Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

Dear Editor,

You indicated that Sharon returned Gaza because he wanted to be known as a man of peace. Medically, you are incorrect. (From the Editor: “All the Hostages,” July 11)

After his tragic brain hemorrhage, Sharon’s MRI showed multiple areas of bleeding, an entity known as amyloid angiopathy. Amyloid angiopathy is part of the Alzheimer’s process. Thus, Sharon had Alzheimer’s when he mistakenly thought giving Gaza to the Arabs would bring peace. This actually aligns better with his pre-morbid hawkish approach.

This opinion was published in one of our neurology peer-reviewed newspapers at the time.

Shortly thereafter, I was on an El Al flight and sat next to a liberal writer for Haaretz, who knew “Arik” for years. When I shared my theory, he said that he had noticed personality and cognitive changes in his longtime friend, Sharon. He became obsessed with the past and was not able to make logical connections with the speed and accuracy that were his norm. In other words, his friend noticed the early changes of Alzheimer’s.

I still greatly enjoy your columns.

Keep up the good work,

Yossie Jeret, MD (neurologist)

Settler Violence

Dear Editor,

I write this letter with trepidation and a very heavy heart. But write I feel I must, because when Jewish values are compromised, we are compelled to respond.

Throughout these two terrible years of war, we have repeatedly noted the horrific circumstances of Hamas’s genocidal attack on October 7, 2023. Who would have believed that over 600 days later, the battle remains joined? (My personal belief is that Israel should take a less-than-perfect deal to get all the hostages home, but that is not the subject of this letter.)

One thing has stood out for us as a defining line: Hamas violated all the bounds of civilized behavior in its barbarism. Nothing, absolutely nothing, need be said about Hamas other than it is a Nazi-like, genocidal group that ideally must be eradicated or at least reduced to irrelevance.

Yet precisely because this is our righteous stance, we should be on guard that under no circumstances should the actions of the Israel Defense Forces or of civilian Israelis be open to comparison with wanton violence. And yet, in a few instances, this is precisely what appears to have occurred.

First, there are credible reports that during the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, meant to feed hungry Gazans, a few Israeli soldiers have opened fire on civilians seeking food, killing some of them. The notion that people trying to feed their children should come under lethal fire is appalling. Even if it turns out that the shootings were not done by IDF personnel, the IDF, as co-administrator with the U.S. of the GHF, is responsible to assure the program’s safe execution. To its credit, the IDF is investigating. I call upon Israel to ascertain the facts and to severely punish those who are guilty of harming civilians.

Second, and perhaps even more disconcerting, are the repeated instances of settlers in Judea and Samaria attacking, sometimes fatally, citizens of Arab towns. Among the most egregious cases, Sayf Musallet, a 20-year-old American visiting the village of Simjil, near Ramallah, was beaten to death by radical settlers. These settlers then prevented an ambulance from reaching Musallet. And when CNN’s Jeremy Diamond reported on the incident, settlers attacked his car.

This is but one example of many. According to The Times of Israel, settlers burned cars and set a home on fire in the town of Burqa. The army responded but made no arrests. Unfortunately, reports such as this, up to and including settler efforts to violently drive Palestinian Arabs off their private lands, are all too common.

As Jews, we must be repulsed by such reports. I am the father of an IDF soldier. My family has deep Zionist roots. I say Hallel on Yom Ha’Atzmaut, and a large Israeli flag occupies prominent space in front of my home. Precisely because of my love for the Jewish state, I expect better, much better, from it. These violent, lawless individuals must be arrested and prosecuted harshly.

I will also note that besides the inherent tragedy of these events, in the final analysis, we will be living with Arabs in close proximity for a long time to come. We should therefore be building bridges, not fostering additional hate.

Avi Goldstein,

Far Rockaway