Letters to the Editor | Oct. 24, 2023

Every morning I look for updates from my friends in Gaza, hoping to hear they are safe and alive. One day I received notice that 30 family members of a writer I’ve worked with had been killed. The next day, the house of one of my colleague’s cousins was bombed, killing his cousin and her three young children. He also sent me photos of white phosphorus bombs dropping near our office. We work for the American Friends Service Committee — a Quaker peace organization. Israeli attacks on Gaza have already killed 4,651 people — including at least 1,873 children.

The Hamas attack on Israel was horrific. More than 1,400 Israelis were killed. The fear, pain, and anger that Israelis are experiencing is understandable; there is no justification for these brutal killings. But if Israelis are justified in their anger, what are we to say about Palestinians who have suffered larger losses on multiple occasions? Trauma is not limited to one party. U.S. media rarely shows the devastation in Gaza brought on by 16 years of Israel’s blockade. Even before these attacks, more than 80% of people in Gaza lived in poverty. Water was undrinkable, and electricity intermittent. Israel controlled the population registry, currency, tax revenue, power, air space, and more.

There is a near consensus among international human rights organizations that Israel’s control over Palestinians is enforced through a system of apartheid. Israel says this brutality is necessary to provide security for its citizens; instead, it just leads to more violence. There is no military solution. We must instead support all those who mourn while demanding an immediate cease-fire. When the bombing stops, we must end the violent systems of inequality and injustice — including the Gaza blockade and occupation — that are at the heart of this cycle.

Mike Merryman-Lotze, American Friends Service Committee, Glenside

Cory Portnuff’s expert op-ed discussing the danger of hearing loss because of recurrent or prolonged loud noise exposure coincidentally appeared one day after I attended a bar mitzvah celebration recently. Anticipating the potential exposure to extremely loud music, I brought earplugs, which in part mitigated the 100-decibel volume measured by my iPhone despite our table being farthest away from the speakers. My greatest concern was for the likely future damage to the hearing of the teenagers dancing within 10 feet of the booming speakers.

Granted, these events do not occur every day, but the severity and length of the exposure clearly put the teens and other attendees not wearing earplugs at risk for future hearing loss. Perhaps local ordinances might restrict the loudness of these events. Another troubling source of dangerous, loud noise exposure occurs with the use of hair dryers. Studies have shown that a typical hair dryer produces 80 to 90 decibels measured three feet from the dryer. The Consumer Product Safety Commission should place restrictions on the loudness of these devices since lower-loudness devices currently exist. Hearing is an important gift that should not be taken for granted.

Irving M. Herling, Haverford

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