Israel’s Lobbyists Could Block the Road to Peace

Re “Hawks Rip Into Mideast Plan,” April 23: For over 30 years now, past American presidents and their administrations have stated to the Israeli government that settlements are an obstacle to peace, not to mention the U.N. resolutions on settlements. And every time, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other Jewish groups’ lobbyists managed to sidetrack attention.

Among their justifications: biblical right, Palestinian terrorism and natural growth. And their possible excuse now is France, Germany and the U.N. As of last Tuesday they had the signatures of 262 lawmakers from both parties who are fighting for bigger shares of their hefty political contributions. I cannot wait to see how these lobbyists are going to do it this time. My question to the present Israeli government is how much love and adoration are you expecting from the Palestinians in your 36 years of friendly occupation?

Nabil Captan

Huntington Beach

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So, your article says only “hawks” and “neoconservatives” oppose the road map for settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? The road map has yet to be published, but we do know that the Palestinians are adamantly for an unlimited “right of return” for all Palestinians who left Israel proper, and their descendants. Most Middle East experts estimate that number as over 4 million. Almost all Israelis are just as adamantly against this because adding that many hostile aliens to Israel’s current population of 6 million, 1 million of whom are Arab Israelis sympathetic to the Palestinians, would be national suicide. This is a nonnegotiable point for the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinians were offered a state in 1947 and again in 2000 but turned it down. Their goal, as anyone can see on official Palestinian Authority Web sites or hear in the mosques, is not the establishment of a Palestinian state but the destruction of Israel and extermination of all Jews in the region.

Judd Silver

Irvine

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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) need to realize that Secretary of State Colin Powell is one of the only reasons that I have been able to maintain my sanity during these recent times in U.S. history. Thank God for some balance in the administration! I strongly support multilateralism in the development of a global community. I am offended to be labeled a “neo-appeaser” because of my beliefs.

Karl Strandberg

Long Beach