March 5: Coalition talks
It’s a good bet that Bayit Yehudi voters did not expect or welcome the partnership with Yair Lapid.
Coalition talks
Sir, – A Shas official’s claim that there is a “bond between Lapid and Bennett, and their hatred for the haredim is unbreakable at this stage” (“Netanyahu launches talks for coalition without haredi parties,” March 4) is libelous of most voters of Naftali Bennett’s Bayit Yehudi party.
Sir, – I cannot fathom the positions taken by Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid. He wants to be part of the coalition. He will be if he acts like a person who loves Israel, and not like another crass politician.
Sir, – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was given 14 more days to form a government. Given the current constellations at the table, with little likelihood of compromise, there is little likelihood of Netanyahu being able to succeed.
RICHARD JACOBS
Ho hum
Sir, – You report that according to anti-AIPAC protesters over 300 people (perhaps 301?) will have shown up to demonstrate against the pro-Israel lobby group during its three-day Washington conference, attended by some 13,000 supporters of Israel.
Stand up
Sir, – In “Erdogan’s outrage” (Editorial, March 4), you say the Turkish prime minister’s “outrageous comments equating Zionism with ‘crimes against humanity’ such as anti-Semitism, fascism and Islamophobia have largely been left unchallenged by leading global leaders.” It doesn’t take too much imagination to know what an uproar there would have been had Israel made similar remarks, but being politically correct and too damn afraid to upset anyone, there’s no chance of that happening.
Guarantors are useless
Sir, – Larry Snider (“Can Obama make a substantive contribution to peace?” Comment & Features, March 4) suggests that peace “must be made viable once again and must be supported internationally....”
Sir, – No Muslim state called Palestine existed before modern Zionists came to the Holy Land to join the ancient Jewish community living here since biblical days.
What about Pollard?
Sir, – It was rather disappointing that your interview with Martin D. Siegal, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America (“JFNA head: Obama trip is a ‘very positive sign,’” February 20) made no mention of Jonathan Pollard, the Israeli patriot who sought only to protect Israel and its people.
I. GENDELMAN
CORRECTION