We feel it is our duty to remember Raoul Wallenberg as a hero and a victim.
By JERUSALEM POST READERSLetters 370(photo credit: REUTERS/Handout )Hamas responsible Sir, – What recently was going on in the Gaza Strip (“Rocket fire from Gaza persists despite ‘cease-fire,’” March 14) cannot be permitted to continue.It is not up to Israel to declare a cease fire. All the rocket attacks start in Gaza. Therefore, the Hamas government is totally responsible for what takes place there.It is repugnant to hear that those launching the rockets belong to a group other than Hamas. All these groups are united in one singular purpose, which is to attack Israel all the time in every way so that it becomes weak and falls prey to these scavengers.Isn’t it time that Israel really did something in Gaza? It can bomb every smuggling tunnel so that they are actually destroyed. It can bomb electric facilities and can be effective in bombing water facilities. This can be done until the cruel Hamas government, which doesn’t value the lives of its own citizens, begs for relief.Let the West finally learn that Hamas is not the answer to Gaza. Let the people of Gaza finally understand that a government giving them nothing but constant rocket attacks against Israel does not warrant their support.BATYA KOENIGSBERG JerusalemStarting at home Sir, – Caroline B. Glick (“Indivisible anti-Semitism,” Column One, March 14) points out the anti-Semitism of blaming Israel and the victim for violence against Jews.She now needs to take on an Israel Police spokesman who, in “Arab gang attacks Jewish man near Jerusalem’s Old City” (March 12), is quoted as saying: “We’re investigating to see if there is a link between the attack and the possibility that Palestinians in the area were angered by the group for wearing... T-shirts [saying ‘Kahana was right!’] about half an hour earlier....”The spokesman continues: “We have opened an investigation to determine if this was a hate crime stemming from the T-shirts.”HAROLD WEINGARDEN Ra’ananaStunning failure Sir, – With regard to “Israel apologizes for killing of Jordanian at Allenby crossing” (March 12), any investigation should start by asking our security forces why they are not armed with stun guns in addition to regular arms with live ammunition.There are great difficulties when trying to subdue an unruly individual in a location filled with members of the public without causing deaths. A similar situation exists when trying to deal with terrorists in a crowded area. This situation was recognized by our minister of internal security, who announced many months ago that security forces would be armed with stun guns and other devices to temporally disable a person needing to be restrained.The failure to implement this directive was, presumably, budget restrictions. This tragedy, with all its damage to Israel’s international standing, could have easily been avoided.DAVID GOSHEN Kiryat OnoHow’d he feel? Sir, – I wish to thank Judy Montagu for her thought-provoking column “Sounding board blues” (In My Own Write, March 12).I wonder how that poor fellow felt when he read about himself.On the other hand, he probably doesn’t even know Montagu is a columnist for The Jerusalem Post!TAMAR H. KAGAN JerusalemMind-boggling Sir, – Raoul Wallenberg’s niece, Marie Dupuy, raises a strong and valid demand on behalf of her family (“Wallenberg’s family demands access to key documents in his case,” Comment & Features, March 12).The central archives of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) should allow unfettered access to documentation that could shed light into the fate of her uncle, one of the greatest rescuers in the history of mankind. The fact that almost 70 years after Wallenberg’s abduction and disappearance the Russians are still reluctant to offer access to vital information is absolutely mind-boggling.For many years now, the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has stood by Prof. Guy von Dardel, his widow, Matti, and his daughters Louise and Marie in their just quest to secure reliable answers to this tragic affair. Their noble perseverance is a source of inspiration for us.Our commitment to bring closure to this plight is relentless. In this context, in a meeting we held with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, we announced a 500,000-Euro reward to any person or entity that could provide reliable information that can be verified by scientific methods about the fate of Wallenberg and his chauffeur, Vilmos Langfelder.We feel it is our duty to remember Raoul Wallenberg as a hero and a victim. Therefore, we focus on education, trying to instill his spirit in the young generations and striving to solve the mystery of his disappearance.EDUARDO EURNEKIANBARUCH TENEMBAUMNew York The writers are chairman and founder, respectively, of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation Alarm bells Sir, – NGO Monitor’s recent disclosure that the government of the UK is providing funds, both directly and indirectly, to NGOs in Israel that seek to overwrite the decisions of a sovereign state and its electorate should set alarm bells ringing loud and clear. What gives the UK the right to interfere in our democratic, Jewish state and to finance organizations that wish to change its ethos? According to NGO Monitor, one project receiving direct funds aims to “identify and track... developments in Jerusalem that could impact either the political process or permanent status options, destabilize the city or spark violence, or create humanitarian crises.” The project, it says, also “[p]romotes a one-sided approach to the conflict, placing sole blame for the failure of the peace process on Israel, and lobbies intensively against policies and projects undertaken by the Israeli government and Jerusalem municipality designed to benefit the city’s residents, Arab and Jewish.”NGO Monitor also states that some indirect funds are used to “pursue legal cases aimed at influencing Israeli policies, to lobby for international sanctions against Israel, and to support international campaigns of demonization.”And the list goes on.Is this what we expect of a friend? It is a shame that British Prime Minister David Cameron, who recently visited here, permits his government to fund NGOs determined to bring about our destruction.ELIEZER KAUFMAN JerusalemNot the light side Sir, – “Cholent to be served on El Al flights” (The Jerusalem Roast, March 16) grievously unsettles all who know that cannonball kneidlach in glistening chicken soup occupies the No. 1 place in our meritorious culinary tradition and should be served on board our national carrier’s flights. President Shimon Peres must so present this fact to all adjudicators of international law.So as to prevent knowledgeable passengers from flocking to a strange airline, we must unite, from Bnei Brak to the Bronx, in support of our age-old soupy remedy, which surely energizes all our efforts for the common good.ESTER ZEITLINJerusalemSir, – Please allow me to express my deepest concern over the inclusion in your March 16 issue of such unbelievable frontpage news as free-elections being held in Crimea and 240 people lost as an airliner simply disappears, together with such obviously less-than-newsworthy statements as “Abbas is not a partner for a peace deal.” Such news items give the appearance that we are living in an insane world.Please continue with your excellent Jerusalem Roast to show that all, or at least some, of us here in the asylum are fully certified.BOB KNIGHT Modi’in
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