The Israeli-Palestinian Divide

Re “Why the Gaza Pullout Matters,” Commentary, May 11: The Gaza pullout matters, according to Aaron David Miller, because Israel cannot continue to deal with its Palestinian “problem” in the current situation and be a democratic Jewish state. That is why the Gaza pullout matters for Israel -- more particularly, for an Israeli liberal. It is not why the pullout matters for a Palestinian, whose outlook was not included in Miller’s piece.

My guess is that, for a Palestinian, it means greater ease of movement to go to market, to visit relatives, to get medical care. It means the absence of Israel’s oppressive military presence and greater safety, particularly for children, from Israel Defense Forces sharpshooters. It means relief from the constant humiliations exerted by the mighty and armed over the humble and civilian. Shouldn’t these things be counted among the reasons that the Gaza pullout matters?

Miriam M. Reik

New York

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Re “Paving Palestine’s Way,” editorial, May 10: You state that “many Israelis say that when the barrier and the [Palestinian] nation are built ... Palestinians shouldn’t count on finding jobs in Israel.” Putting aside the fact that the already faltering Israeli economy would be utterly ruined if its access to cheap Palestinian labor were cut off, this mentality assumes that Palestinians in a future state would have easy access to their Arab neighbors. In any proposal for a Palestinian state, Israel says that it will retain control over the border between the West Bank and Jordan. Workers coming and going across the Jordan River would have to go through the same Israeli checkpoints as if they were traveling to Israel itself.

The barrier being built does not “separate” Israel and Palestine; rather, it closes off Palestine from the rest of the world, with migration under the complete control of Israel. This process is one that Israel should be particularly ashamed of, for in another time and place it was called “ghettoization.”

Tom Gorman

Glendale

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What the Rand Corp. studies and The Times fail to report is that although Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas preaches that the intifada has been a mistake, it is not due to the inherent wrong of killing innocent civilians to achieve political aims. Rather, because it hasn’t helped to further their true goal, which is the total destruction of the state of Israel.

Why would a people, preparing for democracy, statehood and peace, be so busy furiously smuggling in Strella missiles and other armaments? Why does Abbas say something totally different in Arabic than he says in English -- namely that this is merely a first step to destroying Israel in stages? Only if The Times and all English-language media would do some true reporting, and obtain Abbas’ speeches in Arabic, and have them translated by a neutral party, will the facts become clear. The pablum being fed to the press is not the vitriol being broadcast to the Arab world. The retreat from Gaza is being seen as a reward for terror and jihad, and will surely encourage more.

Wendy Derovan

Los Angeles