US Pressure Then and Now
Regarding “Israel’s Defiance of US Pressure” (Opinion, July 20):
Yoram Ettinger reviews a number of instances when Israel did not bow to U.S. pressure. Most of his op-ed focused on Israel’s early years as an independent state. There are few in Israel who would argue that the U.S. State Department supported Israel’s formation and its nascent development into a modern nation. All the Israeli leaders he cites steered Israel’s self-determination through a less than ideal participative democratic process.
But, the extensive and increasingly strident street demonstrations and the highly critical statements of acknowledged Israeli heroes and highly regarded leaders against the government show that the participative democratic process is increasingly threatened. It appears that Mr. Ettinger is equating Israel’s historical focus of self-determination with the current government’s anti-democracy actions because both are in defiance of U.S. pressure. They’re not. One is preservation of country; the other preservation of self.
Mark Czarnolewski, Silver Spring
Imagining Something Worse than US Pressure
Yoram Ettinger has written an extremely informative analysis of how successive Israeli governments have defied U.S. pressure, with the end result being the reduction of regional instability, as well as advancing U.S. interests.
However, the potential for a civil war within Israel today, particularly as a result of large numbers of Israeli reservists refusing to serve what they fear will be a theocratic dictatorship, potentially endangers regional stability, as well as U.S. and Israeli security interests. So significant U.S. pressure on the Israeli domestic political scene may be warranted this time around.
Barry Dwork, Alexandria
Kudos to Rae Weinstein
Great advocacy for a rising freshman in college who graduated from a local high school (“You Should Know… Rae Weinstein,” July 20). I recognize how difficult it is for teenagers to speak out and be perceived as different from their peers. Ms. Weinstein reported swastikas drawn on walls at her school but received little reaction from teachers and administrators. When the school responded, it was with a 20-minute movie in literature classes, certainly not enough time to discuss antisemitism.
This story reminded me of the difference in how antisemitism is approached in German high schools. This spring, my sister and I had the opportunity to make a presentation about my family’s experiences during World War II to a senior class in a city in southwest Germany. Our talk was a small part of a larger unit focused on antisemitism.
Karen Levi, Potomac
Therapy Animal Team Credentials
I am honored to be featured in a recent article with my therapy rabbit, Ethan (“Ethan the Therapy Rabbit Brings Calm to Hospice Patients,” July 6). Ethan and I are a registered therapy animal team with Pet Partners, a national organization that educates, evaluates and credentials therapy animal teams.
Laurie Friedman, Bethesda