Palestinians are no partner for peace

Contrary to the statements in the editorial “ Hope Springs a Leak,” the side one chooses in the debate about peace is important, because facts matter.

The painful reality is the Palestinians long have been more interested in destroying the Jewish State rather than building their own homeland. Israel was attacked in 1948 by the Arabs, destroying a two-state solution. 

Next was the 1967 war, followed by rejections of peace plans offered by Israeli Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert. After Israel withdrew unconditionally from Gaza, the Palestinian response was a barrage of rockets — not state building. 

The noted Israeli historian Benny Morris summarized the situation as “a conflict that has no solution, mainly due to the Palestinians’ consistent rejection of a solution of two states for two peoples.”

There is not a lack of Israeli gestures. Netanyahu has offered to meet with the Palestinians without preconditions at any time. This is the same “right wing extremist” who ordered a 10-month freeze in the Israeli settlements to facilitate negotiations. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called this action “unprecedented.” 

When have the Palestinians made any gestures suggesting they are interested in peace? The anti-Semitism that permeates the Arab world has continued without interruption since the Grand Mufti imported propaganda from Nazi Germany. Our “peace partners” continue to compare Jews to vermin. Until Jewish rights in Israel are accepted by the Palestinians, there is no path to peace.

Laura Goldmeier, Creve Coeur

Congressional inaction

During a conversation with a friend about the events that led to the fiscal cliff, I brought up the cost of the Iraq war and commented that we never found any weapons of mass destruction. My friend said he knew where the WMDs were — they were our 112th do-nothing Congress.

Jack Cohen, St. Peters