May 6: Let us lead

We citizens of Israel cannot fall prey to short-term thinking and easy solutions by directing our protests only at the individuals presently in power.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
letters good 88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
letters good 88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Let us lead Sir, - I appreciated "Fixing the system" (Editorial, May 2) and think the point needs to be emphasized. We citizens of Israel cannot fall prey to short-term thinking and easy solutions by directing our protests only at the individuals presently in power. In the absence of public leadership, let us lead. Leadership means values applied to long-term planning, skilled advisers to challenge ideas and strategies, and commitment to accountability. In our current situation we need to plan for long-term structural change in government, the electoral process and the division between Knesset and government. Let us demand systemic change that will have an impact not only on today, this month or this year, but on the future of our children and the greater good of generations to come. MORRIS N. MANN Efrat Sir, - The prophesy of David Ben-Gurion and numerous luminaries such as Chaim Herzog and Abba Eban are, in my opinion, now being fulfilled. All repeatedly stated that unless we reform the political system we are heading for a momentous disaster. JACK DAVIS Jerusalem Kings and princes Sir, - At this point in our political history it seems appropriate to recall the "epitaph" for Charles II of England, penned while he was still alive by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester: "Here lies our sovereign lord the king / Whose word no man relies on; / He never says a foolish thing, / Nor ever does a wise one" ("Political wizard Olmert more adept at battling Livni than fighting Nasrallah," May 3). GERRY MYERS Beit Zayit For fair play Sir, - The hostility and even hatred shown toward MK Binyamin Netanyahu by those in the "anti-Bibi camp" are as irrational as they are hypocritical - every bit as irrational as the hostility shown to us here by the Presbyterians churches, AUTs and NATFHEs of the world, who want to boycott (and divest from) Israel. In both instances the hostility is visceral, based mainly on lies and innuendo generated by media here and abroad. Those who shudder at the thought of serving in a Knesset led by Netanyahu do not seem to have any problem sitting cheek by jowl with the current bunch. The irony of it all is that Bibi Netanyahu, with all the mistakes he's made, is more honorable and able than any of them. Is that what galls them so? This is not meant to be PR for MK Netanyahu. I just think a bit of fair play is in order ("Three sphinxes - Livni, Netanyahu and Barak," Anshel Pfeffer, May 2). SOL SPIEGLER Tel Aviv Indigestible truth? Sir, - Re Sholmo Avineri's "Lessons of Winograd" (May 3): Isn't this government, with no experience in war or security, the mirror-image of a country whose devotion today is to no more than making money? Isn't the prime minister really only a composite of what we Israelis have become? Who hasn't met similar people in Israel? Who has not seen, or been involved in similar Israeli decision processes? You are what you eat. EDWARD STERN Kibbutz Kfar Blum He's scary Sir, - The ideas MJ Rosenberg puts forward regarding Israel's future and negotiations with our enemies would not work even in the fantasy world he lives in, let alone in Israel's current reality. The fact that he heads an organization called the Israel Policy Forum scares me immensely. Mr. Rosenberg has no right from the safety of his Washington DC home to push ideas that risk the blood of me, my family and every other Israeli ("In praise of Tel Aviv," May 1). JOSHUA MOESCH Jerusalem Sir, - MJ Rosenberg doesn't seem to realize that if we Jews don't have a claim to the Old City, one of Jerusalem's "Arab parts," or to Hebron, our original capital and final resting place of our forefathers (and mothers), then we certainly don't have a claim to Tel Aviv, a city founded less than 100 years ago. AMICHAI BACHARACH Mevaseret Zion Shoah study Sir, - In his powerful "Brest-Litovsk and all that" (May 2) Elliot Jager sets out a Zionist Holocaust education curriculum that really must be implemented. When I lived in England and yet another memorial was suggested, I begged the establishment to use the money for a "chair" at a university; but this request was never answered. How to get the Education Ministry to listen - that is the burning question. How can we citizens help? BARBARA OBERMAN Herzliya Pituah Attention classmates Sir, - I am seeking your assistance in reconnecting with classmates from 1958-1962 who attended the Jewish school in Legnica, Poland. Nearly all the students, and their families, were on their way from the former USSR, via Poland, to other destinations as part of a mass repatriation of former Polish nationals from the USSR. My recollection is that probably more than 80% were heading to Israel, with smaller numbers going to Canada, the US, Australia, etc. I attended the school from grades 4 to 8, and moved to Canada in 1962. I would like to establish a list of former classmates followed by a virtual reunion over the Internet, concluding, perhaps, with a visit to Israel and a gathering. Anyone with information please email millmichael@yahoo.ca MICHAEL MILLER Toronto, Ontario