Letters to the Editor: How many Palestinian deaths in Gaza will be enough? 20,000? More?
To the editor: There’s got to be a better way. How did we come to the point of thinking that more than 17,000 deaths, the vast majority civilian, are acceptable even in the face of a terrorist atrocity? (“As a Gaza teen, I used to dream of college. Now I feel sentenced to death by Israel’s bombings,” Opinion, Dec. 8)
And the number climbs daily. How many will be enough? 18,000? 20,000?
My heart aches for the Israeli families of hostages. My heart is also in agony for Palestinian families, thousands of whose loved ones are held hostage under mountains of rubble. No amount of negotiation, no prisoner swaps will ever bring them back.
We are all harmed by the ghastly number of lives lost and homes turned to piles of debris. We cannot come out of this, even as observers, without being diminished as human beings, our souls sickened by the callous acceptance of thousands of lives snuffed out.
There’s got to be a better way.
Anne Hormann, Pasadena
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To the editor: The piece by a 17-year-old Palestinian in the Gaza Strip is very interesting.
I’m just curious — would you have printed a comparable article during World War II when U.S. and British forces were bombing Germany? One that expressed worry about a German teen’s aspirations?
Would you have demanded that the U.S. and Britain stop bombing Nazi Germany because too many women and children were being killed? Who do you think caused their deaths — the Nazis or the Allies?
Who do you think is causing the deaths of Gazans — the Israelis or Hamas?
Tamara Blustein, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Anyone who read the op-ed article by Salma Hamad had to be moved by her experience living through death, destruction, hunger, thirst and anxiety. As a teen who wanted to be admitted to an American university, Hamad’s dreams are replaced by nightmares.
Please, President Biden, put pressure on the Israeli government for a cease-fire. We are also culpable because we supplied Israel with the weaponry being used against the Palestinians.
Suzanne Darweesh, Fullerton
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To the editor: Our hearts certainly hurt for this young woman and the Palestinian people.
However, Hamad does not mention anything about Hamas releasing the Israeli hostages. If they were freed, would the bombing stop?
Hamas started this war. Apparently, it does not care about the Palestinians it governs in the Gaza Strip, because it must have known that Israel would respond this way after being attacked on Oct. 7.
No surprise here.
Matthew D. Kerster, Gardena
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To the editor: I am thankful that you keep publishing articles written by people with Arabic names pointing out the history of this conflict from the Palestinian viewpoint.
Two states, one each for the Israelis and the Palestinians, seem to be the only solution. This was championed by the assassinated former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and has been opposed by current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even though he has pretended to support it.
All involved have legitimate grievances.
Eberhard Neutz, Laguna Beach
