarded only to a very select and distinguished group of authors. Seldom have I read such a stirring, knowledgeable and hard-hitting speech. Every effort should be made to distribute it to prominent newspapers and organizations worldwide. In retrospect, we can be grateful that some of our previous, egotistical prime ministers failed miserably in their desperate quest for so-called peace at any cost - even surrendering sections of Jerusalem. We must unite at this dangerous time, show our inherent strength and proclaim loud and clear: No, no, no to any division of Jerusalem. M. MILUNSKY Netanya How about buildingour confidence? Sir, - If I were Binyamin Netanyahu and I was being pressured by the US to promote the "two-state solution," I would explain that neither the Israeli government nor the Israeli people has any confidence in the PA's interest or ability to limit terror, or promote peace. Nor are we confident of the will and ability of any outside agency, even the US government, to protect Israel if this became necessary. Before we can proceed, we need some confidence-building measures. A good start would be to arrange monthly visits to Gilad Schalit. Each month, a visitor such as Schalit's mother or father would be allowed to visit him, accompanied by a Magen David representative. This would not be a huge concession, merely the same treatment Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails enjoy. There would be no quid quo pro for this confidence-building measure other than the confidence itself. Subsequently, other confidence-building actions could be implemented, such as a pardon for Jonathan Pollard, and the removal of the US embassy to Jerusalem. After a number of these steps, the mood in Israel might change. We might then have the confidence to take risks that at the moment are unacceptable ("Likud: Obama has crossed the line," June 3). STEPHEN COHEN Ma'aleh Adumim Humous & animus Sir, - Self-styled "Balestinian"-American Ray Hanania would certainly feel more comfortable doing his act in a Tel Aviv comedy club than in Jenin. He is liable to get "stoned" in both towns - but, here again, words can be confusing. While he is here, maybe he could explain just what a "Fulasteeny" is. How does the language, culture, diet, customs and religious mixture of the people of Jenin differ from the people of Zarka, on the other side of the Jordan? Hanania lives in Illinois, near the border with Indiana. Is he an Illinoian nationalist claiming enough of a difference from those Indianians to demand a separate seat at the UN? How does the humous in Jenin differ from the humous in Zarka? If "Leee ber-mahn" is a racist because he would like the residents of Umm el-Fahm to vote in Palestinian elections rather than in Israeli ones, what does he say about every single Falasteeni politician, including those so-called moderates for whom the very presence of Jews is anathema? Lee ber-mahn has not yet declared the death penalty for renting or selling a house to an Arab. I would not mind Mr. Hanania listing the names of those "Sihyounee" politicians he considers racist, if he also listed the names of the racist Palestinian pols ("A peace by any other name," June 2). JOSEF GILBOA Jaffa Equal treatment Sir, - We await Amnon Rubinstein's call for the cutoff of electricity, water and telephone services to the thousands of Arab residences constructed without permits throughout Israel. Failing that call, his high dudgeon over the provision of similar services to residents of the Jewish hilltop settlements in Judea and Samaria smacks of the same sort of "total hutzpa" of which he accuses the defense establishment ("No law, but plenty of government," June 3). WILLIAM MEHLMAN Jerusalem Pride and prejudice Sir, - I read your report about sexual abuse in Ramat Beit Shemesh with disbelief ("Haredi parents take on sexual abuse of children," June 3). The community, its rabbis in particular, should be doing everything they can to stop the abuse immediately. Instead they are colluding with the perpetrators. I don't understand. Do they really care so little for the children that their pride is more important? SARAH FAIRWEATHER Jerusalem Get real, pussycat... Sir, - What a disappointment the ads on the radio for saving water are - and goodness knows how much they cost. In soft voices they coax us not to waste water... please! What they ought to be doing, in strong language, is conveying the urgency of saving this precious and increasingly scarce commodity, and then instructing the public how to do it ("Reusing shower water could save between 25m.-50m. cubic meters per year," May 27). I say: Scrap those advertisements, remove the kid gloves - and get rid of those pussycat voices! RAHEL SHRAGA Etz Efraim ... and conserve your water! Sir, - The only way we will meet the water shortage challenge is for each and every one of us to take responsibility for reducing our consumption. For example, we can:
  • take shorter showers and turn off the water while soaping up. Also when brushing our teeth and washing the dishes.
  • install a special bathroom device for flushing a half-tank of water.
  • take a glass (not plastic) liter bottle, remove the paper label, fill the bottle with water and place it at the bottom of the water tank. Every time we flush, we'll save a liter of water. Multiplied by the number of times a family flushes in a year, times the number of households in Israel, that will amount to a considerable saving in water.
  • encourage others - especially public institutions, hotels, sport centers, etc. - to implement these tips and post signs to that effect. Finally, when we witness a flagrant waste of water, we should not be afraid to remind the waster that we are suffering from a drought year.
  • RON BELZER Petah Tikva Don't look through Green-colored glasses Sir, - "US energy plans often run out of gas" (May 31) described electric vehicles as "zero emission." Sorry, but let us not confuse the public with too much Green propaganda. Electric vehicles
  • do emit many emissions - more than diesel vehicles, in fact - it is just that they emit their noxious gases at the electrical power station.
  • RALPH ELLIS Northwich, Cheshire, UK The nerve! Sir, - What unmitigated gall. How arrogant of an Israeli sportsman to win a gold medal in Sweden despite the hostile environment and anti-Semitic threats there. The Swedes must have choked listening to our Israeli national anthem, however muted its performance was ("Junior fighter defies odds in Sweden," June 3).
  • GISH TRUMAN ROBBINS Pardesiya