Tough love

I support President Obama’s statement that for the peace and security of Israel and Palestine. Palestinians must have a sovereign state with contiguous territory based on the 1967 borders with mutually agreed swaps [“Netanyahu scolds Obama on plan for talks,” page one, May 21].

Israel truly will never have peace until it is willing to end its occupation and support a viable Palestinian state.

Unfortunately, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear that Israel is not yet ready to accept the existence of such a state.

The United States should use the considerable influence the U.S. has over Israel because of the billions of dollars in aid we give it every year.

Israel needs help to find the way to peace. Call it tough love if you will. Because of our close ties to Israel and because of the substantial aid we give it, the United States is in the best position to give it that help. We can do that by making it very clear that while we do support Israel, we will not continue our aid while it is on its present self-destructive course.

— Dan Goldstein, Port Townsend

Suck it up

The argument that Israel’s pre-1967 borders are indefensible doesn’t hold water for two reasons.

No. 1: Israel is a nuclear power. The latest reliable count of the number of atomic weapons it possesses is over 70. Any country that mounted an attack against Israel would risk getting wiped off the map.

No. 2: If another country were to invade Israel, a longtime friend and ally of the United States, we would consider that to be an attack against America and we would retaliate against those invaders accordingly.

President Obama’s proposal of “agreed-upon land swaps” between the Israelis and the Palestinians is a golden opportunity to bring decades of hostilities to a conclusion.

They both need to suck it up, get to the negotiating table and engage in the modern equivalent of some good old-fashioned horse trading.

— Dave Richards, Bainbridge Island

Now, not later

President Obama was on target in his May 19 speech on the Middle East when he said “the dream of a Jewish democratic state cannot be fulfilled with permanent occupation.” [“Obama on Mideast plan: nothing new, but crucial,” News, May 23.]

He amplified U.S. policy of more than two decades: the 1967 borders are the basis for negotiations with Israeli and Palestinian agreement on adjustments.

Three factors control Israel’s future: its identity as a Jewish state, its democracy and the control over the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan.

A historic compromise on land is essential to its survival. If Israel continues to control most of the West Bank, Palestinians will be granted or denied the right to vote. Demographic realities mean that one person, one vote will end Israel as a Jewish state. Denying West Bank Palestinians the vote will bring apartheid and the death of Israeli democracy.

Both are a tragic conclusion to the Zionist dream of a free Jewish people living in its homeland. Without productive negotiations, the clock is ticking toward unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state at the United Nations. If this happens, there’s the risk of continued mistrust and even violence due to unmet expectations.

Agreements born out of negotiation are much more likely to succeed and endure. Those who care for Israel and want it to survive as a Jewish and democratic state need to step up to the plate and support the president and Congress in persistent and effective work toward a two-state Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Now, not in an elusive future.

— Rainer Waldman Adkins, Seattle

Destroyed again

I am deeply concerned by the president’s speech, in which he spoke of Israel returning to pre-1967 borders with some land swaps. These borders based on 1949 armistice lines would put Israel in an indefensible position and would lead to further wars as they did in the past. They would be especially dangerous now that the Palestinian Authority includes the terrorist organization Hamas.

The borders of 1949-1967 would again split Jerusalem into two parts. Jerusalem is the ancient capital and heart of Israel. What is so special about the 1949 armistice lines and borders that existed in those 18 years?

I recall the history of Kibbutz Kfar Etzion. In 1927, a farming community was established on that site by Jews from Jerusalem. Twice destroyed by Arab riots, it was re-established for a third time in 1943.

It was, again, destroyed by the Jordanians when they captured it in 1948, massacring the defenders who had attempted to surrender. Thus, the land on which Kfar Etzion sits fell on the Jordanian side of the armistice lines.

It was finally rebuilt in 1967 and has now flourished for 43 years. Must it be destroyed again?

— Rochelle Kochin, Seattle