What the Almighty requires of us

The two-state “solution” is an Israeli fantasy based on the illusion that if we give the Arabs half our land, they’ll allow us to keep the other half. This illusion persists despite explicit P.A. declarations that the creation of a Palestinian state would not end the conflict with Israel, but intensify it. Their insistence that millions of Arabs must have the right to return to Israel even after the creation of their own state proves they’re not interested in peace.

Also, the very idea of carving a separate Arab state out of the Land of Israel is a betrayal of 4,000 years of Jewish history. The Hebrew nation was founded on belief in the supremacy of God and the truth of His covenant. As long as we adhere faithfully to what the Almighty requires of us, we have nothing to fear from the nations. But when we reject His commands, and instead place our trust in baseless and godless ideologies, the nations scorn us and we’re unable to stand up to them.

The time has come for Israel to restore its connection to its source, take possession of the Promised Land, stop negotiating with its enemies and start defeating them.

Martin Wasserman   |   Sunnyvale

Use BDS against P.A.

The complaint about the Bureau of Jewish Education banning speakers who advocate BDS is ironic (“Panel on Jewish activism will go on, but not at BJE,” May 18). Those advocates themselves attempt to bypass the democratic process and force their agenda on Israel.

But weakening Israel by BDS will not bring peace. As a matter of fact, it makes more sense to use BDS against the Palestinian Authority, to force them to comply with previous agreements and refrain from illegal, oppressive policies: glorifying terrorists; teaching hatred of Jews in schools, media, sermons; refusing Israel’s repeated requests to negotiate; paying families of suicide bombers and of terrorist prisoners; persecuting, arresting, torturing, killing critics of the P.A., and more.

Will someone please explain to me why all adverse criticism and demands for concessions are directed at Israel and none against the P.A.?

Lawrence Weiswasser   |   Vacaville

Descent into hell

Reader Sarah Goldwasser is shocked that Muslim children are taught Jew hatred, in Canada no less ( “Keep an open mind,” letters, June 1). What planet is she on?

Palestinian TV routinely spews forth such venomous trash, daily. Name one Muslim country, just one, that publicly condemns Iran’s incessant call to finish Hitler’s work. There are, of course, notable individual exceptions in the Muslim world. Sadly, their numbers are anemic and the voices are drowned. Forget not those Germans who opposed the Nazis, as we in the West merrily and mindlessly descend into Islamic and Shariah hell.

Mike Levine   |   Moraga

Out of harm’s way

I would like to thank Peter A. Joseph for his well-written op-ed (“U.S. moderates must reclaim Israel debate from fringes,” May 11). He presented a calm discussion on this complex and divisive subject.

Yet it missed a critical point — why U.S. Jewry, or Jews in general, find it necessary to debate and judge Israel’s policies and actions.

Is this due to the Jewish teachings of tikkun olam (which commands us to correct and improve the world around us) intersecting with “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh la-zeh” (which implies that all Jews are responsible for one another) while trying to balance both with Hillel’s “If I am not for myself, who will be for me”?

One can get into a lengthy philosophical debate, yet I can only offer a prosaic observation: Some people, well educated, typically in the public eye, for whatever reason, feel obligated to appoint themselves as judges and prosecutors.

Then they offer a scorching criticism of Israel’s policies and actions, advocating courses of actions that are contrary, if not harmful, to Israelis’ well-being — and demonizing its leaders. All that while living comfortably 8,000 miles away and out of harm’s way.

Sam Liron   |   Foster City