Letters to the Editor: Don’t let Israel’s far right succeed in reoccupying Gaza after the war
To the editor: Your article on the rise of far-right extremists and religious Zionists in Israel explained more than just the age-long settlement goals of these groups in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It also elucidated the machinery at play that has meticulously fostered such far-right ideas over many years.
These groups have made inroads into the military and the government. They have leveraged their ideas in a very opportunistic manner as a form of reprisal against the Palestinian people for Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7.
It is shocking and unsettling to learn that parts of the Israeli leadership are encouraging efforts by far-right groups to re-occupy Gaza by making the area uninhabitable for Palestinians. I hope other world leaders understand this phenomenon and don’t just try to justify it as rightful retaliation by Israel.
Malay Sinha, Moorpark
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To the editor: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not Israel’s religious right, will determine Israel’s plan for the Gaza Strip after the war against Hamas.
His policy will reflect the existential need to prevent the repeated Oct. 7 massacres promised by Ghazi Hamad of Hamas’ political bureau, who stated there would be more massacres until Israel is annihilated.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has vowed that the people of the Gaza Strip will “eat the livers of those besieging them” and “tear their hearts out.”
The Hamas charter is also clear: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it.” Hamas is and always has been consistent in its public declarations of commitment to eradication of Israel.
So, Israel’s plans for Gaza will reflect that, like battle plans, circumstances in Gaza can change rapidly. Israel must respond to situations in Gaza as they present themselves.
Julia Lutch, Davis, Calif.
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To the editor: As a secular Jew who made “aliyah” (immigrated to Israel), I read with interest your articles on Israel’s far right and on calls from the U.S. for elections in Israel.
When I arrived in 1980, the question was, “What’s more important for Israel’s security — a piece of paper or land?”
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) had it right when he said, “Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah,” and that the “Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”
When I returned to the United States in 1988, most Israelis were saying that the Palestinians should have their own state, as long as it’s demilitarized.
That’s a solution that I think is fair. The difficulty is in how to implement it.
Victoria Shere, Santa Monica
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To the editor: The actions of the Israeli extremists blocking aid to Gaza are reprehensible. But how does their goal of occupying Gaza differ from the goals of Hamas and its supporters who chant “from the river to the sea”?
I am frustrated at the failure to acknowledge that the goal of Hamas and many Palestinians is to expel the Jews from Israel.
Cathy Costin, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Your separate articles on Israel’s religious far right and devout followers of former President Trump describe hubris taken to new heights.
On the one hand, religionists who claim to know the mind of God illustrate the pronouncement in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by the character Puck, “What fools these mortals be.”
And those who claim that God ordains the destruction of Gaza or the selection of a totally incompetent, immoral, dishonest, self-serving man and alleged felon to be the chosen one to be president illustrates Woody Allen’s comment: “If it turns out that there is a god ... he’s an underachiever.”
S.H. Kardener, Santa Monica
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To the editor: I am a lifelong Zionist and a child of the Shoah. How can Jewish people advocate driving others from their generational homes?
The horrible words are “ethnic cleansing,” and I am heartbroken.
Paul Malykont, Los Osos
