Letters to the Editor, July 22, 2024: Head of a snake

Few Israeli politicians will take issue with the points raised in your editorial regarding the illegality and immorality of political assassinations (“Unjustified means,” July 15). We are not, after all, a banana republic or a third-world dictatorship that has no regard for democracy or the rule of law. There cannot be any room for heinous acts of murder regardless of the platform that is advanced or the preferences of the one who is targeted.

And yet, I can’t help but wonder if, deep down in their hearts, the far-right members of the current Israeli government coalition feel differently. Do members of the parties headed by Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, for example, view the assassination of then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 as an honorable attempt to save the government from implementing the Oslo Accords? To be sure, more than a handful of legislators currently sitting in the Knesset or their advisers believe that cutting off the head of a snake is a perfectly acceptable course of action; there are ends, in other words, that do indeed justify the means.

Everyone is thankful that former president Donald Trump escaped his near-death experience with nothing more serious than a grazed ear. Both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich publicly expressed relief that the attempt on his life failed and that his return to the Oval Office was not derailed. I’d like to think that the same sentiment would have been expressed had it been President Joe Biden who was shot. Frankly, though, I’m not so sure.

BARRY NEWMAN

Ginot Shomron

Anyone who participated in or silently approved of the overheated rhetoric used to denigrate Donald Trump cannot legitimately claim to be shocked by the despicable attempt on his life. Words have consequences.

The leading candidate for the presidency has been routinely compared to Hitler, and is falsely accused of inciting an insurrection. He is reviled as “an existential threat to democracy,” and those who support him are dismissed as “MAGA extremists.” The attempt to keep him off the ballot in over 30 states failed miserably, and the legal assaults meant to bankrupt and imprison him have only made him more popular.

With Trump’s candidacy gaining strength, it was entirely predictable that a single crazy person might take it upon himself to defend the country against the devil incarnate and his acolytes.

Nikki Haley rightly observed: “[The attack on Trump] should horrify every freedom loving American.” Republicans too must consider the impact of their criticism of the sitting president’s health.

If Biden remains in the race, he could become a target just like Trump. If he drops out, people will be so relieved that they may not bother to look closely at his replacement.

Republicans should focus on issues not infirmities. The emphasis on Biden’s age and lack of mental acuity could endanger the president and obscure the fact that all of the potential Democratic candidates strongly support his failed policies.

EFRAIM COHEN

Zichron Ya’acov

A right to protest

Regarding “Police crumbling under pressure trying to contain protests, protect Israelis” (July 12): The public has a right to protest but it does not have the right to provoke or to disturb the peace. It also does not have the right to block main roads leading to hospitals, nor does it have the right to start fires on the roads.

This article blames the police, but the police would not have to use force if the protesters did as they were asked to do by the police and not cause a provocation. This article is very one-sided and reminds me of other news items where blame is very one-sided.

FREYA BINENFELD

Petah Tikva

Poetic justice

In “Any state inquiry may be too late to satisfy ICC” (July 11), Yonah Jeremy Bob warns that it may now be too late to investigate the “international legality” of the conduct of our defense and political officials during the war with Hamas in Gaza. Opportunities were missed, and International Criminal Court indictments may soon be on the horizon.

In the past, there was zero accountability for the Meron disaster, zero accountability for corrupt behavior, zero accountability for releasing the head of Shifa Hospital from prison, and so far nearly zero accountability for the massacre of Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023.

However, those who continue to refuse to take responsibility and don’t hold themselves accountable for past events, even now, may nevertheless end up serving time elsewhere.It may not be right, but it would be poetic justice.

BARRY LYNN

Efrat