Re: 'Enabling' 

Editor:

The letter "Enabling an Anti-Semitic Moment" (May 23) opined that since the Jewish people were dispossessed from their land 3,000 years ago by successive empires, the Jewish people have the right to repossess Israel. Is this opinion based on G-d's law, tribal law or international law?

Does this opinion mean that us white folk in the USA should give our land back to the Native Americans who occupied this land for thousands of years before being dispossessed by European empires? If so, will the U.S. see the justice [?] of this land rights policy and use its mighty powers to keep the peace and get it done equitably? It doesn't seem feasible. The American government and people can hardly agree on anything.

Will Europe want us added to their immigration woes? Israel is committed to welcoming us Jews as citizens, but will they have a change of heart faced with taking in how many millions of us? Not to mention they are currently very preoccupied with fighting among themselves and others about justice, property rights, war and peace. Maybe enough land can be carved out within our borders so we can stay on reservations ... .

Forget it. Property rights defy simplistic thinking. I hope all people who believe G-d justifies murder and mayhem come to their senses.

I'm glad I don't have to resettle in Israel or Russia, the homeland of my grandparents before they fled Jewish persecution in the early 1900s. I'm very thankful that Native American tribes peacefully accept us white folk. Needless to say, they don't have a choice.

May G-d, the Great Spirit, and/or whatever forces exist, help us floundering mortals save ourselves and the Earth. Can AI help?

Paula Levine, Trinidad

Editor:

Nam Abram's letter to the editor ignited a predictable collection of anti-Zionist, anti-colonialist effigies (Mailbox, May 30). Does being anti-Zionist automatically translate to being antisemitic, specifically anti-Jewish? The question begs for a binary answer which is in itself a misdirection.

Anti-Zionism has historically been used as a cloak by some — if not many — to conceal antisemitism. While not all anti-Zionist chatter is automatically antisemitic, history demonstrates that antisemitism changes form and modality to suit or obscure its proponent. So just when you've spotted it, out come the red herrings: the context shifts, splits, gets diverted, inverted, etc.

To those who responded to Nam's letter, I ask: who elected Hamas? Who re-elected Hamas? Would any of you support the re-establishment of a Hamas-run government? Whether out of fear, anger or necessity, the voters of Gaza who put Hamas in power have in effect brought this response upon themselves — twice. And just like the German voters of 1932 would later discover, simple, heart-wrought solutions can produce unintended consequences.

Who is subsidizing Hamas? Who funded the Oct. 7 sneak attack on Israel about which only one of the May 30 edition's letters gave even the briefest mention? Does the name Iran ring a bell? Who are the protestors wittingly or unwittingly assisting?

Citing Thomas Friedman's April 14 piece in the New York Times, "One reason Iran supports the Hamas war and prefers that Israel remain stuck in Gaza and occupying the West Bank is that it keeps the world and many Americans focused on Israeli actions — rather than on the brutal crackdown against democracy protesters in Iran and on Iran's imperialist influence in the region, where it uses proxies to control the politics of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and uses those countries as military bases to attack Israel."

H. Schneider, Los Angeles

Editor:

Thank you to Maxwell Schnurer for sharing a different perspective of the occupation and protests at CPH ("In Defense of the Siemens Hall Occupation," May 16). It is easy to feel helpless as a mere citizen when hearing about the war-crimes and unimaginable atrocities occurring in other parts of the world. These students felt they had to do something to show their disagreement with what is happening. Regardless of whether the administration or the protestors are responsible for the damage to property, and disruption to classes and graduation, the protestors made their feelings known. I think most of us would hope that if our communities were being bombed and starved, humans in other places would cause some inconvenience, create some scenes, and take whatever means necessary to stand up and try to help us.

I am someone who was raised Jewish, went to Jewish schools and Jewish summer camps, and I have no relatives left in Europe because everyone who didn't come to the U.S. was killed. I was subtly indoctrinated with the idea that another Holocaust could happen and the way to prevent it was to band together and support Israel and Zionism at all costs. This ideology doesn't serve to create peace. I feel far more threatened by war-mongering leaders, politicians funded by weapons manufacturers and fundamentalists of any religion than people speaking out against Israel or questioning the rationale of a Jewish state founded on the displacement of Palestinians. Would we think it was fair to be exiled from our homes? Would we think it was reasonable to blow up our hospitals if terrorists were believed to be hiding under them? No human is sub-human. As people, we must see others' struggle, suffering and grief as equally valid to our own and our ancestors'. That is the only path forward.

Samantha Kannry, Arcata