Letters: Op-ed writer gives Hamas a pass for what's happening in Gaza

Chicago Tribune

18 hours ago

I read with great interest Seth Lavin's opinion piece 'What Israel is doing is harming Jews' (Aug. 6). As a Jew, I care very much about Israel and what happens to the Jewish people around the world.
The writer is correct in that Israel must change course immediately and do much more to enable Palestinians in Gaza to eat. That's a basic human right.
But he misses the larger point. Lavin mentions Israel more than 25 times in his op-ed, almost always to accuse and to blame. But he mentions Hamas only once. In doing so, he fails to mention the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre that provoked Israel's war against Hamas. And he fails to mention how Hamas continues even today to hold hostage up to 20 innocent people.
I acknowledge that Israel bears some responsibility for the Gazans' current plight, while Hamas bears much more. But Lavin gives Hamas a complete pass here. That's appalling.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faced corruption charges before Hamas' despicable 2023 hostage-taking attack, said his objectives include defeating Hamas, releasing the remaining hostages and ensuring Gaza never again threatens Israel.
His retaliation has killed more than 60,000 people and continues killing through starving Palestinians, bombing hospitals and reducing Gaza to rubble. This is no longer an eye for an eye. It is the whole body and soul. Netanyahu is creating more terrorists, not eliminating them.The op-ed by Seth Lavin is well meaning but misguided. Anti-Israel protests and celebrations of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre by Hamas started before Israel even got its pants on.
Although Oct. 7 was the most heinous of Hamas' terror attacks, it was far from the first. Hamas started wars against Israel in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021. Each time, Israel's military weakened Hamas' terror capacities, so-called 'mowing the lawn,' and each time Hamas used a ceasefire to regroup, arm itself to the teeth and fortify Gaza with hundreds of miles of tunnels, while planning its Oct. 7 massacre for years. Israel's leaders finally realized that half measures only kick the terror can down the road.
Lavin needs to more closely examine the reason why this war gets a million times more attention than all the other wars in progress today. It's not because Israel is doing anything worse to Gazans than combatants in other wars are doing to each other. Rather, it is because Israel is the only Jewish state. People don't hate Jews because of Israel — they hate Israel because they hate Jews.
Thus, Israel has two choices: Repeat the same mistakes from prior wars against Hamas, ensuring future massacres and wars, or do what it has to do and deal with public opinion later. It's better to be an unpopular live Jew than a popular dead Jew.Why did the war between Hamas and Israel start? Yes, it is unconscionable that the Palestinian people are being killed and their land destroyed. But what right did Hamas have to gun down innocent people with no weapons who just wanted to enjoy a concert?The Democratic National Committee must change its focus from texting us 15 to 20 times a day for donations and signatures and focus on organizing and scheduling a day of mourning. Mourning for the inhuman deportation of immigrants, the pardoning of the Jan. 6 rioters, the firing of essential government employees, the rise of the anti-vaxxers, the support of coal and gas, the defunding of public television and universities — we could go on and on.
Millions of Americans are ashamed of our country and our president but are either cowed or silent about stopping the eroding of our democracy. We need help from the DNC and our elected Democrats. Organize a march like the Million Mom March of 2000, the 1963 March on Washington and the Million Man March of 1995, allowing us to demonstrate our opposition to the current government and show the world that there are decent voices in our country and hope for the future.I hope that one day the Tribune and its editorial staff will fairly acknowledge the accomplishments of the Donald Trump administration, rather than continuing their relentless criticism.
Under Trump, the southern border has become more secure than ever, significantly curbing illegal immigration and reducing the flow of illegal drugs. Inflation and energy prices are under control. On the global stage, Trump has curtailed escalating conflict in the Far East and slowed Iran's nuclear ambitions.
These are not minor achievements; they are substantial successes that deserve recognition, especially when contrasted with the policies and outcomes of the Joe Biden administration.Is there anyone else out there who wants to be like Howard Beale in the movie 'Network' and go to a window to shout, 'I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!'
What am I not taking anymore: giving a convicted sex trafficker and child abuser a more cushy prison to live in; cutting millions of dollars from vaccine and other scientific research by a nonmedical person; cutting millions from food pantries while spending millions on renovating a White House ballroom; allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to grab up people to take them to God's knows where; and so much more.
I am ready to go to my window. How about you?I was both astounded and appalled to learn that 500 of food, earmarked for starving children and their families by the U.S. Agency for International Development, has been incinerated, reportedly due to the fact the biscuits were about to expire. I understand that federal workers had warned the administration for months that these biscuits would go to waste if not sent to the people for whom they were earmarked.
In addition, warnings were provided to the administration of the ongoing effects of malnutrition, malaria and a possible polio outbreak due to the elimination of USAID. Marco Rubio was the acting administrator of USAID during this time.
The fact that the potentially lifesaving food was destroyed appears to be due to incompetence, a lack of prioritization or worst of all — cruelty.
The administration reportedly also has plans to incinerate potentially lifesaving contraceptives instead of delivering them to impoverished women overseas. While acknowledging that people have different beliefs, wasting vital resources that had already been purchased and were awaiting distribution, makes no sense and has caused unnecessary suffering to some of the most vulnerable people in our world. I would hope the people of the USA do not turn a blind eye to these horrific decisions by our government.