Letters in the New York Times

Yes, Be Tough in the Mideast, but Against the Right Target

To the Editor:

Re “Try Tough Love, Hillary,” by Roger Cohen (column, The New York Times on the Web, Dec. 1):

Mr. Cohen states that Israel’s “moral authority is already compromised by a 40-year occupation.”

There may indeed be questions as to the morality of how Israel has handled its occupation of Palestinian lands. There is, however, no question of the immorality of the Hamas terrorism that has forced Israel to occupy its neighbors to stop incursions into its borders.

There is also no question that Step No. 1 must be Palestinian recognition of Israel so that withdrawal from the West Bank doesn’t invite more rocket fire, as it has from Gaza.

Ron Novick
Orange, Conn.

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To the Editor:

Roger Cohen uses the words of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel to argue that the Israelis themselves need tough love from the United States and a dramatic change in policy.

But Mr. Olmert is one of the most disliked prime ministers in recent history, with an approval rating in the single digits. It would be a mistake to assume that his views on this matter are shared by the majority of Israelis.

Mr. Olmert’s ideas will not solve the real problem, which we saw in India last week: Israel is surrounded by entities that sponsor terrorists, and therefore neither diplomacy nor signed agreements will give Israel the kind of security that makes peace possible.

Ari Weitzner
New York,

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To the Editor:

Roger Cohen does not mention Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and therefore does not acknowledge that Israel has already taken the first step toward the creation of a Palestinian state.

Israel’s overture was rewarded not with peace, but with a steady stream of rockets raining even farther into Israel.

Before Israel takes further security risks in the name of peace, the Palestinian leadership must prove that it will not use the West Bank as a launching pad to attack Israel.

Justin Rosenblum
Flushing, Queens,

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To the Editor:

Reading Roger Cohen’s column was like stepping into a time warp, as though the last 15 years had never happened.

Since 1993, Israel has withdrawn from every inch of Gaza, from every inch of Lebanon and from substantial portions of the West Bank. It has offered up shared control of Jerusalem and withdrawal from most of the remainder of the West Bank.

During this same time, the Palestinians have never offered a single compromise of their own. Instead they have launched countless terror attacks, and have used the territory Israel gave up to launch thousands of missile attacks against civilian targets. Additionally, they have elected an unabashed terror organization as their government, which continues to feed the population, especially the children, an endless diet of hatred and anti-Semitism.

Tough love? Try directing it at the right target, and you might see some progress.

Yaakov Har-Oz
Beit Shemesh, Israel,

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To the Editor:

Roger Cohen counsels Hillary Rodham Clinton, once she is secretary of state, to shift American policy toward Israel to one of “tough love, with the emphasis on tough.”

But despite Mr. Cohen’s assertion that it is because of his being “fiercely attached to Israel’s security” that he wants Israel pushed to carve up Jerusalem and to give up the Golan Heights and more, he devotes scant attention to what the Palestinians must do to yield peace.

It is remarkable that the world must be reminded that the Palestinians have rejected scores of Israeli peace overtures and concessions, murdered innocent Israelis in cafes and on buses, and voted Hamas into power in the aftermath of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Peace is not elusive in the Middle East because of Israel. Peace is elusive because of those who deny Israel’s right to exist to this day.

Nathan Diament
Director of Public Policy
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
Washington