Letters to the Editor | Oct. 12, 2023

My heart bleeds as I watch the tragic, horrific events unfold in Israel and Gaza. I see the images of innocent women and children being brutally murdered. My teeth grit as I hear the words “Allahu akbar,” God is the greatest, come from the mouths of people harming civilians. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad never taught this version of Islam. All the wars that Prophet Muhammad fought were defensive wars, never any surprise attacks. During warfare, he ensured that innocent civilians were not harmed. He would only fight those who had fought him, and not those who had not attacked the Muslims. All sides of any conflict should keep this noble example in mind.

Palestinians are facing injustice living day to day in Gaza. But that does not give a few of them the right to orchestrate a surprise attack on innocent Israelis. Nor should Israel try to collectively punish Palestinians for the actions of a few. Rather, all should follow the Prophet Muhammad’s example of patience and prayer. Displaying these shining qualities will show the world the true essence of “Allahu akbar,” even in the face of injustice.

Nameer Bhatti, member, Muslim Writers Guild of America, Blue Bell, nameerb@gmail.com

I feel compelled to speak out as a Jewish individual against the unchallenged and united support for Israel following the Hamas attack. I have only heard one side of the story, the side that our government wants us to hear. I have not heard about or seen any coverage of the decades-long oppression, murders, raids, and collective punishment inflicted on the Palestinians by the Israeli government. It is rare and mostly hidden from mass media reports. Why is it that only the Israelis have a right to defend themselves? The Palestinian resistance is like the African National Congress’ struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

The Palestinians have endured settlement violence for decades. Their territory, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, has been illegally occupied by Israel. I have been reading accounts of what the Palestinians have lived through: humiliation, checkpoints, having their communities and olive groves destroyed, and the continual annexation of Palestinian properties. The “Israeli closure policy” restricts their freedom of movement, and there are indiscriminate military raids throughout the Palestinian territories, including one in July on the refugee camp in Jenin. I can only imagine how I would feel, think, and act if I were a Palestinian and experienced the vitriolic hate, abuse, and random killings.

Judy Rubin, Philadelphia

A recent letter to the editor states that the massacre and hostage-taking that occurred in Israel over the weekend was the inevitable outcome of Israel’s persistent and systemic violation of the rights of Palestinians. That is a gross example of blaming the victim. What the writer does not seem to understand is that from the Russian pogroms of over a century ago that my grandmother survived and escaped, to the Holocaust, to white supremacist movements in our own country supported by prominent figures on the right, there are people who simply want to erase the Jewish people and what they represent from the face of the Earth. That is what is happening here.

While overtures made by Israel to the Palestinians have been answered with violence over the years, it is true that policy under the country’s current far-right government has gone in the wrong direction. However, Hamas is a terrorist organization that includes the destruction of Israel in its charter. Good faith negotiations with it are not possible. Like al-Qaeda and ISIS, it simply must be destroyed.

Bill Fanshel, Bryn Mawr, wfanshel@hotmail.com

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