A fact-based rebuttal
Kudos to Amine Ayoub for “Why the world hates Israel: And why Israel will prevail” (April 21). It is refreshing to periodically read a fact-based rebuttal to all the lies and derogatory accusations made against Israel; from it being an apartheid state, to a colonizer, ad infinitum.
Maybe the writer is correct in that Israel-hatred is fundamentally founded on envy that Israel exists, flourishes and has succeeded to remain a strong, vigorous and caring democracy, while many others have failed. There are likely other more pedestrian reasons for the hatred and the double standards.
Nonetheless, Israel’s continued vitality and contributions to the world will overcome. Am Yisrael chai!
ROD MCLEOD
Timrat
Hope for the best
Jonathan Nathan (“Don’t panic yet,” April 14) should be reminded that forty years passed before the Exodus story had its happy ending. I’m not sure if Israel’s economy can wait that long until President Trump’s tariff-related seesawing stabilizes. Trouble is, due to the umbilical reliance we have on Trump and the US, there’s not much Israel can do except wait and hope for the best.
Should we be concerned that the leader of the free world is so totally beguiled by the excitement of deal-making? Most definitely, we should. For such personalities, costs and benefits are less significant than the reaching of an agreement. And with someone like Trump, feeling that he has come out ahead in the deal is critical; that others may wind up being negatively affected is immaterial.
Take, for example, the recent exchanges he had with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The two reminded me of a couple of twelve-year-olds settling a dispute in an after-school brawl in a playground. Carney, in this specific case, decided to stand up to the bully, as will, undoubtedly, China. Getting in the middle of that inevitable trade war is something Israel can ill afford.
How many plagues, then, will it take before the president’s policies become more even-keeled? As many as it takes to convince Mr. Trump that commercial wheeling-and-dealing has no place in responsible government-level economics and fiscal management. Until he is convinced, he risks many being drowned as the raging waters of the Red Sea come crashing down.
AMI SHIMON BEN-BARUCH
Be’er Ya’acov
Better bargaining position
Regarding “‘Israel fears Trump could seal mediocre deal with Iran’” (April 11): The current problem resulted because President Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, at the strong encouragement of Prime Minister Netanyahu, although it was working well, according to professional inspectors and nuclear experts. This has enabled Iran to be much closer to a capability of developing nuclear weapons and in a much better bargaining position.
With regard to the article’s subheadline: “Agreement could shut unique window for IDF strike,” there are many reasons why Israel should not attack Iran. While many Iranian statements and actions must be strongly condemned, it is essential that disputes with Iran be solved diplomatically and not militarily.
Attacking Iran would likely result in significant problems for Israel, the US, and the entire world, with retaliatory attacks, increased terrorism, and a major increase in oil prices, possibly leading to a worldwide recession. Also, because Iran’s nuclear facilities are widely separated and buried deeply underground, an attack would have limited success and motivate Iran to speed up its efforts to produce nuclear weapons.
RICHARD H. SCHWARTZ
Shoresh