A commitment to Israel

Re “The Israel litmus test,” Opinion, March 9

Aaron David Miller asks why so many American Jews demand unwavering commitment to Israel from their politicians. Simply stated, the United States is Israel’s only reliable friend. Hardly a week goes by without hearing of anti-Semitic incidents somewhere, from desecration of Jewish cemeteries to hate rallies and inflammatory newspaper articles. This, of course, is nothing new. Jews have been murdered and maligned since time immemorial. Israel was created out of the ashes of the Holocaust as a refuge for Jews who have been unwelcome in virtually every land where they tried to make their homes. Many Jews may demand unwavering commitment to Israel, but not without justification. It’s unfortunate that the world is unaware of the contributions this tiny country has made to humanity in the fields of art, science, medicine and technology. It isn’t only Jews who need Israel to survive; we all stand to gain.

Bruce Friedman

Beverly Hills

I agree with almost all of what Miller says. We do need some alternative ways of thinking to resolve this conflict between Arabs and Israelis. It is wrong for a person to be branded as an anti-Semite if he or she disagrees with Israeli policy. One area on which I have some concern is that Miller describes the books recently published by Jimmy Carter and professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt as being bad. I wish he had gone into some detail as to how he came to this conclusion. I found both books to be quite informative and factual.

William V. Evans

Torrance

I was struck by how Miller sees both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as morally equivalent. He writes: “Both sides have legitimate needs and requirements and do both good and bad things in pursuit of them.”

There’s a daily barrage of Palestinian rockets out of Gaza. An Arab shoots Jewish religious students studying in a library, and the Palestinians in Gaza celebrate in the streets and pass out candy. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gives an interview to a Jordanian newspaper in which he says, “At this time, I object to the armed struggle because we are unable to conduct it; however, in future stages things may change.”

What “good things” have the Palestinians ever done?

Diane M. Anderson

Lincolnwood, Ill.