On the two-year anniversary of October 7, the impact of that tragic day is still felt — by Israel, the global Jewish community and the world. It is yet another horrible anniversary, much like 9/11, where we mourn victims of Islamic terrorism. A total of 48 hostages are still held by Palestinian terrorists. Hostages are being starved and murdered.
I’m angry that the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Portugal and others are rewarding these terrorists. They have proclaimed a Palestinian state, ignoring Israeli indigeneity and placing the Palestinian Authority (PA) in charge.
Meanwhile, PA Chairman Abbas’ Fatah movement bragged it took part in October 7 slaughter and praised the massacre as a first step to liberate all of “Palestine.” The PA continues its “pay to slay” program of honoring and rewarding terrorists.
The U.S., Italy and Singapore rightly announced that they will only recognize a Palestinian state once it has a government that is open to co-existence and opposes terrorism.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s statement at the U.N. in 2022 is still true today: “We can build your future together, both in Gaza and in the West Bank. Put down your weapons and prove that Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not going to take over the Palestinian state you want to create. Put down your weapons, and there will be peace.”
Hamas must be stopped. All the hostages must be released to end this conflict.
Holly Rothkopf, Boynton Beach
(Editor’s note: The Palestinian Authority announced on Feb. 10 that it was suspending the “pay-to-slay” program and would determine future grants based on financial need. The move was seen as comporting with Trump administration demands and U.S. laws imposing economic sanctions.)
A pretend country
Some ordinarily respectable countries have made fools of themselves by recognizing a disunited group of racist terrorists who control a few separate towns. The “country” they recognized has never existed as an independent entity ruled by those who live there. The recognition violates international norms and diplomatic standards.
This is a culmination of generations of comprehensive, multi-layered, Israel-hating false propaganda, and millennia of active and latent race hatred of Jewish people.
For centuries, many if not most, Europeans unpleasantly urged Jewish people who had lived in their countries to “go home.” When they did, Europeans reached across the ocean with their NGOs, mapping plans, and “aid” to hostile Arabs to wrest Israel’s fingers off its own G-d given and U.N.-approved land. Today they pretend that a non-Jewish country exists on Jewish land in the Middle East.
Are the citizens of the countries who recognize the pretend country proud of supporting and encouraging terrorists?
Neil Kay, Sunrise
It’s hardly genocide
The assertion that Israel is committing genocide in the war with Hamas would be humorous if it weren’t so sad.
Genocide is defined as the deliberate destruction of a particular group of people based on their nationality, ethnicity, race or religion. Widely accepted examples include the Holocaust, Rwanda, Armenia during World War I and Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. The world did nothing about these actual acts of genocide.
Gaza does not meet the definition. First, Hamas is the only source of the number of deaths in Gaza, and we know Hamas lies. Hamas has admitted that 72% of those killed are males ages 13 and 55, a demographic largely composed of combatants. Using Hamas percentages of their unverified 60,000 deaths means there have been 16,800 deaths of potential civilians. This would translate into .84% or less than 1% of the population dying in this war. Hardly genocide.
Where is the pressure on Hamas? It could stop the killings by releasing the hostages. Where’s the daily headline counting the days those individuals have been held hostage? No, instead we get calls for Israel to stop the genocide. and that Israel is at fault. Sad reporting.
Doug Cohen, Boynton Beach
The truth, the whole truth …
There are few greater ironies than this.
Lying to Congress in a committee hearing is a crime, but lying is how they get to be, and remain, members of Congress.
Sheldon I. Saitlin, Boca Raton
______________________________________________________________________________
Please submit a letter to the editor by email to letterstotheeditor@sunsentinel.com or fill out the online form below. Letters may be up to 200 words and must be signed with your email address, city of residence and daytime phone number for verification. Letters will be edited for clarity and length.
