On Israel war, readers question generalizations of Muslims and congressional bombast

Rabbi generalizes about Muslims

As a secular American trying to understand the most recent senseless terrorist attacks and subsequent retaliatory strikes in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, I read with great interest Rabbi Joshua Kullock’s recent guest column “Palestinian state supporters should all condemn Hamas terrorist attack against Israel”.

First off, obviously I agree with such condemnations, but Rabbi Kullock subtly switches from talking about Palestinian state supporters to asking “Muslims across the country” to speak to the atrocities.

My American Jewish friends have complained in the past about being asked to answer for the state of Israel, and one of the definitions of antisemitism laid out by the ADL is perpetrating the notion that “all Jews are held responsible for the actions of Israel.” Is asking Muslims in the U.S. to be more vocal on the horrors of this weekend not the same kind of offensive reductionism?

Likewise, Rabbi Kullock notes that Hamas “won elections in 2006” as a springboard to asking how many in the pro-Palestinian camp “resonate” with the group. Yes, Hamas won control of Gaza electorally initially, but has not held elections since and brutally represses local dissent.

Incidentally, exit polls from that last election showed Palestinian support for a peace agreement with Israel at 79%, while 75% had hoped that Hamas would renounce its policy regarding the elimination of Israel. I think Rabbi Kullock would do better to advance his stated cause of coexistence by highlighting these Palestinian voices only wanting peace, rather than publicly questioning whether they exist.

Evan Godt, Nashville 37216

Do we want peace or subjugation?

The Israel/Palestine situation reminds me of another occasion when a nation dispossessed the natives of a country. Those natives lashed out, killing and mutilating the settlers who had dispossessed them of their land.

The dispossessors immediately cried out that they could not deal with these “savages,” and proceeded to wipe them out using overwhelming military force. That is the history of the United States versus the Indigenous peoples of the American continent in the 18th and19th centuries. This is not to condone atrocity, but to ask for a better solution to a long standing problem.

Escalation and reescalation will not lead to peace unless one side or the other is totally wiped out or subjugated. Is this what we want, for either the Israelis or Palestinians to be wiped out?

Larry Sheridan, Nashville  37221

Tennessee delegation, heal thyself

This is in response to The Tennessean article “TN delegation asks White House to help Israel,” calling for the Biden Administration to act swiftly and strongly.

I question their actions since President Biden already declared his unwavering support for Israel for everyone to hear and see publicly on television.

Most importantly, for President Biden to act on this, it is required for the Republicans House to have a speaker and to be able to vote on weapons and other support for Israel.

Does Sen. Marsha Blackburn not know this? Did she miss President Biden’s announcement, it would have been more appropriate if she and the whole of delegation would have addressed the Republican House?

Marga Blittle, Goodlettsville 37072

We need a road to peace, not more war

Hamas, in its initial deadly attack and since, is killing many innocent Israelis and wantonly destroying Israeli villages.

Two-bit dictator Benjamin Netanyahu in his response is killing many innocent Palestinians and wantonly destroying Palestinian villages.

Hamas is beyond the pale as an evil force. Netanyahu has been accused of many crimes in Israel and has purposefully weakened the Israel Supreme Court. He has also for many years encouraged Israeli settlement on Palestinian land, thus intensifying Palestinian hatred and putting roadblocks on a much needed two-state solution.

Mahmoud Abbas and most Palestinians do not support Hamas. Many Israelis do not support the policies of Netanyahu. There have been massive Israeli demonstrations against him. But these peaceful Israelis and Palestinians need the world’s support.

The U.S. needs to stand more firmly for peace, negotiations and a two-state solution. But Middle East nations, European nations and the UN need to get involved also. They need to put pressure and force, if needed, to stop the fighting and to stop Hamas and Netanyahu.

Herman Lawson, Hendersonville 37075

Arab states should help save civilians

The conflict between Israel and Hamas is a catastrophe. There is no question the Palestinians have legitimate grievances with the Israeli government, but that does not justify what Hamas has done, and it is unreasonable to insist Israel not act against Hamas.

Failure to eliminate or at least severely degrade their offensive capabilities only results in a longer slog leading to more misery and death on both sides.

It is not reasonable to expect Israel to exercise restraint when responding to a murderous terrorist organization bent on the destruction of Israel and the extermination of the Jewish people.

However, the fact that no Arab country bordering Israel has agreed to open their borders and let civilians escape is a hypocritical tragedy that does not need to happen. If Egypt opened their border, thousands of lives would be saved.

Hamas has intentionally embedded among civilian populations to maximize Palestinian casualties. If Israel refrains from hitting legitimate Hamas military assets because of concern for killing civilians, Hamas continues their attacks against innocent Israelis unfettered, and if Israel does hit those assets, Hamas can use the resulting civilian carnage to further their propaganda goals.

Even if Israeli bombs lead to civilian deaths, the responsibility belongs to Hamas. This conflict, it is going to be a blood bath either way, but if Israel's Arab neighbors would open their borders, thousands of Palestinians would be saved. If they fail to do so, they are being hypocritical and are complicit in civilian deaths themselves.

Dr. David Meredith, Christiana 37037

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Israel war: Readers question generalizations, congressional bluster