Eliminate Hamas
At the rally for Israel held Oct. 9 on the Kaiserman JCC grounds (“Local Jews gather in Support of Israel,” Oct. 12), I heard speeches pledging solidarity with Israel, calls for peace in Israel and Gaza, demands for the return of hostages and expressions of horror over the atrocities committed by the medieval death cult we know as Hamas.
All of these statements were heartfelt and sincere. However, I left the rally disappointed and let down. Why? Because there were no calls urging Israel to avenge the blood of our brothers and sisters in Israel who were mercilessly tortured, raped and killed and whose bodies were mutilated beyond recognition. And there were no calls for justice and the elimination of the barbaric Hamas.
As it states in Ecclesiastes 3:8: “A time for war, and a time for peace.” For any possibility that peace would come about between Israel and Gaza, Hamas needs to be totally eradicated.
Jerry Stern, Merion Station
Perspective of American Jews Is Distorted
From the peace and tranquility of my home, I can’t truly imagine how Israelis are coping with the current situation (“What Did the Local Response to the Israel Situation Look Like?,” Oct. 19). I don’t pretend to know what Israel should do or how it should respond to the wholesale slaughter and capture of its citizens.
However, after watching peace-loving American Jews occupy a congressional building and tell Israelis — enduring deadly attacks, burying their loved ones and praying that they will see friends/family released from captivity — to stop a war that Israel didn’t start, seems the ultimate in chutzpah.
I wonder how many of those American Jews calling for a ceasefire would press for it if they were living in Israel and scurrying to bomb shelters every day.
Paul L. Newman, Merion Station
