Letter: “A Rage to Strike Back”

Dear Letter to the Editor:

This latest round of demonstrations reveals, once again, that many “Pro- Palestinian” protestors aren’t doing a thing to improve the life of the average Palestinian. (“Column: A Rage to Strike Back – At Raging Defenders of, um, Palestine” Boulder Jewish News January 4, 2023) The folks who disrupted traffic in California and New York should be called “Pro-Hamas” or “anti-Israel.” They ignore the fact that the average Palestinian is suffering because of the malfeasance of their chosen leaders who have long overstayed their elected terms, have enriched themselves on monies donated for their peoples benefit, and have devoted their energies to attempts to destroy the nation-state of the Jews instead of working to build a state in which Palestinians (including those classified by UNRWA as Palestine refugees) could become productive citizens.

The supporters of Hamas deny the truth. Israel is not committing genocide. The Palestinian population has grown since 1948. If anything, the Palestinian leaders are committing cultural genocide by denying the historicity of Jews’ connection to Eretz Israel. Nor is Israel an apartheid state. Israeli Arabs have full civil rights and any restrictions on Palestinians entering Israel result from Palestinian leaders choosing to use violence against Israel and Israelis rather than negotiating on multiple Israel and US proposals for ending the conflict and establishing a Palestinian state. The major stumbling block is the refusal of Palestinian leaders to accept the presence of a non-Muslim state in the Middle East. There is no international law that grants Muslims sole rights to sovereignty in the Middle East. Nor do leaders who refuse to negotiate have the right to try to settle disputes by violent means. True champions of the Palestinian people should be urging the PA to cancel its Pay for Slay program, urging Hamas to free the hostages and surrender, urging Arab states and Palestinian leaders to free 6,000,000 Palestine refugees (99.5% of them born in UNRWA camps) from refugee limbo by granting them full citizenship in their countries of residence or arranging for them to work on building the future Palestinian state where they would eventually be granted citizenship.

Toby F. Block
Atlanta, GA