Israel’s Image on the Nightly News

Schram’s column is incredibly naive. He correctly reflects in words what we see on TV, yet he, as a syndicated columnist, should know that “powerful pictures tell powerful truths” is often not true--that is one reason we need syndicated columnists!

While agreeing that “Israel’s cause remains just,” he believes that “Israel alone can act to win the peace.” He should know that Israel cannot win any peace without the cooperation not only of the Palestinians, but of the Arab nations surrounding Israel, which are, but for Egypt, still at war with her. It is a pity he did not read the next column in The Times, “Deep Biases, Short Memories” by Cal Thomas! He would have understood why Israel lost the TV war. Even he admits that “occupying forces will always be seen as persecuting forces.”

All this raises a mind-shattering possibility. Perhaps Israel should have done what the Egyptians did at the beginning of the intifada --send in a couple of truckloads of soldiers and brutally, but efficiently, put down the first rustlings of revolt. Ironically, it would have saved 400 to 500 lives. (The media, of course, would have reacted violently as they did not do when Egypt moved against the Palestinians in Gaza). The revolt would not have gotten off the ground.

This was the reasoning that justified the use of the A-bomb on the Japanese. I shudder to think that it might have been what the Israelis should have done more than two years ago in the “occupied territories.” I shudder because this is what the far right in Israel has been saying all along.

RABBI DAVID J. SPRITZER, Temple Beth Ami, West Covina