As a recent high school graduate who will be traveling to Israel for a nine-month program of study, I feel the need to respond to the letter written by Mr. Julius Gordon, “West Bank, Warsaw ghetto alike.”
Ever since 1967 and Israel’s acquisition of the West Bank, there has been harsh criticism of Israel for its supposed separation of families and destruction of human, legal and economic rights. There has been little talk, however, relating to Israel’s reasons for obtaining and needing the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip — the motivation to have a just and secure state. Miraculously Israel won the 1967 war and acquired the land from which its Arab neighbors had attacked, in order to protect itself from a future attack. I cannot comprehend why the Palestinians think they have a right to the West Bank when the West Bank was known to be occupied by Jordan (though no one including its Arab neighbors recognized the West Bank, or to be politically correct, Judea and Samaria, as part of Jordan) and Jordan has refused to allow Palestinians to resettle into a state of normalcy.
Retreating back to its indefensible pre-1967 borders would reduce Israel’s width to 9 miles, which would allow for the so-called “ineffectual, often homemade rockets” to reach densely populated cities like Tel Aviv and Netanya. Mr. Gordon points out that Hamas has committed attacks that have yielded only a few casualties in decades. To downplay terror attacks and display a complete disregard for human life is shameful.
Mr. Gordon, I have questions I have not been able to clear from my head. Who started every war Israel has been involved in? Who has broken the ceasefires without warning? The lack of success of Hamas rocket attacks might have to do with the amount Israel has spent to protect civilian lives, whether it be via radar and alarm systems or iron domes. Today Israel has a dilemma on its hands. Fueled by “peace” groups or anti-Israel activists on an international level through the media, countries have grasped the opportunity to vote in September for a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly. The notable anti-Semitic countries, Iran, Venezuela, Bolivia and Hungary will have no problem supporting Palestinian sovereignty, as bringing Israel back to its 1967 border will put Israel one step closer to being wiped off the map.
—Adam Bukani
