To the editor: Like Hala Alyan, who questions whether the recent protests mark a turning point in support for the Palestinians, I mourn the loss of innocent lives in Gaza. I have some questions for her:
- Could the war and the deaths of innocent Palestinians have been completely avoided if Hamas had not entered Israel and killed and captured so many Israelis on October 7?
- What would Palestinian life in the Gaza Strip be like if Hamas, instead of building an extensive tunnel and weapons system, had spent that money building a prosperous economy?
- Do you really believe that Hamas is interested in the well-being of the Palestinian people?
- Hamas doctrine demands the destruction of Israel. Do you believe that Israel has the right to exist? Do you believe in a two-state solution?
- Who could best represent the Palestinian people in the attempt to create a Palestinian state? What should be the next step?
Let us hope that the day will come when Israelis and Palestinians live in peace.
Howard Sherwood, Los Angeles
..
To the editor: As a 72-year-old secular Jew, I continue to read that my generation has a more favorable view of Israel than the younger generation because we remember when Israel was the proud underdog winning existential wars. We also know that at the time of its founding Israel aspired to be “a light to the nations,” according to that biblical phrase.
Israel's actions in Gaza betray that creed.
Asking me if I support Israel is like asking me if I support the police. I support them when they do the right thing; I don't do it when they do something wrong. I'm not tribal.
To my fellow Jews who justify the catastrophe that is Gaza because of the barbarity of Hamas on October 7, I say that we must be better than that. Otherwise, with an eye for an eye and something more, we will deliver the light that marked the founding of Israel.
Alan B. Posner, Santa Barbara
..
To the editor: Last February, in a poll conducted in Israel, 68% of Israeli Jews surveyed expressed opposition to the transfer of food and medicine to Gaza. Eighty percent of right-wing Israeli Jews opposed it, as did 39% of left-wing Israeli Jews.
There is a hole in humanity. As a very old woman, I am sad and shocked beyond belief, stopped in my tracks as if a hand of cement has pushed me down.
And now, as I write, Israel attacks Rafah with American military might. Who can be surprised by Generation Z's support for the Palestinians?
Katherine Holden, Ojai
