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Dear editor:
Bruce Ticker is correct about Sen. Hollen. (“Column: The Alternate ‘Palestinian’ Half-Truth That Sen. Van Hollen Needs to Face” Boulder Jewish News 6/4/2026) The true ‘Palestinian cause’ isn’t a quest for a Palestinian state; it’s an attempt to destroy the world’s only Jewish state. Unfortunately, Mr. Ticker supports his argument with the mention of only one proposal made by Israel and rejected by Palestinians. The truth is that Arab leaders have a long history of rejecting Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and Palestinian leaders have adopted this rejectionism.
A paper from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies details opposition to Israel’s existence as a Jewish state from the days of Mufti Hajj Amin Husseini (early 1920’s to the late 1940’s) through Mahmoud Abbas’ rejection of Donald Trump’s Deal of the Century.
More recently, we have seen the failure of the Oslo Accords. Rather than leading to the emergence of a Palestinian state co-existing, peacefully, with the nation-state of the Jews, people living under the administration of the Palestinian Authority are incited to attack and kill Jews, being honored and rewarded when they answer the call. And Hamas chose to spend $1,000,000,000 to build an extensive network of terror tunnels instead of developing Gaza’s economy. Having deliberately endangered
the people in Gaza, Hamas proceeded to attack Israel and label Israel’s response to Hamas’ attack “genocide.”
There is one point on which I do not agree with Bruce Ticker. He is angry with Israeli leaders who do not support the establishment of a Palestinian state. Given the danger such a state would pose to Israel’s Arab citizens, as well as to Israel’s Jewish citizens, I have to support Israelis who oppose the creation of a terror state on Israel’s border.
Toby F. Block
Atlanta, GA
