I am writing this letter to express my sense of outrage at the rhetoric used by Joan Swirsky in her article “Obama Attacks Israel in the U.N. Vote” published in the Great Neck News of Jan. 13, 2017.
The fact that the Obama administration did not veto the U.N. resolution 2334 will remain an ugly blot on former President Obama’s foreign policy.
This resolution should have been vetoed, not because it criticized Israel for illegal settlements, but for it’s repeated language calling for Israel to retreat back to the 1967 borders and have Jerusalem exist as a divided city.
Resolution 2334, as it was written, was insidious and inimical to the goal of a peaceful solution for Israel and its neighbors.
Like millions of other Jews, here, abroad, and certainly in Israel, I would hope that some type of peaceful solution would be forthcoming; even though that peace may be tenuous at best.
Of course, there are different opinions as to how to achieve the goal of a peaceful solution for Israel and its Arab neighbors. \
Joan Swirsky would have you believe that we and a multitude of prominent American and Israeli citizens are all “Jew haters”, “ anti-Semites”, and “destroyers of Israel,” ad nauseam, because we believe that illegal settlements are not in Israel’s long-term interests.
It should be noted, that many of these illegal settlements are started by and populated with religious extremists who have little or no regard for international or Israeli laws.
They rely on a spurious interpretation of ancient biblical literature for their raison d’etre.
Unfortunately, the power of these religious extremists increase daily; and not just in Israel.
Joan Swirsky castigates, in a most contemptuous manner, many of our most highly respected American citizens.
Their crime, according to Swirsky, is that they had the temerity and audacity to bring to Israel’s attention, on many occasions, that the continuation of illegal settlements would not increase Israel’s security and would be an impediment to any peace efforts.
It should be noted, that previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican, have criticized Israel for illegal settlements.
We all know that the Palestinians and other Arab countries must be prepared to make serious concessions before any meaningful peace can be realized between Israel and the Palestinians; especially when it comes to a two state solution.
Perhaps Joan Swirsky would enlighten us as to what she envisions for the State of Israel; keeping in mind that Israel must exist in an area comprised by tens of millions of Arabs.
Should Israel maintain the status quo for the long-term future?
Even the hard right Prime Minister Netanyahu and various members of his cabinet admit that this solution would be untenable and unsustainable for the future of Israel.
Perhaps Swirsky would like to see an apartheid type of government, such as South Africa had not so many years ago.
This type of society would have the rest of the civilized world look upon Israel as a pariah among nations and a constant object of international derision.
Joan Swirsky refers to Donald Trump as the “true American hero.”
What has Donald Trump ever done to be placed in this exalted category?
What an insult this is to the truly great American heroes and patriots, past and present, who have served this country and our society with valor and distinction.
I believe that President Trump, who is a master of hyperbole, gross distortion of the facts, outright mendacity, and calumnious diatribes against anyone who might disagree with him-yes!!
Even Donald Trump might hesitate to use the type of invectives that flow so readily from the pen of Joan Swirsky.
Sanford J. Kowan
Great Neck
