[New York Times] Glen S. Lewy - In response to your editorial, "An Agenda for Mr. Netanyahu" (New York Times, May 12), what a short memory you have. Israel has taken initiatives for peace on several occasions in recent years - the unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon, the Camp David offer of a Palestinian state to Yasir Arafat, the unilateral withdrawal from and dismantling of settlements in Gaza, and former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's recent settlement proposal to Mahmoud Abbas. None of these actions produced even minor moves toward peace from the other side; indeed, they led to greater Islamic radicalism. To minimize the obstacles on the Palestinian side and to play down this history of Israeli steps is to inappropriately set Israel up as the scapegoat if peace should not emerge in rapid order. The writer is national chairman of the Anti-Defamation League.
2009-05-14 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive