Iran censors all dissidence
Having just returned from Iran, I can tell you that WhatsApp has been banned for quite some time and that Facebook has been blocked (banned) for even longer (“Iran bans text app citing ‘Zionist’ owner Zuckerberg,” May 9). I could not log into any blogs, including our own, without a VPN (which virtually everyone has). The issue is not Zuckerberg for being Jewish. The issue is Iran’s desire to control free flow of information from internal dissidents. This has nothing to do with anti-Zionism, despite the occasional government official who is dumb enough to say that.
Tom Buch | Menlo Park
Settlements not the problem
U.S. negotiator Martin Indyk criticized settlement building for sabotaging the peace process (“Indyk: Talks collapsed because sides lacked ‘urgency,’ ” May 16). I disagree, because the settlements are not the cause. They are an excuse, and they are the result of no peace agreement by the Palestinians for 66 years. Because the large settlements are expected to be part of Israel after a peace agreement, there should be no objection to Israel construction within the settlements to supply the needs of the residents. The settlements are only 3 percent of the total area of the West Bank.
Israel did release Palestinian prisoners as an incentive for peace talks, so why would a ban on construction in the settlements be needed as further incentive? The Palestinians should welcome negotiations, because they want something they don’t have: the first Palestinian state. The Palestinians need negotiations more than Israel, but they use their negotiating as a way to force concessions by Israel, while giving nothing in return.
Norman G. Licht | San Carlos
‘Pro-Israel, pro-peace’ a platitude
J Street brandishes a slogan “pro-Israel, pro-peace.” Still its application for membership in the prestigious Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations has been rejected (“In losing bid for mainstream acceptance, did J Street win the popular vote?” May 9). Apparently, the Conference has recognized that this slogan doesn’t carry any meaningful weight. Indeed, there are two issues with these catchwords.
First, there are no Jewish organizations which proclaim that they are either “anti-Israel, pro-peace,” or “pro-Israel, anti-peace.” So, the “pro-Israel, pro-peace” tagline is a mere platitude.
Second, and most importantly, J Street is on the side of Israel which acts and lives in J Street’s image. Not Israel struggling to survive in the sea of hate- and warmongering, but Israel begging for forgiveness from the Palestinians, clamoring for the cooperation with Hamas/Abbas polity and constantly appeasing the Arab side.
For 60 years the Jewish state, unequivocally supported by the United States, has been successfully fighting off Arab aggressions. Then, in 2007, an alternative to clear U.S. support was born when J Street came to life proclaiming a need for a new “clean” Israel of their imagination. No wonder Israel’s enemies quote J Street’s pronouncements in their propaganda.
Vladimir Kaplan | San Mateo