Facts on Israel

The recent letter by a writer consistently critical of Israel as a Jewish country deserves a response, not to change someone’s prejudices, but to offer readers more facts than fiction.

There has never been an Arab Palestinian country. The U.N. attempt in 1948 to create adjacent Jewish and Arab states in British-controlled Palestine was rejected by the Arab League; they attacked Israel. Arab Palestinians originated from nearby countries or shared the land with Christians and Jews; Yasser Arafat, the Godfather of the PLO was, in reality, an Egyptian. Israel unilaterally gave up the Gaza strip in 2005 to stimulate formation of a Palestinian state. The reward has been terrorism by Hamas.

In Israel, religious and ethnic minorities are respected, serve in the military and government, and enjoy a standard of living that supersedes any of the surrounding nations. Arabic and Hebrew are official languages. Conversely, there are few political, religious or personal freedoms in any of the Arab countries dominated by military or religious rulers.

Instead of destructive comments on Israel, Jews and Zionists, I suggest letter writers with an interest for peace in the Middle East put forth constructive comments on what Arabs can bring to the table.

Joseph Harari

Spokane