Right of Return for Palestinians

* Re “Palestinian Refugees Must Be Allowed to Choose,” Commentary, Aug. 10: Elia Zureik failed to mention that the 800,000 Palestinians who fled their homes in 1948 could have easily been absorbed and started a new life in surrounding Arab countries. Instead, they were purposely kept in refugee camps as a political trump card.

There were more than a million Jews who were expelled or constrained to leave their homes from Arab countries such as Iraq, Egypt, Syria, et al. They too had to relinquish their homes, properties, businesses, assets, etc. The difference, however, is that they did not go to refugee camps and hibernate. Instead, they emigrated to whichever country they could go to and started new lives. In any solution of the refugee problem, especially regarding loss compensation, the case of Jewish refugees from Arab countries should also be taken into account.

SAUL MATHALON

Woodland Hills

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* I am an American of Palestinian origin. My parents were kicked out of their homeland in 1948, dispossessed of all their property and belongings and deprived of their own history. I’ve always been cynical about the United States’ double standard in claiming to uphold the rule of law, yet allowing Israel to flagrantly violate numerous U.N. resolutions over the last 52 years--especially U.N. Resolution 194, establishing the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.

I’ve reacted even more cynically to a U.S. that proclaims “individualism” and “freedom of choice” at every turn, yet sees no contradiction in denying the same right to Palestinians. As Zureik points out, U.N. Resolution 194 clearly stipulates the right of each and every Palestinian to decide if he or she wants to go home. Who has the right to deny millions of people the freedom to choose?

SOUAD DAJANI

Boston