Mideast Leadership Goes Beyond Picking Sides
Re Norah Vincent’s “Two Sides: Pick One, Folks,” Commentary, May 9: Should we just go out to the back alley and duke it out?
I expected more than this shallow solution from a think tank. Ms. Vincent: Please jump out of the aquarium and dive into the ocean to think more deeply. Your commentary offered nothing of hope and peace.
Karen Dahlem
Santa Monica
*
Vincent has lost her patriotic compass. She wants American interests and Jewish interests to be the same so she doesn’t have to choose between them. Americans are not surrogate Jews. Vincent would do better to move to Israel if she cannot support American interests over Jewish interests.
Shant Agajanian
Newport Beach
*
Who is Vincent talking about when she talks about “we”--certainly not me or many others. Even within the government we hear that views are different between the State and Defense departments. Freedom is what made me immigrate to this country. What the world is asking of us is to get above politics as usual and show, as the only superpower, that we are fair and rational and can be entrusted with leadership.
Raad Ommar
La Crescenta
*
Re “No ‘Forget It’ in the Mideast,” editorial, May 9: Israel had just suffered the loss of 15 citizens near Tel Aviv, massacred by a Palestinian suicide bomber. Yet the brunt of your editorial was an angry condemnation of Ariel Sharon.
What were his sins? He left Washington for Israel in order to deal firsthand with the heightened security needs of his people, a “spiteful luxury,” in your words. Moreover, he declared that Israel would “uproot the terrorist structure,” a statement made solely, in your opinion, for his own emotional satisfaction. When it comes to your editorial board objectively analyzing Israel and its democratically elected leader, I’ll say forget it!
Ellen Schnur
Los Angeles
*
Your editorial was based on an assumption that Israel would have a reasonable, rational, sane and honorable partner with whom to negotiate. This then implies that if there are no negotiations it is the fault of Israel and the U.S. This is an absurdity. Every time Israel goes to resolve the matter another suicide/homicide bomb goes off.
David and Gloria Margulies
Sherman Oaks
