Letters to the Editor, February 14, 2024: Somewhat abstract

Somewhat abstract

I was not among the most astute students in my Economics 101 course, so the potential harm of Israel’s credit rating being downgraded by Moody’s is not readily apparent to me. I’ll accept, though, the position you expressed in your editorial (“Not nothing,” February 12) and concur that it must, indeed, be taken seriously.That the coalition is pooh-poohing the whole matter as something baseless is, of course not unexpected. I seem to recall, however, cries of pride when our credit rating was among the best. You can’t have it both ways.

But am I the only one who finds the various reports on this issue somewhat abstract? It sounds like the downgrade would primarily affect those institutions which routinely move large amounts of money; global enterprises, investment firms, banks, insurance companies. From a practical level, it would be nice to know – or, perhaps, not so nice – if Moody’s has indirectly increased the cost of a kilo of tomatoes or a liter of gas. We’ve recently been warned to expect significant rises in domestic goods and services; is the announcement by Moody’s the cherry on top of the sundae?

There is, though, the proverbial silver lining. Although there have been charges that the downgrade is little more than a political maneuver, I was surprised that there have been no accusations of Moody’s being antisemitic. Or is it just too early?

BARRY NEWMAN

Ginot Shomron

Constantly on guard

Regarding “Holocaust studies: An optional chapter in history?” (February 11): I am trying to decide whether the people in our government in charge of education are stupid or simply idiots. Have they forgotten the famous statement that people who forget their history are destined to relive it?Israel complains bitterly when other countries remove studies of the Holocaust because it bothers Arab students, and here we are doing the same thing for a different reason: it causes trauma.

How many of today’s students really know Jewish history, of the Inquisitions, pogroms, and expulsions, to name just a few. The Holocaust will fall into the same category and therein lies the danger. Do our educators really think that it can’t happen again?

I’m sorry to say that unless we, as a people, are constantly on guard, and it begins with education, it can and will happen again; case in point, October 7.

JOE SIMON

Kfar Aviv

Poisoned fruit

Regarding “A Rafah operation: The stakes” (February 12): Everyone pretends to care about Gaza’s civilians, but their actions show just the opposite.

Who are the Gazans? They are the people who voted Hamas into becoming a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council. They are the people who made good wages working in Israel, where some of them collected the intelligence Hamas and Islamic Jihad needed to carry out the October 7 crimes against humanity. They passed out cake and candies and celebrated their children’s terrorism on that black day.

Was there ever a thought Israel would just curl up into a fetal position and do nothing to defend itself? Now there is a war. People are dying and the systemically antisemitic UN and Muslim Students’ Associations across the world are whining. “It’s not fair.” “It’s a genocide.” They don’t see the irony of the chants calling for genocide against Israelis and all Jews.

Israel is absorbing more casualties than any other army would. They adjust their plans to minimize civilian casualties, though telling fighters from civilians is impossible as they are interchangeable. The way to get “civilians” out of harm’s way is to move them across the border into Sinai. Setting up temporary tent cities, with all aid necessities to sustain the population while the war is raging, could be accomplished in days. But there are problems. Egypt does not want them. The PLO started civil wars in Jordan and Lebanon and supported Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. They are seen as poisoned fruit. Hamas brought this war on themselves and will do their best to keep the people as human shields.

If you want to end this war, force Hamas to surrender.

LEN BENNETT

Ottawa

Psychological initiatives

Thanks are due to Yonah Jeremy Bob for his exclusive report on the interplay between the security services and the state comptroller as to the failures leading up to October 7 (“Senior ex-Mossad official to ‘Post’: Comptroller must not yet interfere with October 7 probe,” February 11). His report states clearly that “some kinds of operational probes are carried out in real-time... to improve the fighting.”

But what is this mechanism and does it also cover actions not taken? These thoughts come to mind from my five years of US foreign service assisting Egypt’s State Information Service in the creation of messages to promote its development campaigns.

In the current war, the issue is not just to question actions taken, but to ask for answers about potentially beneficial actions not taken and why. A classic case in point is whether the security services and the government are considering full-scale psychological warfare attuned to the enemies’ psyche and if not taken, to understand why.

Some still suffering from hubris might opine that “they” won’t be swayed. However, only a few percentages could make all the difference. This is especially true when the war is ongoing and particular psych initiatives might result in enemy surrenders which save lives of both troops and hostages. Asking such questions is, of course, of lesser value after war’s end.

One example of an initiative, among many, would be distribution to the children of Gaza of small PLO flags containing the phrase, “Free Palestine from Hamas.” The issue here is not the validity of one such measure over others but full review of such strategy now. If such target-sensitive psychological initiatives are not considered during the war, they will, at least, hopefully be part of the future state inquiry thereafter.

AARON BRAUNSTEIN

Jerusalem

More problems

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. However I am amazed, no disgusted would be more honest, that you would print an article like “The way to defeat Hamas: Recognition of a Palestinian state by moral majority states” (February 11).

It goes on to explain how all our problems will be solved if only we cede land and give authority to the PA. Israel has tried countless times to try and meet the demands of the PA, and as we know, it only brings more problems and terrorist attacks taking the lives of innocent Israelis. I wonder if anybody agrees with the writers of this article; if so I’d like to meet them!

BRENDA GOLDBLUM

Jerusalem

Against Israel and the Jews

From a reading of several of the articles in the newspaper on February 11, one gets the very clear impression that the whole world (except for Argentina) is against Israel and the Jews.After  US President Biden initially expressed unreserved support for the aim of destroying Hamas for the benefit of the Western world, he has now completed his zig to a zag, and is actively trying to force us to give up the task and leave a huge well-equipped and organized Hamas presence in Rafah, as well as most of the intricate tunnel network which hides and supplies them (“Global opposition rises against plan for IDF campaign in Rafah”).

The US is now linking its continuation of its aid program upon its own interpretation of human rights; and we know to where that can arbitrarily lead (“New US directive links military aid to human rights, including for Israel”). As for “Australian Jews on alert after public list of ‘Zionists’ fuels harassment,” that’s an article which could have been written in Nazi Germany in 1937-8.

And now Moody’s has degraded the credit rating of Israel (“Moody’s cuts Israel credit rating to ‘A2’”), which will undoubtedly adversely affect our economy and the pockets of every Israeli family. Couple all this with the incredible potential interference in Israel’s internal banking system caused by the prohibition of banking services to a number of Israelis, and we have a situation which is indeed worrisome.

But, as the saying goes, “We beat Pharaoh, we will beat this too.” Let us hope that the country will be able to reestablish the internal unity which is needed to do so.

LAURENCE BECKER

Jerusalem

Actual transfer

Regarding Zvika Klein’s “Reform Judaism’s historic opportunity” (February 2): While I sympathize with  his  hope that perhaps the Reform Movement has seen the light with respect to the movement’s relationship with Israel, I find it difficult to process his characterization of the movement as “the most significant religious stream of American Judaism.”

The Pew research indicates that 72% of non-Orthodox marriages are intermarriages. So a movement which condones intermarriage hardly seems worthy of that designation; it is a stream but barely a religious stream.Secondly, regarding Tamar Uriel-Beeri’s “Police hypocrisy” (February 2): She is guilty of an even greater hypocrisy herself by ranting against the supposed advocacy of a transfer of Palestinians and completely ignoring the actual transfer of some 10,000 Israeli citizens from their homes in Gush Katif and Northern Samaria.

AHARON GOODMAN

Beit Shemesh