By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)It will have to strike home With regard to “Some Democrats think Parkland- fueled activism can neutralize the NRA” (Comments & Features, March 26), until a member of the NRA loses a child in a similar massacre, they are not going to do a damn thing.It’s always someone else’s kid that gets killed, “so why should we care?”FREDI KADDARBitan Aharon Changes in attitudes Regarding “Drivers and their bad habits” (Letters, March 26), reader David Weitzman highlights the many misdeeds of (a subsection of) Israeli drivers. We’ve all seen them and we’ve all suffered from them – and some have died from them.The real question: Why does it go on? The answer: The police specialize in giving out “lazy tickets.” You see them standing at street corners giving out tickets for various “infractions” at red lights! Or you see them pulling over cars outside of recreational areas. However, you never the see the police pulling over someone for infractions while speeding or weaving – that’s because they’re not (as noted) there.I’ve been told by volunteer police that there is as culture of “I don’t want to be bothered.” I guess they figure they can fulfill their quota of tickets while standing in the shade of a tree.When the police change their attitude and their location, Israeli drivers will change, too. Punishment is a deterrent – the police need to use it where it matters.BARRY LYNNEfrat You are not sovereignA March 25 letter to the editor headlined “We are sovereign” is delusional, completely in disregard of facts and misleading.Taiwan is not sovereign. There is only one China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. This is the universal consensus of the international community, including Israel.Therefore, conducting routine military exercises around Taiwan Island is the legitimate right of China as a sovereign state.The US “Taiwan Travel Act” severely violates the “one-China” principle. The three joint communiqués between China and the US send very wrong signals to the “pro-independence” separatist forces in Taiwan, causing severe damage to China-US relations and cross-straits peace and stability. China firmly opposes it and sincerely hopes that Israelis will understand the sensitivity of this issue.China strives for peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity but will never allow Taiwan to be separate.WANG YONGJUNTel AvivThe writer is spokesman of the Embassy of China.Taken with a grain of saltThe prospect of a bus parking lot adjacent to two preschools has understandably raised an outcry from parents worried about poisonous fumes harming their children (“J’lem City Hall building a bus parking lot next to kindergartens,” March 23). Although this is the primary concern, there is more: A bus parking area in the upscale Arnona neighborhood has served a dual function: a garbage dump.I successfully lobbied both the municipality and Egged to have a dumpster installed so the bus drivers could clean their buses properly instead of tossing the debris around the perimeter of the lot.Although the response to a 106 complaint call was immediate and supportive, there are multiple impediments to enforcing existing laws about littering. So the Jerusalem Municipality’s assurance that “no bus will enter the Beit Hachayal parking lot without all the necessary approvals and meeting the strict environmental standards” must be taken with a grain of salt – and a possibly a pile of trash.Where preschools are, gas and garbage should not go. The broader issue is that the municipality needs to step up enforcement by holding accountable businesses that pollute and litter the beautiful and holy city that we love.ROBERT SCHWARTZJerusalemThe writer chairs the Jerusalem Green Fund Cleanup Project.Connecting religion, ecology Kol hakavod to Sarah Levi for writing (and to The Jerusalem Post for publishing) “A rabbi, a priest and an imam walk into an environmental conference...” (March 22). It discusses efforts in Israel to reveal “the connection between religion and ecology.”And a special kol hakavod to Rabbi Yonatan Neril, founder and executive director of the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, for his efforts to increase awareness of environmental threats. I very much hope that his 10th annual Interfaith Environmental Conference, scheduled for May 5 in Jerusalem, will be very successful in helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.I hope the Post will continue and even expand its coverage of this issue to help avert a climate catastrophe and help shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path.RICHARD H. SCHWARTZShoreshMore thoughts on Dan Eisenbud I was shocked and saddened to read about the passing of writer and reporter Daniel K. Eisenbud.Years ago, I followed his columns recounting his travails as a new oleh and found them poignant and inspiring. More recently, although the articles that appeared under his byline were no longer personal but rather about current events and timely topics, I recognized his name and thought, “Oh, there’s that nice young man, I wonder how he is faring.”His writing was crisp and professional; the words popped from the page. And it seems he was a truly remarkable person. He will be missed.MIRIAM DOMBEYJerusalemI was shocked and saddened to hear of the untimely death of Jerusalem Post reporter and columnist Daniel K. Eisenbud.No, we’d never met, but ever since reading his first pieces, those columns about taking the giant leap of aliya and following his dreams, I felt a kindred spirit as fellow immigrant, albeit it many years earlier.Not only did I find his prose honest and pure, it was incredibly uplifting. In fact, every year, as I close my unit of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” with my high school students, I pass out copies of Mr. Eisenbud’s column headlined “The Road Not Taken,” which was published in 2012.In it, he compares his choice of fulfilling his dreams to Frost’s poem: “And then there is that rare and righteous breed of human being who will encourage you and help you to harness the confidence and courage necessary to finally break the cycle and follow your heart.“In my life, I can count these men and women on one hand, and to me, each is worth their weight in gold because they helped me believe in myself.“My decision to finally listen to the outnumbered ‘right’ voices may be the most important and empowering I have ever made, and gave me strength to change course.“And while my road is most assuredly not paved with gold, it has undeniably made me a happier and better man.”After reading this, my students are always silent and thoughtful for he so eloquently encourages all of us to ignore the naysayers and take the bold step to reach out and choose the right path for us, a message I find particularly compelling for young people. Students have told me that they treasure this piece.Oh, I wish I had told him of the impact he had made on his readers’ lives, but I, with a sigh, have shared it too late, and that has made all the difference. May his memory be for a blessing.IRIS MANDELGinot Shomron
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