The Obama administration wrongly calls legally established settlements in Judea and Samaria “obstacles to peace,” and their expansion “inflammatory and provocative.”
By LETTERS TO THE EDITORLetters(photo credit: REUTERS)UNESCO move With regard to “Arab bloc foils Israeli attempt to delay UNESCO motion on J’lem” (October 18), though obviously unsettling, contemptible, abhorrent and totally absurd, the UNESCO resolution is, unfortunately, nothing new.The classic and medieval biblical and Talmudic commentator Rashi explains why Genesis was included among the original five books of the Torah, since its story- like content is intrinsically different from the other four, which mostly form a cut-and-dry legal code. He quotes a certain Rabbi Yitzhak, who says the inclusion of Genesis was critical because when the nations of the world accuse the Jewish people of being thieves for stealing the Land of Israel, our defense should be to show them the story of the creation and God’s total dominion over the entire world. This gives Him the exclusive right to “parcel it out” to whichever nations he pleases, especially the Land of Israel to the Jewish nation via the eternal covenant He made with our forefathers.The only thing we can really do against such evil propaganda is strengthen knowledge about our Judaism and Bible, and understand that, ultimately, truth is on our side and will triumph.GERSHON HARRISHatzor Haglilit While following the haftarah reading on Succot, I was taken with the following quote from the Prophet Zechariah (14,11-12): “But Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem; their flesh will consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.”JOEL KUTNERJerusalem On December 3, 1924, the US signed a treaty with Great Britain that was ratified by the US Senate and signed by the president, having the legal effect of making the Mandate for Palestine (including Judea and Samaria) and the Balfour Declaration part of US domestic law. This is a fact of enormous importance that has been conveniently forgotten.
The Obama administration wrongly calls legally established settlements in Judea and Samaria “obstacles to peace,” and their expansion “inflammatory and provocative.” Having approved the treaty, the US is legally prevented from denouncing or taking any action against settlement activity.In the wake of World War I, these same political and legal proceedings led to the establishment of Arab states. The Arabs cannot gleefully accept national rights accorded to them under these proceedings while at the same time denying them to the Jewish people.JACK SHEBSONJerusalemIn the context of current calls from various parties to halt construction in West Bank settlements, it is useful to recall that in November 2009, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a 10-month freeze of such construction.“I hope that this decision will help launch meaningful negotiations to reach a historic peace agreement that would finally end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians,” he said at the time.It would be interesting to hear from parties now advocating a halt in construction what positive outcome they expect in view of the complete lack of Palestinian response to Netanyahu’s 2009 gesture, and the Palestinians’ current attitudes toward Israel, as indicated by their recent resolution submitted to UNESCO denying Jewish ties to the Temple Mount.GERRY MYERSBeit ZayitIt’s just as well that the Arabs did not propose that the world is flat – that also would pass by a majority vote at UNESCO.LAURENCE BECKERJerusalem Minding the nastiesI read with interest Dan Diker’s “Keep bigotry and BDS away from Capitol Hill” (Comment & Features, October 18) since “a national coalition of some 400 anti-Israel organizations” chose Arlington, Virginia, as a meeting place.In Dundee, Scotland, in 1983, 50 years after Hitler’s accession to power, I joined with other activists from the local Jewish community in investigating an organization called the National Socialist Action Party (NSAP). We began by scraping fliers and posters off walls. One poster had been damaged, but enough was left to say that those interested in joining should contact the headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.We confirmed that the local nasties corresponded with associates in Arlington and received material and resources from them. We then informed the section of the police force that dealt with political activity and terrorism, and the NSAP fizzled out. (It was replaced by an equally unpleasant group, the British National Party, some years later, but that is different story.)ALBERT JACOBBeersheba Bragin on Clinton I am dismayed that The Jerusalem Post found Irina E. Bragin’s idolizing piece (“Hillary Clinton fierce resilience,” Comment & Features, October 18) publishable.True, Clinton is a bright and tenacious street fighter. But honest? Trustworthy? Polls show that a large proportion of American voters feel she is neither honest nor trustworthy. Are these people “deplorable,” as per Clinton? Please, Ms. Bragin, give us a break! Who are you trying to fool?YEHUDA GRUNWALDRamat GanWhen a devoted Muslim looks at the Temple Mount, he is absolutely convinced that there is no Jewish connection whatsoever to his holy place. There is no attempt to listen or peel back layers of history to find the truth.In “Hillary Clinton’s fierce resilience,” there is no attempt to peel back the layers of deceit and lies that surround this very flawed candidate. Clinton has broken every security rule possible and she is walking away free. It also appears that her foundation is riddled with corruption.Please note that I am not a supporter of Donald Trump. In a perfect world, one candidate would be in prison and the other would be disqualified from running because he is ignorant about what is going on in this world and accused of being morally corrupt.Irina E. Bragin’s assessment of Clinton is a superficial fairytale. I am afraid that wishing will not make it so.PAUL BERMANShoham Nightmare choiceIn “With friends like these” (Parting Shots, October 14), David Brinn tries to define a true friend of Israel – “a true friend is someone who is willing to tell you something for your own good that you may not want to hear.” A true friend can and should advise against “continuing this myopic policy of continuing settlement building without seeking a permanent solution.”There are peaceful true friends who desperately want a twostate solution. They believe the two states will live in peace and Israel will be saved from a demographic catastrophe. Then there are more pessimistic “true friends” (usually considered by the first group as myopic war-mongers) who believe the two-state solution will inevitably be accompanied by rocket attacks on Ben-Gurion Airport and Tel Aviv. Israel will be forced to reconquer the “West Bank,” with grave loss of life on both sides, followed by hysterical and overwhelming world condemnation of – guess who – Israel.Let’s say that the probability of both scenarios is 50-50. Let’s say it’s even 70-30. Can anybody evaluate the actual probabilities of both scenarios? What a nightmare choice we Israelis face!YIGAL SHALOM HOROWITZBeersheba CORRECTION Daniel Carmon, Israel’s ambassador to India, previously served as deputy permanent representative at Israel’s Mission to the United Nations in New York, with ambassadorial rank, and not as stated in “Tell us how you made Israel” (Succot 2016 supplement, October 16).
