Letters to the Editor, December 2, 2024: Speedy release

Speedy release

“Listen to Edan” (editorial, December 1) contains a heartfelt plea that Prime Minister Netanyahu should “prioritize the hostages’ release with decisive action.” Additionally it also urges Israelis and Americans to “focus their energies on getting Alexander, as well as the other hostages, home as fast and safely as we can.”

Every one of us yearns and prays for the speedy release of the remaining hostages in reasonably good condition. 

But your editorial fails to address the crucial question: just what price are you willing to pay for this? 

Hamas demands in return for the captives, dead and alive, that Israel release terrorists it holds in its jails, declares a permanent end to the war, and pulls out of Gaza leaving Hamas in control. 

If Israel is willing to concede such a victory to Hamas, it most probably will be able to retrieve all of its captured people.

The question we must face is whether we are willing to pay this price?

REUVEN MANN

Jerusalem

Extremely popular

Douglas Bloomfield (“Stumbling out of the starting gate,” November 28) has not come to terms with Donald Trump’s stunning victory.

He minimizes the popular vote margin, saying that Trump did not receive a mandate. 

Actually, the policies on which Trump ran – inflation, border security, reduced government size, rejection of woke policies – were extremely popular with the electorate. 

Trump’s slightly lower popularity was due largely to the dishonest charges against him by the Harris campaign and biased media.

Bloomfield raises spurious allegations of sexual misconduct against defense secretary-nominee Pete Hegseth just as the Democrats did in their failed attempt to derail Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination. 

In keeping with his hackneyed tactics when criticizing Trump, Bloomfield hides the fact that the allegations against Hegseth – a war hero with degrees from Harvard and Princeton who is a long-time spokesperson for American veterans and a staunch supporter of Israel – were thoroughly investigated and no charges were filed. 

There is strong suspicion that the accuser may have filed similar baseless charges against another man previously.

Bloomfield suggests that Trump’s plan to use recess appointments is an unconstitutional violation of the Senate’s “advice and consent” role. 

However, recess appointments appear in Article II of the Constitution, and have been used over a thousand times by previous presidents.

 Compare Bloomfield’s claimed fealty to the Constitution with the abortive attempt by Democrats to block Trump’s name from even appearing on state ballots, which would have prevented voters from freely expressing their preference.

Bloomfield’s statement that Trump “won the election fair and square” suggests that both sides competed honestly and openly. 

However, during the election campaign, the Republicans discussed issues, while the Democrats called Trump a fascist, racist, sexist, threat to democracy, and intended dictator. Bloomfield participated enthusiastically in this slander.

Legacy media coverage of Trump was 90% negative; that of Harris 85% positive. Both state and federal courts were weaponized. 

Trump was convicted by a biased New York court of crimes that have yet to be defined, so that Democrats could crow that he was a “convicted felon.”

Trump’s victory against these odds was historic. As his post-election favorability ratings continue to rise, many Americans – even some Democrats – recognize that a country that was in chaos and decline may yet be saved from irreversible disaster. 

EFRAIM COHEN

Zichron Ya’acov

The only language

In “IDF unsure on how to deal with Hezbollah rogues” (November 28), it is reported that the ceasefire with Lebanon is giving rise to a plethora of situations which will test the reactions of the IDF. 

The IDF apparently believes that each situation requests a nuanced decision on whether it is serious enough to warrant jeopardizing the ceasefire.

If this is the IDF’s true position on handling incidents on the northern border, then the IDF has not learned from the October 7 massacre. The IDF has forgotten, too quickly it seems, that peace with Hezbollah and Hamas can be achieved only through direct and quickly-applied strength.

We know Hezbollah cannot be trusted to maintain the ceasefire. So why would the IDF even contemplate analyzing Hezbollah’s expected ceasefire violations with nuance context? We must hope that the IDF comes to its senses and issues orders that any violation of the ceasefire will be met with deadly force.

That is the only language which Hezbollah understands.

ROD MCLEOD

Timrat

Sham truce

Regarding “Ceasefire gamble” (November 27): The previous peace agreement with Lebanon was supposedly enforced by a UN peacekeeping force which predictably did nothing to prevent Hezbollah from deploying its forces, munitions supplies, and rocket launchers adjacent to the Israeli border. 

The present truce is supposedly to be supervised by the Lebanese army which is completely controlled by Hezbollah.

This is a sham truce which will not last. I suspect that our government was blackmailed into accepting it by the lame-duck US administration. I hope that we will at least continue to fly over Lebanon, regardless of the truce, to monitor Hezbollah’s activities. 

Lebanon can then complain to the US. By the time the diplomatic back and forth is completed, we will have a more sympathetic US president and administration in office.

STEPHEN COHEN

Ma’aleh Adumim