By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)Blasts B’TselemReferring to “B’Tselem’s call for soldiers to refuse to shoot at Gazans raises ire” (April 5), may I suggest to this group of pacifist troublemakers that such a suggestion could be tantamount to a treasonable act.The members of this group should be arrested for encouraging soldiers to disobey orders in circumstances that are difficult enough without this type of interference.HAROLD LAUTENBERGNetanya Blame where it belongsAfter reading Gershon Baskin’s “Getting the story straight” (Encountering peace, April 5), a casual reader would have to be excused for concluding that Israel is the primary cause for the current misery of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. The truth is that Hamas and Fatah are the principal reasons for said misery.Hamas has redirected international donations of cash and building materials earmarked for Gaza’s homes, schools and hospitals to build terror tunnels and manufacture rockets, both aimed at Israel. It has also used the civilian population as human shields in schools, hospitals and mosques housing rockets and military supplies.Fatah has contributed to this misery by cutting off payments for fuel, medicine and the salary of Palestinian Authority employees in the Gaza Strip. Electricity for the civilian population has been cut to less than four hours per day. This has resulted in blackouts and water filtration plants going offline, causing raw sewage to be dumped into the Mediterranean and polluting drinking water supplies.
Mr. Baskin needs check his facts and place the blame where it belongs.RICHARD SPITZBERGTel Aviv Forced to choose Kudos on your op-ed by Shawn Zelig Aster (“The sick zero-sum game on the Gaza-Israel border,” Comment & Features, April 3).Israel is being forced to choose between allowing the invasion of a mega lynch mob or defending its citizens at the cost of injuring and sometimes killing “unarmed” Palestinians firing guns, carrying explosive charges or fire-bombs, and rolling blazing tires – a nightmare drama brilliantly crafted by Hamas.Mr. Aster’s clearly analyzed, low-key, candid and moving presentation is a convincing response to the hordes of Israel’s critics weeping for the hordes of Israel’s enemies at the gates.BARUCH SCHMIDTNetanya Sorry, Tamar, this is war With regard to “Meretz call to investigate IDF action sparks outrage” (April 1), has Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg gone bonkers over the way the army has been handling the skirmishes on the border with the Gaza Strip? On the previous Friday (and again last Friday), there were over 20,000 Arabs storming the fence to erase the border and flood our country in order to kill us.These are not peaceful demonstrators! This is war! Sorry, Tamar, there is no way “to prevent a deterioration to a dangerous round of violence” if these people continue their attacks on our border.That so few were killed proves that our policy is not “trigger-happy,” as Ms. Zandberg claims. It also has been proven that the majority of those killed on March 30 were linked to the terrorist Hamas, and videos show that some of these same people have succeeded in coming over our border at night to do damage. The Meretz leader wants us to just let them all in? Invite them for tea?Are we sure Ms. Zandberg is from Meretz and not the Joint (Arab) List? She seems to be calling for Israel’s destruction.LOIS GREENKadimaIndependence Day spatsWhat shame to think that on a very auspicious occasion celebrating 70 years of our magnificent country, there has to be a debacle as to who should speak (“Regev accuses Edelstein of incitement in spat over Independence Eve speeches,” April 3). It is the custom that the speaker of the Knesset has that honor. Why change that?As for lighting the 12 torches, the honor is and should be given to people who are deserving of that privilege. There are enough people both here and elsewhere who are more worthy than Honduras’s president (“Regev defends torch lighting honor for foreign leader,” April 8).VICKY SCHERJerusalem Stop the madness! B’Tselem is asking our soldiers to wait and get killed before taking action against murderous infiltrators (“B’Tselem’s call for soldiers to refuse to shoot at Gazans raises ire,” April 5)! A convicted criminal gets front-page coverage for the good things he did (“Olmert to ‘Post’: PM must go,” March 30)! Another convicted criminal, Arye Deri, is again a minister in our government!Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is constantly castigated by the press even though he is doing his best for the country! Some religious people refuse to join in the defense of the country, expecting others to do it, including God!The president of the US is being accused of all that anyone’s imagination can contrive! Hollywood has opened up swear words and sex to the general public and children, and is being copied everywhere, including Israel!Iran, after perpetrating terror against US and many others, is now in a position to call the shots! The European Union, UN and other groups are trying to tell countries how to run their affairs! No one notices that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is causing dissent with his militant threats and is reversing all that Kemal Ataturk achieved!The UN is completely silent on whatever Russia does! It is blaming Israel for harming the Palestinian economy, ignoring the billions of dollars that have flown from Palestinian coffers! The possibility that South Africa is working to become another Zimbabwe is in the works!Something is happening to education! Where are all the brilliant leaders to stop this madness!S. GELGORTel AvivLithuanian ban commercial onlyRegarding the Jewish Telegraphic Agency item “Lithuanian bill would ban books critical of the country” (Online, April 3), the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania wishes to clear up any misunderstandings and misinterpretations by communicating the official statement of our Ministry of Economy on this issue:“The provisions are included in the draft law on the initiative of the Committee on National Security and Defense following consultations with representatives of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania. The provisions have been agreed to with representatives from the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Science, representatives of science institutions and other authorities. In other words, the law has been coordinated with a broad range of stakeholders.“The drafting process required a considerable period of time. In fact, the drafting process of the draft law was started in early 2017; all this resulted from the situation when, back in 2016, goods used as information warfare appeared on the market (for instance, certain children’s toys that certify the annexation of Crimea and support a positive approach toward this kind of occupation). In light of the above situation, the Committee on the National Security and Defense proposed to include said provisions to the Law.”The Law on Consumer Protection is by no means linked to any restrictions on press freedoms. The provisions listed above do not apply to books, newspapers, journals, films, television programs or the media. The amendments to the law have not yet been adopted.EDMINAS BAGDONASRamat GanThe writer is the Republic of Lithuania’s ambassador to Israel.
