There is no radicalism here. I don’t know what “balance” Ms. Abramowitz-Silverman is looking for.
By JERUSALEM POST READERSLetters 370(photo credit: REUTERS/Handout )
Arms shipSir, – In his letter to the editor, reader Uri Hirsch (“Great opportunity,” March 10) expressed the appropriate hope that the captured Iranian arms ship will highlight to the world what we are really up against. Sadly, his hope is naive, one that has resulted in disappointment and tragedy many times in the past.What Mr. Hirsch and others who think like him don’t seem to realize is that those who hate us, who self-righteously criticize us incessantly, who seek to boycott, divest and sanction, who blame us unfailingly for every failure caused by our enemies in the search for peace, care nothing about arms ships. They care nothing about the intransigence or the deviousness or the implacable, gratuitous hatred for us.As many times as our naive political leadership has “shown the world” the true nature of those who wish to destroy us, that’s how many times those demonstrations and those proofs have been a waste of effort. The facts are irrelevant to the mindset of our international critics.YERUCHAM REICHJerusalemSir, – It is time to talk about the obvious, intricate sifting of news by almost all of the world media. They address in minute detail the situation in Ukraine and the disappearance of the Malaysian airliner.When Israel proves that Iran is behind a serious shipment of arms to terrorist parties, barely a word is reported on any of the world’s news channels.Can these channels please explain the reasoning behind their silence, which is deafening? S. GELGOR Tel Aviv Sir, – The amount of weapons found aboard the Klos C shows how determined our enemies are to attack us, directly or indirectly.However they talk, whether it sounds sweet or otherwise, they cannot be trusted.The world must know.HILARY GATOFFHerzliya PituahSir, – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu could help solve both the Iranian and Ukrainian crises based on our capture of the weapons ship. He should suggest that, based on Iran’s involvement in supplying such weapons to terrorists, the United States should reinstall its nuclear weapons in Poland and the Czech Republic.DAVID FEIGENBAUM \NetanyaShaking her head Sir, – I finished reading Hallel Abramowitz-Silverman’s “The next Kotel battle: Reading from the Torah” (Comment & Features, March 10) and shook my head in disbelief at some of her statements.Yes, Pinchas was a zealot. He jumped in and killed Zimri ben Salu, the head of the Tribe of Simeon who challenged Moses’s authority and, by extension, God’s by having relations with a Midianite princess in full public view. By executing them, Pinchas stopped a plague that had killed 24,000 people.He understood that a radical, decisive move was needed to shock the people out of their stupor.For this he was rewarded by God. He wasn’t blinded to anything else. He saw the desecration of God’s name and acted to stop it.In the Purim story there is perfect balance, mida k’negged mida (measure for measure). Haman wanted to kill all the Jews, to hang Mordechai on the gallows.But instead, he himself was hanged as a traitor to the crown.The Jews, who in the original decree had not been permitted to defend themselves from pogroms, where now given leave to fight for their lives.There is no radicalism here. I don’t know what “balance” Ms. Abramowitz-Silverman is looking for.I wish her a safe military service, as I wish my son and his friends who are being inducted this month. I do hope she has the time to learn the Megila thoroughly, with the traditional and modern Orthodox commentaries, to further her understanding of what really went on in Shushan.Oh, and since when is reading from the Torah a “right?”BATYA BERLINGER JerusalemWatch them sign upSir, – With regard to “Experts on haredim urge Netanyahu to remove criminal sanctions from ultra-Orthodox draft bill” (March 9), we’re wasting a lot of energy arguing about penalties for ultra-Orthodox men who refuse the draft. Trying to jail them would cause more trouble and expense than it’s worth, and they won’t pay cash penalties.I don’t believe we should be trying to draft them at all, since if any reasonable number of them serve, the army will have to abandon its mission to defend the country and devote itself to defending the lifestyle of the haredim.If we want to them to serve, however, all we have to do is take away the right to vote from those who dodge the draft. Watch how fast the religious parties will start encouraging all their young men to join up.NAOMI SANDLER JerusalemWhat the cops do Sir, – In response to reader Ruth Zimberg’s recent letter (“Road inequities,” March 4), I wish to elucidate, in broad strokes, the matter of police involvement in attending to traffic accidents.When dispatched to the scene, the policeman’s primary concern is to summon Magen David Adom assistance in the event of bodily injury, then to secure the scene to prevent further injury or damage, preserve forensic evidence, complete a preliminary report and relay all details to an accident investigator. The investigator will, when required, arrive at the scene and extensively examine every contributing factor to the collision, photograph every relevant element and interview those involved.Subsequent follow-up interviews are standard procedure, after which, should culpability be established, the driver or drivers found responsible for the accident will be brought to trial. At no point prior to such determination is a traffic ticket issued.Should an accident result in property damage alone, police involvement is limited to assisting the drivers to exchange pertinent information for their insurance reports and removing all obstructions to the free and safe flow of traffic. In such “damage-only” accidents, indemnification is obtained through one’s insurance policy and/or by civil suit.JOEL KUTNER JerusalemThe writer is a long-standing volunteer with the Traffic Division of the Jerusalem Police Protest venue Sir, – I have the following suggestion for all the infiltrators who claim refugee status here on the basis of their belief that their governments are not responding to their needs and that their lives are at risk.When the Greeks protest against their government, they protest in Greece. When the Turks protest against their government, they protest in Turkey, even if it is at the risk of their lives. When the Egyptians protest against their government, they protest in Egypt, even if it is at the risk of their lives, as we have seen.When the Ukrainians protest, they do so in Ukraine – and we know to what extent their lives are in danger. When the Syrians protest against their government, they protest in Syria, despite the toll of life.In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Americans protested the war in Vietnam. Young men who wanted to avoid serving in the army left the country. The ones who remained to protest are the ones who changed US policy.I suggest to those migrants who demonstrate in Tel Aviv or at the Knesset or wherever else they choose to protest, that they return to their countries of origin. There they can demonstrate more effectively against what they believe is wrong, using the skills and methods acquired while here in Israel.RACHEL LIPSKY JerusalemCORRECTION The photo of MKs at an Israel Railways work site (“Israel Railways CEO: Tel Aviv-Jerusalem train will open on time,” March 10) was taken by the Knesset spokesman’s office and not as stated.
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