George Sakheim is a retired 92 year-old clinical psychologist and one of the few living American army officers who served as a translator at the 1945 Nuremberg trials, and who recorded in his personal diary the interviews he conducted with some of history's most evil men. Efraim Karsh is a distinguished professor of Middle Eastern studies. They both share profound insights into the nature and essence of the virulent hatred that caused the death of millions seventy years ago and which is presently wreaking havoc on the Middle East. In addition to several peripheral issues that were involved in the horrors of WWII, needless to say the irrational hatred of the Jew was primal to those events. Professor Karsh cites "the barefaced anti-Semitism of the ruling elites" of Britain, that from the very outset challenged the Zionist enterprise, and its continued influence on today's events.
While Sakheim proudly asserts the leading role that America played in bringing the leading Nazi war criminals to justice, he is embarrassed to note that the U.S. has not yet passed a crimes-against-humanity law, and adds that this "has again made the U.S. an outlier in the community of democratic nations." Efraim Karsh also favorably notes the support that American presidents gave to the Balfour Declaration and for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, but goes on to state that the Obama administration has demonstrated "an unprecedented level of cluelessness and disregard of reality" and "went out of its way to deny, ignore, euphemize, and whitewash anything smacking of Islamic violence."
Sir, - James Adler of Cambridge, Mass. has apparently chosen to abandon his persistentsimplisticmantraofsolelyblamingIsrael (because of what he terms the "occupation") for all the ills of the Middle East. He now expands his virulent anti-Israel doctrine by descending into the slime of pernicious accusations of Israel's indifference to the spilling of innocent blood as well as racial bigotry relating to the war in Gaza.
If it is at all possible for Adler to cleanse his glasses from the accumulated muck, I would like to acquaint him with reality by means of a number of well-documented facts.
It is Hamas that has in its manifesto the call to annihilate the state of Israel, and periodically attempts to do so. The lengthy underground tunnels they have dug from Gaza that extend into several civilian communities in Israel have no purpose other than mass murder and kidnappings. The thousands of rockets fired into Israel were designed to cause massive civilian casualties, and would have if not for divine providence and brilliant defense technology. All this despite the fact that Gaza has not been occupied since 2005, when Israel unilaterally withdrew.
Israel's desire not to harm innocents has been well proven by the warnings of imminent attacks supplied to the civilians of Gaza, and the military orders to avoid civilian casualties even though doing so often places the lives of Israeli soldiers in jeopardy. The morality of the IDF is second to none!
IDF delegation to India, 2001
Adler's references to the "brown" color of the victims, and his less than subtle accusation that color is a factor in Israel's military conduct, is nothing less than a disgusting attempt at barely veiled anti-semitism.
Would it please Adler to learn that a goodly proportion of Israel's fallen soldiers and officers were of Ethiopian, Yemenite, Iraqi and Moroccan origin, and that Israel is one of the few places that enjoys a true ingathering of the exiles from every region in the world?
Evidently, Cambridge is not completely free of bigots.
Sir, - With her article ("Food for the soul and the stomach," J.Post, July 10) Greer Fay Cashman has performed a genuine disservice to all who are concerned with protecting the Mount of Olives from the continuing waves of Arab violence and with the preservation of Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem.
The cemetery is the oldest burial place of Jews and has been in use as a most honored and cherished choice for Jewish internment going back 3,000 years. The site has suffered major problems of tombstone desecration and ongoing attacks by Arab stone throwers against mourners who come to bury their dead and grapple with the intensity of their grief.
Cashman describes a scenario where relatives and friends have gathered together for the consecration of the tombstone at the grave of the late Arthur Abrahams but were unable to do so. Cashman attributes this inability to the escalation of violence in Jerusalem, "coupled with stories that visitors to the Mount of Olives risk being stoned by wayward youth."
For shame Greer! Thesearenotmerelystories, and the Arab stone throwers are certainly not merely wayward youth, but genuine terrorists who aim to inflict real pain and sometimes death on Jews who have done them no harm, merely because they are Jews!
Sir - Two former highly-placed public officials have recently shed light on the true motives surrounding Jonathan Pollard's sentencing. Both officials relate to the affidavit, put forward by the then Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, that was responsible for abrogating the plea bargain between Pollard and the U.S. Government. This affidavit effectively brought about the end of the (already agreed-upon) plea bargain, and replaced it with a life-imprisonment sentence.
In a letter to President Obama recommending Pollard's immediate release, former National Security Advisor Bud McFarlane unequivocally blamed Weinberger's "anti-Israel agenda" for his disproportionate sentence and called it a "great injustice." Similarly, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb stated that the sentence was entirely due to Weinberger's "visceral hatred of Israel." The pathological animus that surrounded Pollard's sentencing found a potent soul mate in Weinberger, one who not only shared the hatred but possessed the motivation, means, and influence to assure Pollard's internment for three decades.
But as we've seen, Weinberger was not the only voice calling for Pollard to remain in jail. To the impartial observer, there appears to be a anti-Pollard agenda deeply ensconced among the leaders of the U.S government. Which begs the question: What type of damning information could Pollard have transferred to Israel that caused such malicious players in Washington to send him away for life?
First note that Pollard never sought to betray the U.S. or bring harm to any of its institutions. His only crime was wanting to aid Israel by supplying it with information he felt was vital to its security and yet being withheld from it. He transferred the pick of U.S. intelligence on Arab and Islamic military activity conducted by both "friendly and unfriendly" Arab countries, such as Morocco and Pakistan. The data included essential details about Syrian, Iraqi, Libyan, and Iranian nuclear, chemical, and biological-warfare capabilities, as well as planned terrorist attacks against Israel.
Pollard's revelations could not have sat well with the Arab world, but fortunately for them there was one country positioned to raise the cudgel: Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia's possession of the world's largest oil reserves, its strategic location, and its unique role in the Arab and Islamic worlds are the reasons Saudi friendship is valued by the United States. They share common concerns and consult regularly on regional and global issues. These close ties with America, in addition to their vast oil-based wealth, provide the Saudis with the means to establish a huge network of pernicious influence throughout the United States. Firstly, they export Wahabism, the most extreme form of Islamic religious practice. They achieve this by financing the construction of hundreds of mosques and madrasas across America, and pay for the training and support of the fanatical imams that spread these teachings. Secondly, the Saudis invest millions of dollars 'buying up' departments of Middle East Studies and Political Science in select universities in order to spread their biased ideologies. And still more baneful is the Saudis' accumulation of out-going U.S public officials on their bloated payrolls. As former CIA case officer Robert Baer puts it, there is hardly a living former CIA director, White House staffer, or member of Congress who hasn't ended up on the Saudi payroll in one way or another. It therefore comes as no surprise when we learn of the Saudi funds going to the Carter Center, established by the former President.
I fear that Pollard, while delving into the various intelligent reports, may have discovered the more detailed accounts of Saudi influence on America's government as well as on past and present public servants. He did not stand much of a chance against Weinberger's deeply-rooted hatred of Israel or against Saudi Arabia's unlimited funds being channeled toward Muslim extremism.
Zev Chamudot
Petach Tikvah
[Banner image credit: Wikimedia user udi Steinwell]
Sir - The news that Jonathan Pollard's health has now so deterioratedthat he requireshospitalization comes as no surprise when considering his 29 year imprisonment, several years of which were spent in solitary confinement. At this critical juncture, it seems absolutely vital not only for Jonathan, but also for the many fair-minded and decent people all over the world who have tried unsuccessfully to penetrate the iron wall of mystery that surrounds his incarceration, to be provided with some rational accounting and understanding for thislengthy, cruel, and unusual imprisonment. Up to the present, no such explanation has been forthcoming and we are all left feeling utter frustration and helplessness in regard to this enormously tragic affair. Pollard is still languishing in prison, while the mystery remains a mystery.
The absence of an intelligible understanding as to why Pollard has been singled out for this exceptional treatment naturally invites a wide spectrum of theories and accusations, including those of overt discrimination and thinly veiled antisemitism. This latter charge has recently been made by no less a personage than former CIA director James Woolsey, who noted that others convicted of spying for allies of the U.S. have received sentences of no longer than eight years.
President Obama's unequivocal rejection of Prime Minister Netanyahu's request for Pollard's release made at the start of recent peace negotiations -- despite its obvious legitimacy at the time when America was pressuring Israel to release hundreds of convicted terrorist murderers to the Palestinian Authority -- leaves us all completely perplexed. The mystery continues!
The extraordinarily harsh life sentence imposed on Pollard leaves the indelible impression of having been born in sin. A plea bargain agreed to by the government for a maximum sentence of 10 years was completely disregarded when the then Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger submitted a secret document purportedly containing charges of such severity that warranted this maximum sentence. This rather outlandish sequence emerges as even more bizarre due to the fact that neither Pollard nor his attorney were ever given access to this document or were able to learn of its contents. This type of behavior in a court of law not only does violence to the most basic principles of justice but is normally found only in the most totalitarian of societies.
Pollard's imprisonment played a prominent role in the 1998 Wye River negotiations when Bill Clinton, in order to obtain Netanyahu's agreement, made a commitment to release Pollard. This in fact was the deal-maker that won over a reluctant Netanyahu, who agreed to the deal despite distrusting Arafat for his long history of agreement violations. After the signing, however, Clinton did not honor his promise because he claimed there was opposition from public officials. This concern was notably non-apparent at the end of Clinton's adminstration, when with seeming alacrity he granted pardons to well-known criminals, some of whom until the pardon were barred from entry into the United States.
The list of prominent personalities that now declare their support for the release of Jonathan Pollard include statesmen, Noble Laureates, clergymen, intellectuals, scientists, senators, congressmen, and members of the Intelligence community, some of whom originally opposed his release. The register begins with two former Secretaries of State (Kissinger and Schultz) followed by former Vice President Don Quayle, Senator John McCaine, Dennis Ross, former Director of the CIA James Woolsey; Director of the FBI at the time of Pollard's arrest William Webster; former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb; former Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at the time of Pollard's arrest Senator David Durenberger; former White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum; and former Deputy Attorney General Philip Heyman -- the last three of which reviewed the classified intelligence reports on Pollard's case and nevertheless chose to add their names to those who call for Pollard's release.
PM Binyamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres have made personal appeals for Pollard's release. They were joined by Israel's two Chief Rabbis and by an overwhelming majority of Israel's Parliament. And if Israeli Jewry isn't enough, the American Jewish umbrella group representing 50 national Jewish organizations under the title The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations has added the voice of American Jewry to those who seek Pollard's freedom.
When considering the evident crescendo of support in favor of freedom for Jonathan Pollard, we are confronted by a report in the New York Times of September 2011 that leaves us completely dumbfounded. We are informed of a meeting between Vice President Joe Biden and a group of rabbis in south Florida. When the rabbis raised the question of possible clemency for Jonathan Pollard, the VP's vehement response was, infamously,"Over my dead body!"
Skip to December 2013. A fresh wind blew into the picture when Governor Bill Richardson, a former UN ambassador and a confidant of Pres. Obama, wrote to the president and recommended Pollard be freed immediately. Richardson stated, "In my view there is no longer a need for a discussion today. Virtually everyone who was in a high position of government and dealt with the ramifications of what Pollard did at the time - now supports his release."
Shortly before Richardson's letter, there was a very sobering panel discussion that took place at the Jerusalem Press Club. The participants consisted of Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, Jerusalem Post editor Steven Linde, and two very well known Americans, Dr. Mahmet Oz and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. The discussion revolved around Sharansky's imprisonment in the Soviet Union and his ability to maintain hope during his long ordeal. During the question period, the inevitable query arose about the Americans' adamant refusal to release Pollard after 29 years. Not one of the four participants was able to offer a logical or convincing argument to help comprehend this refusal, and none were able to offer any suggestion as to how to help facilitate his release. On the contrary: Rabbi Boteach, who visited Pollard in prison and lobbied for his release, expressed his solemn belief that America wants Jonathan to die there!
The mystery of Jonathan Pollard, my friends, is not one of espionage -- it is one of murder!
Sir, - Hezbollah, evidently devoid of any originality or imagination, has chosen to conjure up from their infernal cesspool one of the most fatigued, hackneyed, and malicious accusations aimed at the Jews. This time we are charged with the heinous crime of inventing Hollywood as part of a nefarious Jewish conspiracy to be used as a tool to "conquer all the world."
Farroukh Magidi, a university professor (unnamed university) says that his people also want to take over the world as the Jews do, but are not successful because they do not have the skill-set. "They know how to do it and we don't."
Regrettably, I must beg to differ with the Hezbollah professor and point out that his people have been enormously successful in the brain-washing of millions and in creating the world's worst group of blood-thirsty jihadists. Their extreme fanaticism not only sanctions severing of the hand of an alleged thief, but actively promotes the suicide bombings that continue to take a daily toll of at least 20 lives on the streets of Iraq. The blood drenched towns of Syria supply incontrovertible evidence to the success of their fanatical indoctrination.
If in fact the Jews do control Hollywood, they may be charged with providing the world with entertainment, some good, some poor. Muslim fanaticism however has grown into one of the major threats to western civilization.
Zev Chamudot
Petach Tikva
[Nasrallah image credit: Flickr user Abode of Chaos]
Sir, - Letter writer Naftali Bertram does a genuine disservice to those who are concerned with Israel's well being and security. He does so in a letter to the Jerusalem Post wherein he sows the seeds of moral confusion by justifying the award to Jimmy Carter for conflict resolution by students of the Cardozo Law School of Yeshiva University. Bertram correctly cites Carter's achievement in helping to engineer the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in the late 1970's, but rather blithely dismisses Carter's subsequent record of gross antisemitism and his insistent malicious slander of Israel as being in the forefront of practitioners of apartheid in the world.
The dilemma concerning the value of citing a positive achievement of a person who is a moral degenerate is not new. Most decent people are willing to see the achievement as secondary if it means dignifying the persons moral dissonance. The state of Israel is often confronted with the problem of playing Wagner, whose musical genius is undeniable but when weighed against the competing undeniable fact that he was one of Hitler's main ideologues, the decision to forego the music rather than dignify the ideology is unquestionably correct. Would it make any moral sense to praise Hitler for the fact that he got German trains to run on time, or for his oratorical skills, when we are confronted by his unprecedented bestiality and mania that brought death to millions?
Jimmy Carter is received today in the world's capitols, where he unhesitatingly preaches his hate-filled, anti-Israel apartheid gospel and whose doctrine is the most quoted by the proponents of divestment. He travels the world generating enormous malice to Israel and further exposes Israel to those who threaten her security. Does Jimmy Carter really deserve an award?
Sir, - It is rather ironic that the subject of prayer invites such contradictory and hypocritical responses from Meretz MKs. At least two members of the Knesset from Meretz were among the most demanding and outspoken of those present when the "Women of the Wall," in defiance of Supreme Court decisions and police regulations, chose to conduct their Rosh Chodesh Prayers at the Kotel. They certainly related with complete disdain and total rejection of any claims that their behavior would perhaps stimulate violent reactions from the haredi groups that pray at the Wall on a daily basis and maintain established traditions of behavior and prayer that have been in practice for centuries.
How blatantly and disgustingly different is their reaction to the wish of the new head of the Knesset Interior C'tee MK Miri Regev who states thatJews should be able to pray at the Temple Mount. This would rectify the patently absurd and maliciously discriminatory policy of the Muslim Wakf that presently dictates the arrest of Jews who dare to even move their lips in silent prayer on the Temple Mount. Despite the complete justice and fairness of Regev's attempts to establish a policy of sanity on the Temple Mount, Meretz MK Michal Roisin vehemently states her objection and issues a dire threat about the igniting of a third intifada.
It is about time that Meretz MKs understand that it is not the location where a Jew prays that disturbs the Palestinians, it is rather our very presence that they cannot tolerate.
Sir, - James Adler now adds grievous misinformation to his consistent insidious anti-Israel bias. Under the guise of neutrality, he focuses on the Israeli settlements and views them as the sole cause of the anti-Israel Western criticism and mindset. Adler chooses to ignore the anti-Jewish and anti-Israel environment that has plagued this area for centuries and unfortunately continues to find new avenues of expression.
Even disregarding the pre-state Arab riots and British hostility, the emerging State of Israel was met by invading Arab armies, determined to wipe out the Zionist effrontery. The 1967 armistice lines were established after Israel again succeeded in repulsing attacks by the armies of all of its neighboring countries. Those cease-fire lines were never meant to define its borders. The land won at that time was indisputably part of the mandated Jewish Homeland, and never belonged to any other sovereign entity. In addition, what must be borne in mind is that all the Israeli blood that was then shed was in defense of Israel, against those who were bent on its annihilation, long before the existence of any so called West Bank settlements. In 1964 the infamous PLO Manifesto was proclaimed and called for Israel's destruction, unrelated to any connection with Israel's territorial expansion.
James Adler now joins a long list of Israel bashers who refuse to recognize the fact that the settlement issue merely provides an artificial and convenient disguise for an anti-Israel animus by villainizing the constructive efforts of some of Israel's most idealistic citizens. Hatred does exist, but any fair-minded analysis would determine that it is mostly directed toward Israel and not vise versa.
Sir, - The countless words, analyses, and opinions that constituted the sound and fury of the party campaigns in Israel's recent elections, have yet to reveal their ultimate worth and significance. In the world at large there is a clear and ominous rise of hatred and hostility, toward our beleaguered state that found its most recent expression in the obscene anti-Semitic cartoon posted by the Sunday Times of London. On Holocaust Remembrance Day, it chose to depict a big-nosed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu building and cementing a wall with the blood and limbs of Palestinians.
And Yet! We are able to respond and show the world what we truly are and how we differ, by virtue of two recent magnificent achievements of which we can be justly proud. The first, is the most beautiful and meaningful way that we and the Keren Kayemeth Leisrael commemorate the Tu Bishvat holiday. We did so by having hundreds of thousands of participants plant one million saplings all over Israel. Surely there can be no more positive and elegant way for a nation to express its wholesome respect and love for the genuine values to which they subscribe.
Second, is the almost unbelievable technology developed by Dr.Shai Meretzki and his Bonus BioGroup, where they have demonstrated the ability to grow healthy bone and cartilage, and literally create spare parts for people who suffer from the loss or deterioration of limbs.What a marvelous contribution to all of mankind and a most fitting response to all our detractors.
Sir, - Seth J. Frantzman's articles have been consistently intelligent and well reasoned and we owe him a vote of thanks for his exposition of the very serious breach of academic ethics at one of America's prestigious universities. In his article "Homeland, the Jews and Columbia University," Frantzman reveals the shocking bias and perversity to be found in the classroom of a leading university with the apparent acceptance by the administration.
Frantzman relates several instances where Professor Joseph Massad has verbalized racially offensive remarks in his classroom. He seems to be obsessed with the racial composition of his classroom and of the characters that he teaches about. In his critique of the popular Homeland television series he constantly and gratuitously refers to them as "suspiciously brown" or "wed to a Jew" or the "Hindu" without any rational connection to the performer's role.
It is worthy of note, that it was Columbia University that unhesitatingly permitted Iran's President Ahmadinejad to deliver one his infamous tirades. There seems to be no doubt that Prof. Massad is "suspiciously Nazi" and most clearly unbalanced, which does not speak well for the university.
It would be of supreme interest if Massad would relate to President Obama, as being "suspiciously Brown" on his father's side and "Halachically White" on his mother's!
ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva
[Image credit: Salaam Shalom; video credit: Showtime]
Sir, - Although I appreciated some of the sentiment, I feel that Gil Troy did a disservice with his article concerning the linked "summertime mourning" of Israelis and Americans. Troy describes acts of genuine heroism and feelings of deep sorrow over the loss of innocent human lives, that were evident both at the Colorado theater murders and those that took place in Bulgaria. I believe, however, that there are profound differences between the two events, and that it is imperative to distinguish between them.
Burgas Airport
The rampage in the theater was clearly the work of a deranged armed individual, who randomly shot at whomever was unfortunate to be in his sights, while having no prior animus towards them. The bomb that was exploded at Burgas however, was the work of an agent of state terrorism that deliberately chose a group of Israelis to be the target of his atrocity. The first was the act of a psychopath that acted alone and who was able with ease to heavily arm himself. The killing of the Israelis was carried out by a terrorist who underwent training in bomb preparation and who enjoyed the help of an international terror network designed to strike another murderous blow against the Zionist entity.
Aurora Century 16 theater
The acts in the United States were completely senseless and reflect on an ongoing pathology in American society. Terrorist attacks against Israelis are purposeful acts motivated by Jew-hatred and of the inabilty to accept the existence of a Jewish State. What happened in the U.S. is unfortunate and tragic and must be addressed by the proper governmental, social, and psychological experts. The threat against Israel originates with the international dark forces of religious and political fanaticism and is a distressingly existential one.
ZEV CHAMUDOT
Petach Tikva
[Image credit: Wikimedia users Christian Rasmussen; Algr]
Sir, - Rivka Carmi, President of Ben-Gurion University probably means well when she writes and titles her article, "Zionism is in our DNA." Carmi however fails to make a convincing case in support of her argument. She never reveals who is 'our' when offering her argument. It is unfortunately quite clear, that even among Israelis or Jews of the Diaspora, not all of them can be described as sharing that particular DNA component called Zionism. Among the most blatant possessors of an anti-Zionist, sometimes spilling over to anti-Semitic DNA composition, are some members of the Faculty at Ben-Gurion University. There are tenured lecturers and professors who openly call for not only academic boycotts of Israel, but also policies of divestment and political action designed to be inimical to the State of Israel and its citizens. Carmi attempts to support her thesis by describing the positive achievements of our young State, while at the same time almost pathetically suggesting that these anti-Zionists be left to continue with their perfidy.
Carmi is also seriously amiss when she states that both Zionism and science are both movements rooted in the rationalism of the 19th century. For myself and a great number of the Jewish people, Zionism began well over two thousand years ago when our traditions instilled in us the dream to return to the ancient Land of our Fathers. This truism is clearly echoed in the 'Hatikva' national anthem that expresses this ancient hope and dream, and became embedded in the DNA and hearts and minds of many of our people throughout the ages.
Sir, – Cultured and civilized societies are constantly being duped by the adage that states “The clothes make the man.”
What should be obvious to all thinking people is the fact that clothing merely portrays the outer appearance, which is often betrayed by the wearer’s character and personality.
[Some common examples of the above thesis are: Persons who don white outer jackets are not always competent physicians. There are those who wear the full 'haredi' uniform, who nevertheless do not hesitate to join with Israel's enemies and call for the downfall of the Jewish state. There are those who attend Ivy League universities and dress like earnest students or learned professors, who are capable of the most boorish and ugly behavior.There are those like Iran's Aminajed, who despite the fact that he does not wear a bone through his nose and dresses in western fashions, is nevertheless an ugly savage.
So too, is one who served in the SS and adorned with the mantel of the Nobel Prize which he proudly wears, is able to expound the vilest bigotry and racism.] Günter Grass proves that smoking a pipe, looking collegiate and being awarded a coveted honor does not in the least transform a Nazi into a decent human being.
Sir, - The Wannsee Conference and its abominable adoption of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" pose most basic and troubling questions for all who are seriously concerned about the meaning and direction of civilized society. The urgency of these questions is compounded when we are informed that the very memory of that conference is in doubt.
How is it possible for a group of rational and ostensibly civilized men, with deliberate, planned, and scientific malice aforethought, decide to exterminate millions of other human beings?
Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, among the most important philosophers and poets of 12th century Spain, provides us with a deeply profound challenge to our understanding. He warns us against being misled by Greek culture because "It has flowers but bears no fruit." Education that provides only knowledge without confluent values, is capable of creating vastly learned human monsters.
It is quite sobering to know, that more than half of those who attended the Wannsee Conference held PhD degrees.
Sir, – Gil Troy (“Sloppy but not self-hating,” Center Field, December 21) demeans himself with his attempt to defend the indefensible. He pleads that labeling Thomas L. Friedman as anti-Semitic or a self-hating Jew is simplistic and offensive.
What utter claptrap! Troy’s arguments are not only specious, but indeed simplistic and offensive.
[Both Caroline Glick as well as The Jerusalem Post editorial have amply delineated Friedman's anti-Israel and anti-semitic views. His malicious and gross attack upon Netanyahu's standing ovations in Congress, as having been bought by an all powerful Israel lobby is nothing short of an anti-Semitic obscenity.] In truth I am not at all concerned whether Friedman is a self-hating Jew. I am, however, very much concerned about his apparent hatred for other Jews and the state we have built. His willingness to commit us to a return to the indefensible pre-1967 borders and other suicidal concessions in order to appease Palestinian aggression is completely unacceptable to the majority of Israel’s citizens and to its democratically elected government. ZEV CHAMUDOT Petah Tikva
Sir, - At first glance, the 'humanitarian' effort of the International Red Cross to transport apples grown by Golan Druze to Syria appears to be quite a benevolent effort on the part of the IRC ("Golan apples sent to Syria," March 3). A more critical reading, however, raises the question of whether the same altruistic effort would have been made on behalf of any other Israeli product that, for example, was trying to penetrate a market where the 'Made in Israel' label was anathema.
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