The state of Israel

Re “The kingmaker?” Opinion, Feb. 11

Let me get this straight: It is because of right-wing politics that the peace process has foundered. Right-wing politics. Not Hamas rockets. Not Hezbollah missiles. Right-wing politics.

M.J. Rosenberg has confused cause and effect. It is not right-wing politics but a combination of the failed policies of successive governments of all political stripes, Palestinian intransigence and the rise of the Hamas terror state in Gaza that have rendered Israel bereft of left-leaning peace options.

In addition, in claiming that “Obama will be the one to determine whether the peace process is resuscitated or simply expires,” Rosenberg arrogantly proposes that President Obama is the self-anointed messiah of the peace process, the supposed savior of the Jewish and Arab peoples, and the one man on whose whim their prospects of peace hinge.

In other words, by his logic, the fate of 6 million Jews -- not to mention millions more Palestinians -- again purports to rest in the hands of one man.

Michael Tanenbaum

Beverly Hills

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What can be more racist and bigoted than Yisrael Beiteinu head Avigdor Lieberman’s call for Israeli Arabs to sign loyalty oaths to the state of Israel? That former ambassador Danny Ayalon, in his Times Op-Ed article, fails to condemn Lieberman’s remarks, expressing his own implicit support for Lieberman’s ideology.

Sumayyah Alsabri

Anaheim

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Re “Israel’s identity crisis,” editorial, Feb. 14

Congratulations! The Times finally offers a solution to failed Israeli-Palestinian coexistence. I agree that “Israel should expand, not rescind, the basic democratic rights of its Arab minority if it wants to ensure loyalty and good citizenship.”

Israel cannot be a Jewish and a democratic state at the same time. If it is to survive in today’s world, it has to be either an exclusively Jewish state or a democratic state. If it opts for the former, it will become fascist. If it chooses democracy for all its citizens -- including the occupied West Bank and Gaza -- then it strengthens its chances for legitimacy and survival.

Samir Twair

Los Angeles

The writer is president of the Arab-American Press Guild.

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We find angst in a Times editorial because Israel is a Jewish state with a Star of David on the flag.

There are many in the world that are officially Christian -- including Britain, Argentina, Cyprus, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Greece. There are many countries in the world that are officially Muslim, including almost every country in the Middle East, and even countries that are officially Buddhist. Many of those countries have religious symbols on their flags.

Like other countries, Israel is far from perfect. But where is the angst-ridden prose about the religions and flags of all these other countries? Does The Times have a double standard? Evidently.

Len Levitt

Los Angeles

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Hypocritical? Would anyone argue that our democracy is weakened by identifying those people who are actively “sympathetic” to Al Qaeda and removing them? Our very survival is at stake. The Arab Israeli citizens who are actively “sympathetic to Hamas” should be removed and sent to Arab countries.

Bruce Penso

Los Angeles

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The Israeli Supreme Court’s overturning of the decision to disallow Arab parties that truck with the enemy to serve in the Knesset was one of the things that brought Lieberman to power. Most Israelis say that their country’s approach to these Arab parties is too lax.

Andrea Moriah

Har Adar, Israel