I am an American Jew who believes Israel has a right to exist, and my heart aches for all the losses on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

I do not think any nation has a right to divide its population into the two castes: privileged citizens who belong and disenfranchised others. The willful, rampant and mistaken conflation that deems any criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic has made conversation about the Palestinian people difficult or impossible, even among American Jews.

With due respect to those who can’t see Israel in this light, haven’t we seen the result of forcibly evicting ethnic minorities in our own American history? Imagine if our redlining had created reservations and ghettos and internment camps right outside our borders, with blockades that prevented even medical supplies from getting through. Imagine that generations of children had been born there with no hope of any but the most wretched survival – for more than 70 years! Would it be incomprehensible that people with no country, no opportunities, no justice would become disposed to violently rejecting their status?

Israel cannot survive in peace under circumstances such as these. All Americans who believe in justice and human rights for all should help persuade our government to help Israel reject the leadership of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli fundamentalists and settlers and address the rights and needs of Arabs and Palestinians within and without its borders.

Dora Lievow
Camden

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