I read Susan Taylor Martin's column and your other news reports about the assassination attempt on Hamas' Abdel Aziz Rantisi and the continuing cycle of Mideast violence. I don't want to discuss whether it was wise, expedient or anything else for Israel to target Rantisi. I do want to discuss only a part of the context of Israel's pursuit of Hamas' leadership.
Hamas, through Rantisi and others, has always maintained that its ultimate goal is the removal of the state of Israel from the Middle East. They are clear that the mere establishment of a Palestinian state side by side with Israel is not satisfactory to them. At best it would be merely an interim step to a having Palestinian state that extends from Jordan to the Mediterranean.
My issue with your reporting on this matter is that the basic ideology of Hamas, its leaders and other terrorist organizations, has been ignored. I believe that journalistic balance, if not journalistic integrity, demands the recognition that the ultimate goal or these groups is the extirpation of the Jewish state.
-- Gerald M. Taylor, Tampa
The deadly detail
Re: Israel gambles, Palestinians erupt.
Susan Taylor Martin often does not get the details right. For instance, she is correct when she writes that Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas does not have the real power among the Palestinians. Hamas, she writes, has huge support because of its social services and "uncompromising attitude toward Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip." Therein lies the death of truth.
Hamas has an uncompromising attitude toward one thing only: the complete extermination of Israel and the Jewish people. Hamas is not against the so-called occupation of Gaza and the West Bank; it is against the existence of Israel as a Jewish state. And while the Hamas leadership may be calling only for an end to the so-called occupation for the media's sake, they have always called for the complete end of Israel in Arabic. That little detail makes quite a difference in how one perceives Hamas and its leaders, like Abdel Aziz Rantisi, the pediatrician who advocates the blowing up of innocent babies on buses.
-- Susan Segal, Palm Harbor
Don't blame Israel for defending itself
Re: Resisting despair, editorial, June 13.
The specious arguments and convoluted thinking of the Times editors in its editorial calling on Israel to show restraint as terrorists blow up its citizens destroys the credibility of the editors as impartial commentators. To blame Israel for defending itself is outrageous and hypocritical.
The editorial castigating Israel and its supporters is unseemly especially as it comes at a time when a headline on the same day reads Soldiers go door to door after Hussein loyalists. Certainly as Americans we approve of our soldiers defending themselves against the Iraqi terrorists who have been killing them.
To expect Israel to overlook homicide bombings merely to bolster "the credibility" of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas is amazing. Abbas has done nothing to establish credibility, has made no effort to disarm the terrorists and continues to consult with Arafat. It should also be known that in his past he has been a Holocaust denier.
To castigate those who support Israel for doing what we expect our own government to do to protect us is shameful. Our well meaning president must clarifying his thinking if his road map is to lead to peace.
-- Norman N. Gross, president, PRIMER, and chairperson, Anti-hate Committee, Greater Floria B'nai B'rith, Palm Harbor
Arafat doesn't want peace
The Times June 10 editorial, Terrorist target, showed a keen insight into the problems facing both Israelis and Palestinians who want to live together in peace. The Times editors correctly pointed out that the fingerprints of Yasser Arafat are all over the recent terrorist attacks against Israel and that Arafat harbors, supports and engages in violence. He has, and always will, employ terrorism in an attempt to reach his ultimate goal: not the establishment of a Palestinian state, but the complete elimination of Israel as the home of the Jewish people. If Arafat truly wanted a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, he would have accepted the far-reaching proposal that former Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered him almost three years ago at Camp David.
The blood and body parts of Israelis in the streets should remind us that Yasser Arafat, as your editorial suggests, is not a partner for peace but an unabashed terrorist. We agree with the Times. If there is to be peace in the Middle East, it can only happen when the rest of the Quartet - Europe, Russia and the United Nations - come to understand what President Bush concluded more than a year ago: Yasser Arafat does not want peace, and will never be an agent for peace.
-- Barry Augenbraun, Bruce Epstein, Pinellas Park
Try a golden-rule policy
More than anything else, what the world needs most now is peace. Violence has become so prevalent between individuals, tribes and nations that many have become cynical about the prospect for peace in their lifetime. Peace, however, cannot be achieved without justice.
Violence in all its various manifestations can be considered to be an attempt by those who employ it to achieve "justice" from their point of view, though often all it accomplishes is revenge. War is the attempt of mighty nations who are strong to redress their sense of injustice by vanquishing those who attacked them. Suicide bombing is the tool of the weak against the strong who are perceived as being unjust toward the feeble.
Both create terror in the lives of innocent civilians and deserve the name of terrorism when the response to violence is inappropriate. Such is the state of affairs in the Middle East. Terrorism, whether under the name of self-defense by a state or as attacks against occupation by a subjugated population, cannot solve the problem of violence, basically because it merely perpetuates an endless cycle of brutality. The Middle East has suffered so much during the last 50 years because of the failure to recognize that violence does not have the power to end violence. A Jewish rabbi named Jesus, who is also a prophet of Islam, made this observation 2,000 years ago.
Only the concept of justice enshrined in the golden rule, "Do unto others as you would that they do to you," can end violence because all other interpretations of justice are merely camouflaged means of inflicting revenge. The role of the United States in Middle East at this time is to create leadership that accepts this concept of justice.
If the dissolution of Saddam Hussein's government from Iraq and making Yasser Arafat irrelevant in the West Bank and Gaza are appropriate achievements toward this goal, then the displacement of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from power in Israel should not be far behind. Whether the president of the United States is bold enough to demand this is yet to be seen.
-- Abraham Kurien, New Port Richey
Words to live by
Today is Flag Day, and it is believed to have originated on June 14, 1885, by B.J. Cigrand, a school teacher at the Fredonia Public School in Wisconsin. The American flag is truly a symbol of our patriotism to our country.
In addition to our flag, "The American's Creed" helps to define what we stand for and who we are in this complicated world. Many of us will remember reading this piece when we were in elementary school. Now, more than ever, it should be reread, as well as read by all immigrants of all faiths, especially of the Islamic faith. We are neither infidels nor are we hatemongers - We are Americans!
-- "The American's Creed"
I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people, whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign nation of many sovereign states; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.
I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag and to defend it against all enemies.
"The American's Creed" was written by William Tyler Page, clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1917. It was accepted by the House on behalf of the American people on April 3, 1918.
-- Jack Keller Sr., Belleair Bluffs
Explaining feral cat policy
Recent newspaper articles and letters show that some people have serious concerns about the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's policy regarding feral cats. I believe those concerns stem from misunderstandings, and as chairman of the commission, I would like to explain our intentions and put people's fears to rest.
On May 30, the commission unanimously adopted a policy, not a law, but a policy, to protect Florida's native wildlife from adverse effects of feral cats. The primary focus will be to minimize the threat to animals we are responsible for, on the lands we are responsible for. That is, protect imperiled species - wildlife categorized as endangered, threatened or species of special concern - living on land owned or managed by the FWC.
The FWC is mandated by the state Constitution and entrusted by the people of Florida to protect Florida's wildlife. The agency is compassionate and caring about all animal welfare issues. Our policy does not call for the FWC to kill cats, nor does it outlaw the practice of trap-neuter-release. It is the foundation for FWC staff to seek science-based, humane solutions when cats are threatening rare wildlife. It calls for us to work cooperatively with other land-management agencies and citizen groups to prevent the release or feeding of cats on public lands that support wildlife habitat. Our action plan calls for a public-awareness campaign encouraging responsible cat ownership by showing the impact feral and free-ranging cats pose to native wildlife.
I encourage anyone who cares about animals - domestic cats or native wildlife - to work with the FWC for the benefit of both.
-- Edwin Roberts, chairman, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Tallahassee
In this article, Dave Gussow wrote entertainingly about renting DVDs via the World Wide Web. But, he said, using the Web and the postal service "won't eliminate the video store completely. My son needed to watch Of Mice and Men for an English class and couldn't wait for the mail to get it to him on time."
When I was in high school, back in the Mesozoic era, we were actually expected to (gasp!) read such books as Of Mice and Men. That's why they called it "English class" and not "watching videos class."
Okay, I'll go back to counting my wrinkles now. Maybe the late-night news will have a feature about what's being taught in "English" these days - when the little hand is on the 11 and the big hand is on the 12.
-- Mary W. Matthews, St. Petersburg
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