Opinion: Saudi plan offers opportunity for Mideast peace

The recent Saudi proposal with respect to the settlement of the Middle East conflict is, in my humble opinion, the most exciting development since Jimmy Carter got Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin together at Camp David.

From what I have read in the Times, including Thomas Friedman's great reports, the proposal includes guarantees by the Arab League for the security of both Israel and the Palestinians.

Saudi Arabia is unique among Muslim countries as the birthplace of Mohammed and of Islam. It carries great religious and moral authority among other Muslim countries. It is economically powerful, as are other Arab League nations, and retains good working relationships with the West.

The Palestinians and the Israelis both seem to be ready for peace, as long as they can also have the guarantee of security.

If the Arab world is finally ready to use its wealth, power and moral authority, it could not only help bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but also could help other Muslim nations worldwide to achieve better lives for all their people.

I urge the leaders of all nations not to miss this opportunity. I also hope all individuals, whether Muslim, Jewish or any other religion, try to make their leaders understand what great promise this proposal may have, and to seize the moment.
Jonathan W. Austin, St. Petersburg

Beware of Arab peace proposal

Now, it seems our president has joined those who believe that Israel can make peace with those who wish it didn't exist at all. And he's listening to the Saudis, for heaven's sake. Weren't 15 of the 19 people who bombed the twin towers Saudi nationals? The majority of money that funds these terrorists comes from Saudi Arabia and its money comes from oil. And we use more oil than any developed country in the world. I guess that's why we're listening to the Saudis rather to the only democracy in the Middle East.

All sarcasm aside, pushing the Jews back to their pre-1967 borders would act only to increase a terrorist state that has vowed, along with its Arab neighbors, to "drive the Jews into the sea" and diminish a democracy that has been surprising the entire world for 50 years. After eight attacks upon Israel didn't work to that end, the Arabs are now trying to garner the sympathy of the world by making themselves look like the victims in this situation. Since no one studies history much, it seems to be working.

If the Arabs in Israel wanted a state, why didn't they create one in the 19 years before 1967? Is it maybe because they have always wanted the Jews completely gone from a land that has always been Jewish in it's history?

I say that we make Israel larger and thereby increase the land of those who will fight terrorism where we really need the intelligence. Remember, it isn't Jews who have been hijacking our planes. It's not Jews who execute women in soccer fields. It's not Jews who make all of us wonder about whether or not we are secure in public anymore.

Historically, Arabs have been the takers of land and freedom, not Jews. Here we are again, falling right in line with their well-established historical record of expansionism. Jerusalem, a major point of contention, is mentioned over 900 times in the Bible, but not once in the Koran. The Arabs just want to make Israel smaller so that they can eventually make it cease to exist.

But as the Psalms say, "he who keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps" and Deuteronomy states that the Jews will be taken from the four corners of the earth, put back into the land that was their fathers and they "shall no more be removed from it." I wish that our purportedly Christian president would go back to reading his Bible, rather than enthusiastically embracing the plans of those who wish to kill us, according to their theological ideology. Oh, and by the way, I'm not Jewish.
-- Kelly King Helenihi, Palm Harbor

Don't ignore Palestinians' needs

Re: Only buffer zones can protect Israel, March 2.

This column was written by Dore Gold, Israel's former ambassador to the United Nations and adviser to the government of Ariel Sharon. Unfortunately, he concentrates only on Israel's need for security and ignores the Palestinians' even greater need for the same protections.

In the 17 months since the latest violence erupted, the Israelis have killed four Palestinians for every Israeli killed. In the first three days of March alone, Israeli attacks on refugee camps and Palestinian retaliation in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem have left 24 Palestinians and 11 Israelis dead. Clearly, the Palestinians have the greater need for protection.

The United Nations and the international community have always insisted that Israel must withdraw to its pre-1967 borders as a basis for a peace agreement. When this is done, Israel will control 78 percent of the former mandate area and Palestinians will have 22 percent. If the Israelis feel a buffer zone is needed, they can establish one on their side of the 1967 line. The Palestinians will be free to establish their buffer zone on their side.

Gold's proposal to establish Israeli buffer zones and security installations within the Palestinian area makes no sense at all. Such a scheme will prolong Israel's occupation of these areas and result in continued confrontation and violence. A lasting peace agreement must leave the Palestinian state free of the presence of Israeli security forces and in control of its own borders and air space.
-- Joseph A. Mahon, St. Petersburg

Roadblocks beyond race

re: Leaders need an eye-opener on race, by Bill Maxwell, Feb. 27.

I think Maxwell has made two points: One, our leaders need to participate publicly in every way possible to end prejudice, and two, he implicitly makes a case for better economic results. I agree that there is prejudice in the United States. Prejudice should not be allowed to exist. I think he is right to say our leaders need do more to ensure fairness for all.

I think Maxwell doesn't go far enough in what would help African-Americans. Everyone deserves fair treatment. Fair treatment, though, will not lead to success in life. Ending prejudice will not lead to better economic conditions for African-Americans. Ending prejudice will only remove one roadblock to it. What are the other roadblocks?

Every year the noted African-American economist and writer Thomas Sowell analyzes census data to determine predictors of household economic well being. He repeatedly finds that the five predictors of successful families are years of education, number of adults in a household, age at which the woman of the household started having children, number of jobs held by the adult or adults in the household, and, to a lesser degree, church attendance.

Telling him the race of a household does not tell him where they are economically. But tell him a family's condition in terms of the five factors above, and he can accurately tell you the family's economic condition. Thus a family with only one adult, a white unmarried woman who had a child at age 17 and did not get a high school diploma, is more likely to be making less money than a black family with two adults, one of whom is college educated or even high-school educated.

Sowell's studies have shown, though, that African-Americans have succeeded as well as whites, Hispanics and Asians with education, marriage and a sense of values. His studies also have shown that whites, Hispanics and Asians are hurt as badly as African-Americans by early pregnancies, lack of education, and single parenthood. These problems affect everyone, not just African-Americans.

Again, I think Bill Maxwell is correct in saying our leaders actively need to fight prejudice. We all do. But we and our leaders can do a lot more than simply erasing prejudice. We, as a nation, need to be giving the message to all, regardless of race, about what works. Get an education. Get as much as you can. Wait to have children until marriage. We need to be encouraging our parents and families to develop a sense of values in the next generation.
-- Al Frick, Tampa

Prejudice lingers here

Re: Leaders need an eye-opener on race.

A poll undertaken by Cherry Communications for Leadership Florida tells us this area is full of anti-Semites and racists.

Having relocated to Atlanta from New York City in 1965, I was dismayed to find black people still riding the backs of buses and to witness rampant racism as well as covert anti-Semitism. I watched Atlanta evolve over the next 30 years into a multiracial and multiethnic city, still Southern but far more cosmopolitan. Then, I came to Tampa Bay in 1994. Lo and behold, I felt as if I was back in Atlanta in the 1960s. It became readily apparent to me that many of Tampa Bay's movers and shakers were racists and anti-Semites. What dismays me is how little attention was paid to the outcomes of this poll. Why did it rate just a mention by one of the St. Petersburg Times' columnists? Why does this deplorable state of affairs not rate even an editorial or front page article of what is supposedly a first-rate newspaper? This issue deserves much more attention than it was given.

As long as Tampa Bay operates on its "good ol' white boy network," it will never become more than a second-rate Southern city.
-- Ellen A. Rhoades, Ed.S., Oldsmar

Racial charges need proof

In his Feb. 27 column, Bill Maxwell identifies Citrus County as being one of Florida's most segregated counties. He also implies that African-Americans "regularly" face all-white or mostly white juries and therefore cannot get equal treatment in Citrus County courts. These are very serious charges and cannot be allowed to stand without proof.

Segregated is defined in Webster's Dictionary as: Characterized by racial segregation as segregated schools or having separate facilities for those of different racial or ethnic groups. To my knowledge, neither of these conditions exist in Citrus County. As to the predominance of all-white or mostly white juries in Citrus County, jurors in Citrus County are selected from a pool of persons holding state drivers' licenses and there are more whites living in Citrus than there are blacks. Does this fact automatically make Citrus segregated and by definition racist?

There may well be more Protestants residing in Citrus than there are Catholics, does this mean that Citrus County is segregated along religious lines? There may well be more Gentiles in Citrus County than Jews, does this mean that Citrus County is anti-Semitic? I have lived in Citrus County for more than five years and make it a practice of regularly reading the St. Petersburg Times, as well as our local newspaper, the Chronicle, and cannot recall of ever reading of charges that a black person did not get equal treatment in Citrus County courts.

As I have said, these are serious charges. Unless backed up with proof, they do little to further racial relations.
-- Leonard Martin, Beverly Hills

Court justice leads us the right way

I totally disagree with your March 1 editorial Preaching bigotry from the bench. This country needs more men like Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore on our court benches. It's time we spoke out against the people in this country who are trying to lead us away from God and the rules for living that he set forth in the Holy Bible. God bless Chief Justice Roy Moore and long may he live and long may he serve in our justice system.
-- Frank C. Corbin Jr., Lady Lake

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