American Jews and the Gaza debate

Re “Battle of Wills,” Aug. 14

Many arguments against withdrawing from Gaza were made three decades ago when Israel gave up numerous settlements in the Sinai Desert to pave the way for the eventual peace treaty with Egypt. Publicly, both nations have not proclaimed love for each other, yet trust and improved relations continue to be achieved, and when was the last time terrorists have attacked Israel via the Sinai?

Wouldn’t it be nice if the critics of the Gaza withdrawal, holding protest meetings in the safety of their homes in the U.S., would butt out and allow the citizens of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, to make and implement decisions regarding their safety, security and very lives?

SID SKOLNIK

West Hollywood

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Re “Gaza Strip Pullout Splinters American Jewish Opinion,” Aug. 13

As an American Jew who lived in Israel for many years, I have little sympathy for the Jewish settlers now leaving Gaza. Consider the following: 1. In 1948-49, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs were forcibly expelled from Israel by the armed forces of the new Jewish state. 2. In the following years, thousands of acres of Arab-owned land in Israel were expropriated for the exclusive use of Israel’s Jewish citizens. 3. Since 1967, thousands of Arab homes have been demolished in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Israel for reasons having nothing to do with “security.”

These facts are the products not of Arab propaganda but of Israeli historians and Israeli human rights organizations. For over three decades, Jewish peace advocates in Israel and the U.S. have been warning that the entire settlement enterprise, based upon messianic and nationalistic delusions, was a disaster for both Palestinians and Israelis that could never be maintained. The results of Israel’s policy, both actively and silently supported by the American Jewish community, are now plain for everyone to see.

JACOB BENDER

Los Angeles