Letters

What was Hamas thinking?

Israel returned Gaza to the Palestinians in 2005 on the premise that peace would bring a two-state solution closer. In return, over 8,000 rockets have been fired deliberately at Israeli civilians, women and children. Why? Although Israelis are being tormented, 8,000 rockets will never destroy Israel.

So what was Hamas thinking? I suspect their motive was to provoke a strong response from Israel to protect Israeli citizens. Hamas then achieves international sympathy as if Israel is the aggressor. Hamas, without caring about its civilian population, puts its rockets in schools and other civilian buildings to complete the myth of Israeli aggression. Their tactics seem to be working short-term, but their strategy to destroy Israel will never work.

Alan Warshaw | Palo Alto




Violence won't bring peace

Once again violence has become the means to resolve this long and lasting conflict. Once again Israel has been responding in disproportional way to acts of violence by Hamas. Both sides have not yet learned that it is not killings and violence that will bring about resolution and peace.

Once again Israel is declaring that it does all it can to avoid civilian casualties on the ground. But tell it to the mothers, fathers, sons and daughters of those killed or injured.

The time has come for those who sent the rocket that killed Irit Shitrit into the port city of Ashdod to sit face to face with her four orphaned children, looking them in the eyes and tell them what was behind their action. The time has also come for the pilot and those who sent him, that bombed the mosque that killed the five Balousha sisters, the youngest of whom was 4 years old, to sit face to face with their grieving parents, listening to their pain and cries.

Maybe both aggressors will commit themselves to a different path after that.

Meshulam Plaves | Berkeley




Don't ignore Gaza's tragedy

The Israeli strikes come after several weeks of a tight Israeli blockade which left many of Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants without sufficient food, water, fuel or medicine.

As of Dec. 30, the United Nations indicates that the Israeli air strikes over the past three days have killed 375 people, including 63 civilians, in Gaza and have left over 1,650 more injured, almost 300 of which are in critical condition. The UN estimates that 5 percent of those killed are children under the age of 18.

Israel has a responsibility as the occupying force under international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conven-tions, and the laws of war to avoid harm of civilians in Gaza.

The mainstream media in the US has thus far miserably failed in its news coverage of the humanitarian tragedy taking place in Gaza. Media outlets should recall the disproportion, context of occupation and siege when mentioning the indiscriminate rocket attacks by Hamas on southern Israel.

It is time for the U.S. to take its proper role as an honest broker in the conflict and to live up to its promise as a champion of freedom, liberty and justice.

Shokooh Behran | Kennewick, Wash.




Palestinians chose terror

When Israel withdrew from Gaza several years ago it provided an opportunity for a new way of life for the Palestinian people living there. It was an opportunity to choose leaders that would reach out to the non-Muslim world for economic and technical support. It was an opportunity to establish a working relationship with Israel for trade and employment opportunities. It was an opportunity for a better life for the children of Gaza. It was an opportunity to build new schools, factories and infrastructure.

Sadly, the Palestinian people choose to be led by Hamas. They chose leaders with the sole agenda of killing all Jews and destroying the state of Israel. Leaders who cover their own ineptness and failure by blaming Israel for the filth and poverty the people of Gaza live in. In a peaceful world there is no need for Hamas, and they know it. This is why it is in their best interest to foment war, hatred and more killing.

Unfortunately, once again the Palestinian people have failed to embrace an opportunity for a better life by choosing leaders who value death over life, war over peace, and suffering over prosperity.

Barry Hunau | Lafayette




Easing the burden

Thank you for your story ("Jewish day schools get boost from S.F. endowment fund," Jan. 2) concerning the recent grants made by the Jewish Community Endowment Fund.

Readers of this article might have been left with the impression that the JCEF's Community Jewish Day School Scholarship Fund and the individual Bay Area Jewish Day Schools are imperiled. In fact the $50,000 made available for tuition aid is in addition to a vibrant fund from which some $640,000 in scholarships has been awarded over the past four years. Of this amount, $234,000 was given out in the current school year alone.

The last thing a parent who has just lost his or her job needs to worry about is how to pay for a child's education. This grant will help to ease that burden.

We are inspired daily by the many donors who are responding with unprecedented generosity to enable the Endowment Fund to assist individuals in need. And we honor the memory of all those who have left permanent gifts to the Endowment Fund as part of their legacy. Without these contributions, grants such as the ones described in your article would not be possible. We encourage all those who would like to learn more, to please contact us.

Lisa Gurwitch, Executive Director

Jewish Community Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties




Relax and enjoy the tree

Regarding j.'s letters' (Jan. 2) yuletide trees fluster cluster: Bringing light into the yearly dark season predates Christianity, folks. That Christian "leadership" co-opted pre-existing pagan traditions was just one of the ways its hierarchy coerced so many non-believers into the ranks.

Another important tool used to manipulate the brutal ascendance of Christianity was the Inquisition. Jews are better at remembering that powerful mixture of religion and politics.

Solstice traditions were simply not part of the original Jesus story. They continue to flourish because the impulse to light up the darkness is an act of hope that is as old as humanity possessing the secret of fire. To believe that you are forbidden to enjoy the scent of the forest in your home during December seems a harsh way to prove one's faithfulness to Jewish principles.

Chanukah may be a "minor" holiday that has been elevated to support Jewish children in a Christian world from having to feel too left out of the celebration, but it is no mistake that it is a winter holiday that includes making a covenant with the Eternal to provide fire and light during the darkest time of the year.

Fern Leaf | Berkeley