Letters to the Editor: With Gaza, ‘the moral weight of memory demands accountability, not silence’

To the editor: In December 1968, while walking through the Old City of Jerusalem, I saw a Jerusalem Post headline that has stayed with me ever since: “The Persecuted Have Become the Persecutors,” written by a rabbi. I was a teenager then, and that stark truth pierced me.

I am Palestinian, born in Lebanon after my parents fled their homeland. My aunts, uncles and grandparents scattered across Jordan and Egypt, displaced by war and fear. That headline echoed the pain of my family’s story — and today, it echoes again.

Reading the Los Angeles Times’ recent article about experts accusing Israel of genocide (“U.N. commission of inquiry accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza,” Sept. 16), I was struck by how history continues to repeat itself. The suffering of one people should never justify the suffering of another. The moral weight of memory demands accountability, not silence.

Vivien Irving, Huntington Beach

..

To the editor: According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 11th Edition, genocide is “the deliberate and systemic destruction of a racial, political or cultural group.” Religion is not included in this definition, but perhaps should be.

Hamas is a political and military group that was founded on the goal of the destruction of Israel. Those are genocidal intentions and Hamas has been at it for years, with the latest action being the surprise killings of 1,195 people and the capture of 251 hostages on Oct. 7, 2023.

I think Israel has finally had enough and is determined to survive and eliminate Hamas, which is political genocide. The cost is the destruction of Gaza City, a major base of operations for Hamas. Israel has warned the Palestinians to evacuate. That’s more than Hamas did on Oct. 7.

It’s genocide all around, and I would like news outlets and organizations to not only use that term for Israel. I have no dog in this fight. I am neither Jewish nor Palestinian, I have no relatives in the Middle East, I have no children or friends totally on one side or the other. Both the Jewish and Arab non-war cultures add richness to my life. I just want both Hamas’ and Israel’s actions to be labeled correctly and fairly. And, for goodness sake, I wish these “peace” negotiators would get the job done.

Deborah Regan, Palos Verdes Peninsula

..

To the editor: As an American Jew born in 1949, in the shadow of the Holocaust, I was raised amid cries of “never again.” Watching and reading about Israel’s offensive in the Middle East, I am astonished and abashed (“Israel begins ground offensive in Gaza City with thousands of troops,” Sept. 16).

How did we go from “never again” to “never mind”?

Edward M. Bialack, Woodland Hills