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continued from page 5

that these disenfranchised Palestinians
are forced to live under. The fault, how-
ever, is not the Israeli government; it is
the leaders they choose or are forced to
choose. Wherever does the author of this
piece believe the conditions in Gaza are
the fault of the Israeli government?
Had the government of Gaza negotiated
with Israel after Israel withdrew its people
and forces in the interest of peace instead
of choosing a leadership dedicated to the
destruction of Israel and its people, there
is no question that Israel would have
made sure that the conditions in Gaza
would have been better. Hamas decided to
build missiles, hide them in civilian popu-
lations, even in the U.N. Pavilion there,
instead of working and spending for the
benefit of the Palestinians, a fact Koplow
chooses to ignore.
Koplow had the audacity to suggest that
“Only someone who is willfully blind …
would argue that Gaza is an independent
territory free of Israeli control … Israel has
contributed a staggeringly awful humani-
tarian crisis in Gaza, and Israel’s political
leadership has used Hamas’ presence
there to punish nearly 2 million people
while avoiding having to make any hard
decisions.”
Bull feathers! The Israeli government
has repeatedly offered to meet with the
Palestinian Authority without precondi-
tion. That request has been denied by
Mahmoud Abbas!
Make no mistake, Hamas will never be
interested in working with Israel. It is writ-
ten in their charter!

Kenneth M. Bertin
West Bloomfield

Thank you for publishing “Some
Uncomfortable Gaza Truths” by Michael
Koplow on April 19. While the piece will
likely illicit angry reactions from readers
on both the left and the right, Koplow elo-
quently reminds us that situations on the

ground can be hard to easily categorize
into black and white/right and wrong. In
trying to simplify situations that are not
simple, we risk eviscerating nuance for the
fleeting “victory” of winning an argument
at the cost of greater fundamental truths.
In his piece, Koplow painfully illustrates
the complexity of the situation on the
Gaza/Israel border in a way that helps the
reader think about the barriers to peace.
There are certainly a myriad of compli-
cated reasons why, 70 years after the
founding of the state of Israel and 50 years
after 1967, Israel still does not have peace.
Supporters of Israel can choose to give
reductionist answers that place all the
blame on the Palestinians or Netanyahu
or the settlements or Hamas, but ulti-
mately such answers fall flat.
As Koplow notes, in the current situ-
ation at the Gaza border, there is ten-
sion between the methods that Israel
uses to protect its border and the fact
that peaceful protesters are intermixed
with Hamas. Only pain and tragedy can
come out of this. We must not delude
ourselves into forgetting that Hamas is a
terrorist organization that has continu-
ally shown its willingness to put inno-
cent Palestinians into the line of fire to
later use their deaths as propaganda in
support of the destruction of Israel.
Regardless of this, supporters of Israel
— no matter what side of the political
spectrum in Israeli or American poli-
tics — must keep in mind the eventual
goal of Israel living side-by-side with a
Palestinian state in peace and security.
The fact that Hamas is neither a feasible
nor willing partner for peace does not
diminish the reality that a two-state
solution is the most viable path to creat-
ing a sustainable future for both Israel
and the Palestinian people.
To reach that goal, we must all grap-
ple with uncomfortable truths such as
the ones Koplow lays out. I hope the

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Detroit Jewish News continues to chal-
lenge us with similar thoughtful and
nuanced pieces.

Alicia Chandler
President, Jewish Community
Relations Council/AJC

I was really disgusted by the lies in the
Michael Koplow article. The IDF who
defends Jews from our eternal enemies is
morally equivalent to the Syrian army that
bombs its own civilians? Not true! The
Allies who fought the Nazis are morally
equivalent to the Nazis? Not true! Moral
relativistic nonsense. Contrary to what he
says, when the IDF defends its nation and
makes every effort to avoid hurting non-
combatants, it is a moral army.

Joel K. Letvin
West Bloomfield

Michael J. Koplow claimed that he was
presenting the truth. At times he did. He
was correct that armies kill people. At
times he didn’t.
Despite his reliance on Hamas’ talk-
ing points and the fact that the IDF uses
violence like other armies, the IDF is still
the most moral army in the world. The
IDF protects Israeli women and children
from the terrorists of Hamas, the P.A.,
Hezbollah and surrounding armies. They
also protect Palestinian civilians, the ones
that Hamas and the P.A. use as human
shields, hoping their deaths can be used
to tar Israel.
The IDF and the IAF are the only mili-
tary organizations I know of who warn
civilians they are coming, thereby increas-
ing their own chances of being injured or
killed. Israel also investigates incidents of
Palestinian civilian injury in spite of the
fact that Hamas puts children in harm’s
way. This is all documented, and it should
be repeated no matter what the Israel-
haters say. Why should we allow them to
twist the truth?

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Joelle Harder
jharder@renmedia.us

Hamas is a dictatorial terrorist organi-
zation. The only way thousands of Gazans
could have gathered was at the behest of
Hamas. Hamas organized these border
riots, again, using human shields. They are
responsible for every death.
Koplow mourns “a staggeringly awful
humanitarian crisis in Gaza” in order to
excuse Hamas. He refuses to acknowledge
that Gaza could be a successful, self-sup-
porting, non-barricaded entity if Hamas
chose to build up Gaza rather than work
to kill Jews. Has he forgotten that most
of the donated building materials Israel
allows into Gaza are used to develop the
terrorist infrastructure, including terror
tunnels into Israel, rather than going to
civilian use?
This is a straightforward issue. Israel (as
always) is being attacked. The only moral
response is self-defense. Koplow tries to
add complexity due to his anger that the
Netanyahu government is “the most right-
wing government in Israel’s history.” Who
cares? Did Hamas hate Israel any less
under left-wing Israeli governments?

Harry Onickel
Fernadale

Yom Hazikaron

The Jewish News should acknowledge its
unconscionable lack of coverage of the
moving Yom Hazikaron ceremony at the
recent Jewish Film Festival. The event was
not promoted by story or interview of the
Israeli guests.
How more “Jewish” should an event be
before it warrants coverage?
Yom Hazikaron is Israel’s Memorial Day,
acknowledged by piercing sirens and a
nation at standstill in silence for its fallen
soldiers. We American Jews need to be
reminded and educated of the sacrifice for
our precious homeland.

Ruby Kushner
Farmington Hills

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