Dealing with reality in the Middle East

Re “Is ‘moral equivalency’ really so wrong?” Current, June 18

Various democracies have inflicted civilian casualties in the course of defending freedom from tyranny. Are those democracies morally equivalent to the tyrannies they put down? Of course not. Not every Palestinian is a terrorist, but the sad consequence of waging war is that the civilian population will suffer. But that suffering does not establish moral equivalency.

The Palestinians have been offered peace many times, but many of them do not accept Israel’s right to exist and are dedicated to Israel’s destruction. Israel has every right to strike peremptorily and in retaliation. There has never been a nation called Palestine. There are no pre-1967 “borders,” just an armistice line. Has Hamas said there will be peace if Israel returns to the armistice line? No. The Palestinian view has always been that that would just be a first step in removing Israel from the planet.

HOWARD SIBELMAN

Marina del Rey

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Henry Siegman seems to say that because it is unlikely Hamas could destroy Israel, Israel should not fight back against a group that has pledged to destroy it. Perhaps he thinks the U.S. should negotiate with Al Qaeda too?

Since its independence in 1948, Israel has been under attack by its Arab neighbors. Peace will come when Palestinian terrorists stop attacking Israel. This all began well before the 1967 attempt to destroy Israel and the resulting occupation. Despite peace with Egypt and Jordan, the sad reality is that too many Arabs and Muslims do not want to accept a Jewish state.

RON FINEMAN

Valencia

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If the Palestinians had no weapons, there would be peace. If the Israelis had no weapons, there would be no Israel.

SI FRUMKIN

Studio City