To the Editor:
I am writing to thank Linda Cohen for her articulate, moving letter to the editor of August 2, “A respectful vigil.” With concise clarity, she expresses her support for Gaza and for a ceasefire
through a most fitting lens: that of the ancient spiritual insights of the Jewish religion. Saving a life is the most important of all Jewish rules. All people are created in the divine image, and thus are equally valued.
Protesting this war on the firm ground of longstanding Jewish social justice traditions, she reminds us, “All liberation is inextricably linked … and only liberation can bring peace.” Bombs have killed at least 38,000 civilians in Gaza. Nearly half of these are children.
Speaking of Hamas, Thomas Friedman recently wrote in the New York Times, “In a terrorist network, everyone is No. 2. Successors always emerge, often worse than their predecessors.” Bombs are not the answer. Bombs sow new terrorists. How ignorant and blind are the Israeli leaders not to realize this truth?
How is the ground for peace being prepared when there are heartbreaking numbers of parents in Gaza who have lost their children? Some who have lost 5, 10, 30 members of their family? How can this horror ever set the stage for peace? Bombs sow new terrorists … for generations to come. The point that cannot be overstated in this ongoing tragedy is that criticism of Israel’s leaders is not anti-Semitic. Zionism does not equal Judaism. As Ms. Cohen understands, “There can be no real Jewish safety or sacredness that rests upon the subjugation of the Palestinian people and their land.”
Susan Puciul
Chilmark
