Israeli Reservists Reject Army’s Conduct

The report of Israeli reservists protesting and questioning the morality of Israeli military action in the occupied territories (Feb. 2) only serves to highlight the distinctive and moral character of Israeli society. From this distance I cannot begin to agree or disagree with the substance of the protests, but I applaud a society in which such a debate can take place. Israelis live under the constant threat of terrorism in ways we cannot begin to imagine and yet they can tolerate, even encourage, these kinds of questions and challenges.

In no other Middle Eastern country can such a debate take place, and even in Western democracies the prime minister or president would not be considering meeting with those threatening to refuse military orders. If for no other reason than this, Israeli society deserves America’s support and the admiration of people of tolerance and democratic principles.

Rabbi Michael Mayersohn

Long Beach

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The stand of the veteran Israeli reservists to reject duty in Gaza and the West Bank is an act of courage and compassion. If the Palestinians should respond in kind, it could start a people-driven process to resolve a conflict that has lasted too long, vitally affected the U.S. and is unlikely to be resolved with a lasting peace agreement as long as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s genocidal actions and the Palestinians’ murderous acts of desperation remain the only intercourse between the two sides.

Aristid D. Berk

Malibu

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Franklin Berger claimed that Israel has never targeted Palestinian civilians (letter, Feb. 3). I would like to refute this wild remark with a statement made by Adm. Ami Ayalon, former head of the Israeli internal security service, Shin Bet. He is quoted (Feb. 2) that “too few soldiers refused to carry out too many illegal orders. When we kill unarmed children, that is an illegal order.” Israel has targeted and continues to target and kill Palestinian civilians at will.

Yakeen Qawasmeh

Palmdale

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If President Bush is serious about brokering a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, he should balance his demands from Yasser Arafat with a basic demand from Sharon. That is, a commitment from Israel to end its occupation of all of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip in return for a safe and secure Israel. As an Arab American who voted for Bush to be our president, I’d like to see him play the role of the honest broker; so far he has not.

Farid Khalil

West Covina