Letters to the Editor: My family and coworkers are being killed in Gaza. Cease-fire now
To the editor: I have lost 11 relatives in the Gaza Strip to this madness. More than 100 of my colleagues at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees have been killed. I worry for my friends and family every hour of every day. (“Cease-fire now. The killing in Gaza must stop,” editorial, Nov. 16)
To be Palestinian and reading American news is to grapple daily with the nightmare of knowing how little your life matters, how little your truth matters and whether or not media sources care that they are conditioning people to simply want you dead. It is a profoundly disorienting and horrifying feeling.
But with The Times’ editorial board’s strong and clear call for a cease-fire in Gaza, you have shown that a major publication can still be on the right side of history. That Palestinian life can matter. That journalists can do what they are supposed to do.
Thank you. May we all see an end to this madness and peace in our lifetime.
Nahed Elrayes, New York
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To the editor: Thanks to the editorial board for its brave denunciation of the Israeli government’s siege of Gaza.
Yes, the Hamas attack on noncombatants in Israel was reprehensible, but as you write, “Hamas’ atrocities do not justify atrocities in kind.” The editorial points out that “it is incumbent upon the Biden administration now to avoid complicity with Israel’s [mistakes].”
Not only should there be a cease-fire, there should also be a cancellation of the U.S.’s $3-billion annual gift to Israel, and an immediate withdrawal of the administration’s plan to give an additional $14.3 billion to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s destruction of Gaza.
Judith Remy Leder, Fullerton
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To the editor: Thank you for publishing the editorial calling for a cease-fire.
There is no military solution to the current conflict in the Middle East. Violence begets more violence and extremism. We learned that from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
When will it end? Why should Americans support such suffering with our tax money?
It is senseless to think that slaughtering more innocents will lead to security for Palestinians or Israelis. It will also not help our standing in the world.
An enduring peace requires self-determination and statehood for all. Thank you for seeing that and making your position public.
Mohammed Husain, Los Angeles
