A different take on Palestinians

To the editor:

(“What about Palestinians?” May 3)

Steve Siegelbaum’s outrageous letter in your May 1 issue denigrating Israel and defending the “poor Palestinians” cannot go unchallenged.

Mr. Siegelbaum claims that the Palestinians in Gaza “pose no physical threat” to anyone. Tell that to the families of all the Israeli civilians who have been killed or maimed by Palestinian bomb, knife and car attacks. Tell that to those who have been targeted by Palestinian terrorists who dig tunnels deep into Israel in the hopes of killing or kidnapping Israelis.

And nowhere does Mr. Siegelbaum mention that those Palestinians who have recently been killed by Israeli soldiers were attempting to infiltrate into Israel for malevolent purposes. Israel has every right to defend its population.

Mr. Siegelbaum parrots Arab propaganda in claiming that Israel “forcibly pushed out” Palestinians during the founding of the Jewish state. In fact, most of these Palestinians left at the behest of Arab leaders who wanted them out of harm’s way when, as they attempted to destroy the budding Jewish state in 1948, promised to let them eventually settle on Jewish land when the war was over.

Unhappily for them, Israel did not choose to cooperate in its own destruction.

The Palestinian Authority is led by a virtual dictator who has shown no interest in peace, and has recently proclaimed that the Jews were responsible for the Holocaust. Gaza is controlled by the terrorist group Hamas, which uses innocent civilians as human shields during war, and which utilizes monetary donations, not to improve the lot of its people, but to promote war and murder.

Israel has contributed enormously to the world through its achievements in medicine, technology and humanitarian aid. It is a tragedy that the Palestinian leaders have turned their back on fostering positive goals, and seek instead to leave a legacy of jihad and terrorism.

Larry Gevirtz