Reading irrational and often irresponsible statements in response to almost all criticism of Israel, one is reminded of the statement: “Anybody who expresses criticism of Israel’s policies is immediately silenced as an anti-Semite.” The comment was not made by a Christian, a Buddhist or a Muslim. It was written by the late Jewish professor at Tel Aviv University, Tanya Reinhart, who never denied the existence of anti-Semitism, but understood the important distinction between racism and the justifiable condemnation of Israeli policy when it safeguards the unconscionable treatment of Palestinians.

Ironically, the most powerful voices raised against the 60-plus years of Palestinian occupation are Jewish voices in Israel. In the meantime, in response to “Diplomacy gone astray,” a beautifully documented essay by local scholar and college professor Edward Cuddy, we are informed in a jointly written letter that Muslim leaders are not influenced by what Israeli new historian Ilan Pappe calls “the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians,” but rather by a desire to “have the world governed by Sharia.” Of course there is no documentation for this declaration, or the claim that Cuddy’s plea for diplomacy is nothing more than an attempt to “demonize” Israel.

Norm Tederous

Williamsville