Letters Up Front Edition

• Published in: The Jerusalem post
• Main Author: Gennady Zitser, Moshe Dann, David Katcoff, Mark Rosenblit, Toby Willig, Bill Pearlman, Christopher Fernando, Sydney L. Kasten, William Karrow, Michael D. Hirsch
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Jerusalem The Jerusalem Post Ltd 10.02.2006

I fail to understand Mr. [Hillel Halkin]'s argument about the Arab refugees and Jewish refugees from Arab lands being "distinct" issues. Both resulted directly from Arab aggression against Israel. Why should tiny, beleaguered Israel, where the poor constitute more than 20 percent of the population, volunteer to pay compensation for the wrongs committed by the rich Arab countries that declared war on it? And the Arab refugees - though mostly not directly involved in the armed onslaught on Israel - were part of the aggressive side, albeit the civilian part. Sad as it is, the losing side suffers the consequences of failed aggression. Sir, - Hillel Halkin's discussion of the compensation option dealt with the possibility of Israel compensating Arab property owners for losses suffered as a result of the 1948 war. I think that's a good idea as part of an overall attempt at reconciliation, but it should be predicated on a formal apology by the Arab League for starting a war of aggression against Israel in 1948. Israel is Israel because it is the land God made a covenant with the Jewish people about. It is the land that has historical ties to the Jewish people. It is truly the Holy Land, where God and the people of Israel had a rendezvous. The Temple stood on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, and it was open to all the people of the world. If Israel severs its link with everything precious in order to be just a simple little Jewish majority in a canton, it will have lost its purpose.