It is incredible that two Ivy League-educated individuals [Steven Povich and Axel Hufford] with “strong Jewish upbringings, including K-12 attendance at Jewish schools,” would be so lacking in their understanding of Jewish legacy and history (“Birthright Tells Only Half The Story,” May 17).
What, I wonder, have they been learning in these schools? Did they learn that the land of Israel was given by God to the children of Israel and the nation of Israel, or to the children of Ishmael? Aside from the religious claim, the legitimate claims of the Jewish people to the land is based upon history and international law — the League of Nations, the San Remo Conference, and the United Nations. Their opinions are harmful to Israel and tell the untrue half of the story.
The issue is not one of two states for two people. The Arab nation already has 22 states. The Jewish nation has but one. Indeed, one of these states — Jordan — has sovereignty over 78 percent of Palestine, and its population is overwhelmingly Palestinian.
I have traveled widely throughout Israel over the last 45 years, and I haven’t seen what the authors label as “the contentious occupation” and “refugee camps.” Did they ask anyone why these “refugee camps” exist, who put them there, why they have existed for over 65 years, and why there is not one single “refugee camp” for the many more Jewish refugees who were expelled by the Arabs?
The real “hard truth” is that the Arabs are better off living in Israel than their brethren who live in any of the Arab states. The “hard truth” is not that there is a need for another Arab state, but the genocidal fanaticism among the Arabs to destroy the only Jewish one.
Jerusalem
