As a dual citizen of the United States and Israel, two recent letters in The Enterprise caught my eye.

First came the strange J Street “letter to the editor” (Dec . 26) that was actually addressed to an anonymous U.S. Congressperson and thanked that person for supporting HR 365, which applauds John Kerry’s efforts to find a two-state solution.

Penned by Sarah Pattison, the letter contains J Street’s core ideology: “We believe that the benefits to Israel of a peaceful resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians will greatly outweigh the compromises that will be necessary on both sides.”

Since everyone, including J Street, knows that the Palestinians will never make a compromise that benefits Israel, what J Street is really talking about are compromises that it arrogantly wants the United States to force down Israel’s throat. Obviously, most Israelis feel that since they are on the front lines, they should decide what “compromises or risks” are in their best interests, not the United States or J Street.

Second, in response to Tom Elias’ “Stop Whitewashing Anti-Semitism,” we had Julia Hunter-Blair’s letter that contains more false clichés than an essay written by your average junior high school student: “Israel has colonized the occupied territories” … “(the Israeli Army) murdering men, women and children” … “Gaza has become a giant open-air prison” … “the ongoing siege of Gaza keeps people just above the level of starvation” … etc., etc.

Never mind such “minor” details as 714 trucks carrying 17,250 tons of humanitarian goods entered Gaza from Israel during the week of Dec. 22-28 alone; maybe Ms. Blair should note the comments of Palestinian leaders on the ground.

Here’s what Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview with the Washington Post three years ago: “In the West Bank, we have a good reality, the people are living a normal life.”

Or the comment made two years ago to the Palestinian news service Ma’an by Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahar, the internationally recognized spokesman for Hamas and the people of Gaza: “Gaza is free of occupation …” (maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=520228).

George Rooks

Davis

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