Gaza Pullout Plan and Double Standards
“Sharon Defends Ejecting Settlements” (Feb. 4), about Israel’s plans to withdraw from settlements in the Gaza Strip, also mentions a proposal to allow the Palestinian Authority to rule over certain Israeli Arab towns. Your article notes that this proposal alarms many Israeli Arabs. This point should be emphasized.
For years, the enemies of Israel have been shouting that Israeli Arabs are mistreated and are second-class citizens. Yet, when push comes to shove, most Israeli Arabs have no doubt that they have the greatest amount of freedom in the Arab world and they would never willingly trade Israeli citizenship to be ruled by a despot like Yasser Arafat.
Josh Baker
San Francisco
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We’ve been conditioned by the media to a knee-jerk reaction to “Israeli settlers” -- they should be evacuated from Arab territory. But the liberal view of the Palestinian “right of return” means millions of Arabs can live in Israel. In a few decades Arabs would then outnumber Jews, changing democratic Israel into another Arab country. Is there any concern about the double standard?
A.L. Kolom
Los Angeles
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