Tully article 'borders on anti-Semitism'
I was very disturbed with and disappointed by Jeremy Tully's article, "Israel's Apartheid Should Not be Allowed," published in last week's News-Letter. Tully is a talented and compelling writer, but unlike his articles of recent memory, this one goes beyond the pale of academic rhetoric and borders on anti-Semitism. He clearly wrote the article with the forethought that Israel as it exists is a horrible, bigoted place and that Zionism and the country's creation was founded on principles of racism tantamount to the KKK.
To be sure, he does a masterful rhetorical job of talking about the settlers, a group that even staunch Israel supporters, like me, see as a major problem and threat. But the way Tully discusses them reduces his argument to the same kind of stereotyping and hatefulness against which he is apparently preaching.
I also have a problem with Tully making honored Zionists like Ezer Weizman and Theodore Herzl (men who devoted their lives to fighting against hate) out to be hateful racists. He portrays Israel as nothing more than a country whose sole function is to oust Palestinians from their homes and make all of them refugees, because, of course, they had nothing to do with their own displacement. And the Jews, especially after the Holocaust, had no right to start a country of their own where they had moved and had cultivated the land they legally purchased. In the end, Tully's arguments suggest he is just as prejudiced as those he accuses of such feelings and actions.
Avner Mizrahi
Tully lacks reference
I am sure Jeremy Tully is nice. But, he is totally and utterly misguided, seeming to think that reading books and listening to stories can provide him with sufficient knowledge to pass judgment against the foundations and legitimacy and morality of an entire nation and group of people. Contrary to his claims, not all settlers are religious lunatics; not all settlers (or Israelis since he seems to be grouping the two together) harass Palestinians and destroy their olive groves in the same way that not all Palestinians are suicide bombers, nor all Arab Israelis attempted airplane hijackers.
So Mr. Tully, this is what I propose for you: Go live in Tel Aviv. Go experience how it feels when your best friend's sister is blown up in a bus with her fiancZe, singled out for a situation with which she had nothing to do. Learn Hebrew; talk to people; talk to soldiers; feel as if they are your cousins and brothers. Then go to Jenin and learn Arabic. Talk to people; feel as if they are your brothers and cousins. Then, if you want, come back and tell me that one group is racist. Tell me that Israel is based solely on the displacement of Palestinians and functions as an "apartheid state." Then, Mr. Tully I will listen to you. Until then, I would suggest you get off your soapbox and go back to your expensive Manhattan prep school and cushy private university library.
Joshua Haber
'Violent death' a risk if grievances ignored
In his column last week, Jonathan Snow says Muslims should apologize for and actively stop others from committing acts of violence like the Sept. 11 massacres. Assuming what he says is true, one must conclude that Jews should have apologized when the Israeli Air Force murdered 33 American sailors onboard the USS Liberty, or Christians when Tim McVeigh bombed the Murrah Federal Building and claimed he was acting on behalf of God. These conclusions are ridiculous. The only way to justify Snow's conclusions about Islam, but not the others, is to assume that Muslims are an inferior and inherently irrational people who must grovel for the wondrous blessing of the United States. Such an ideology is already leading to more death and destruction.
For too long we in the United States have passed the blame for the consequences of our actions off to others. Islamic fundamentalists do not hate us because we are free or happy, or because we purchase oil from them.
They hate us because we finance rulers like the Saudi royal family and like King Abdullah of Jordan, who does not even speak Arabic, but is very friendly with Israel.
They hate us because Israelis murder Palestinians (and yes, Palestinians also murder Israelis) every day with M-16s that say "MADE IN AMERICA." These are legitimate grievances -- the risk of ignoring them is violent death at the hands of men and women who feel they have nothing to lose.
Feroze Sidhwa
