Matters Of Fact

 Dear Editor: In her pillorying of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, most recently in her article "A disservice to the Jewish people," she blames him for what she calls "inexcusable" Israeli behavior. She's wrong about her "facts" and unjustified in her opinions. She refers to "10 months of Israeli bombardment that's killed over 39,000 people." It's been more than two months since the United Nations - no friend of Israel - recognized that Hamas had grossly inflated the number of deaths of women and children, yet Rutgers continues to use Hamas' totally unreliable figures. She also ignores the fact that the ratio of civilian to combatant deaths, at roughly 1 to 1 and possibly significantly lower, barely 1/9 of the wartime norm of nearly 9 to 1 expected by the United Nations itself. She ignores the fact that, until Benny Gantz recently left Israel's war cabinet, it was that war cabinet, not Netanyahu, that determined Isr...

Dear editor: On July 27, Hezbollah launched an Iranian-supplied rocket from southern Lebanon, murdering 12 children and teenagers playing soccer in the Israeli town of Majdal Shams. According to the August 3 article, "Hezbollah forces resume steady rocket, artillery fire against Israel," UNIFIL, the United Nations "peacekeeping force" in Lebanon, told Reuters it "had not investigated the incident" because the Israeli town "is outside its mandated area of operation. The rocket was fired from the Lebanese town of Chebaa. Like thousands of other rockets Hezbollah has fired at Israel since October 7, it was fired from south of the Litani River. UNIFIL was expanded and strengthened after the war Hezbollah started in 2006 and given the mandate to ensure no armed militias, including Hezbollah, had any presence south of the Litani River in southern Lebanon. This was to be a prelude to the official Lebanese army being the only armed force in all of Lebanon. To...

Dear Editor: Regarding efforts by diplomats to prevent all-out war after Hezbollah murdered at least 15 children and teenagers playing soccer in Majdal Shams in Israel with a rocket supplied by Iran:  The binding United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 passed after the war Hezbollah started in 2006 required that no armed forces other than the official Lebanese army and UNIFIL be in Lebanon south of the Litani River and ultimately the Lebanese army was to be the only armed group anywhere in Lebanon. Instead, UNIFIL did nothing as Hezbollah completely took over southern Lebanon and installed an estimated 150,000 missiles there. Despite President Biden's warning to Hezbollah in October - DON'T - if they thought of doing anything, aside from repeatedly cautioning Israel to act with restraint he has stood by as Hezbollah has bombarded northern Israel with thousands of rockets and forced nearly 100,000 Israelis from their homes. This is a situation which Israel cannot allow t...

Dear Editor: Re "Harris tells Netanyahu 'it is time' to end war, bring hostages home," as an Israeli as well as an American I can confirm nobody wants to end the war more than Israelis do. Unfortunately, Israelis have learned the hard way that more important than ending a war is ending it in a way that doesn't just lead to future wars. Israel agreed to prematurely end wars started by Gaza terrorists in 2006, 2008, 2014 and 2021, leading to the current war. Unless this war is ended with Hamas completely defeated and unable to ever rearm, yet another ceasefire will simply lead to yet another war, possibly worse than this one. In this battle between forces of good and evil, the evil that is Hamas must not be given yet another lifeline. This war must be ended in a way that guarantees it will be the last war Hamas is able to wage. Sincerely, Alan Stein Submitted to the New London Day July 26, 2024. A version was published August 5 with the headline "No real end un...

Dear Editor: It's disappointing that Rosa DeLauro was among those who irresponsibly boycotted the important speech, delivered to a joint session of Congress, by the prime minister of a close American friend and ally fighting a seven-front war started by a terror proxy of Iran with a barbaric massacre on October 7. Besides providing encouragement to America's worst enemies, those boycotters missed a master class in international diplomacy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared his deep understanding of the nature of the global battle between good and evil, between civilization and barbarism. Had our own American diplomats possessed his understanding, we might have avoided the disasters of Afghanistan and the de facto takeover of Lebanon by Iran's Hezbollah terror proxy. We might not have had a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the important shipping corridor in the Red Sea might not have been effectively closed by Iran's Houthi proxy and Taiwan might not be under s...

Dear Editor: Reading the Thursday article by Annie Karni, "In fiery speech, Netanyahu blasts critics," I can't help but wonder whether she actually listened to his speech. In my 77 years, I've heard many a fiery speech; Netanyahu's was not one of them, although it was by far the most pro-American speech I've ever heard delivered by a foreign leader. Netanyahu gave a sober analysis not only of the war Hamas started with its barbaric October 7 massacre, but of its context of the global struggle between good and evil, civilization and barbarism. He demonstrated a strategic understanding of world affairs sadly lacking by our own leaders, whose misconceptions and missteps helped lead to the debacle in Afghanistan, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ability of the Houthis to effectively close the vital shipping corridor in the Red Sea, the takeover of Lebanon by the Hezbollah terrorists and, arguably most dangerous of all, the "Death to America" shouting...

Dear Editor: Roger Parsons' letter critical of Len Bennett's excellent defense of America's only reliable friend and ally in the Middle East is riddled with false and misleading information. For example, in writing "of course, Israel has the right to defend itself. It does not have the right to commit genocide or war crimes against innocent civilians" he falsely implies Israel is committing genocide and war crimes. (Incidentally, Israel doesn't just have the right to defend itself; it has the obligation to defend its citizens against an enemy whose charter actually calls for genocide!) Parsons should try reading the definition of genocide. He might also try paying attention to John Spencer,  Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point and considered America's leading expert on urban warfare, who after careful study has concluded Israel has gone to greater lengths to protect civilians during warfare than any other army in histor...

Dear Editor: Michael Murphy and Sandra Beardsall criticize Len Bennett's letter "Israel is showing restraint in Gaza" with the claim he "shows a distinct lack of awareness of his subject." I'm an Israeli citizen as well as an American citizen, spend most of the year in Israel, and am extremely  familiar with the subject. I know that the Israeli army strives to be the most moral army in the world. I also know that the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, John Spencer, who is generally considered America's leading expert on urban warfare, has studied the matter carefully and has concluded that Israel's army has gone to greater lengths than any other army in the world to avoid civilian casualties. When, even if the inflated casualty figures given by Hamas are correct, the ratio of non-combatant to combatant deaths in Gaza have been in the neighborhood of 1.3 to 1, whereas according to a press release from the United ...

To the editor: One has to read between the lines to understand the real meaning of the story "Emergency workers uncover dozens of bodies after Israeli assault." (Hearst Connecticut newspapers, July 13, 2024) Israel continually works to create areas which will be safe for civilians in Gaza, but Hamas and other terror groups just as continually work to infiltrate those areas, particularly favoring schools and hospitals, and use them to launch rockets and other attacks that cannot be ignored. This results in stories about significant numbers of deaths, with the fact that most are almost always terrorists omitted. It's called Hamas' "dead baby strategy." Don't fall for it. Sincerely, Alan Stein The writer, a former long-time resident of Connecticut and President Emeritus of PRIMER-Connecticut, now splits his time between Natick, Massachusetts and Netanya, Israel. Sent to the New Haven Register July 13, 2024

To the editor: It may seem counterintuitive, but reading that "some U.S. officials have grown more optimistic" about a cease-fire deal with Hamas fills me with dread. To paraphrase former President Barack Obama, no deal is better than a bad deal. The path to the war Hamas started with its barbaric October 7 massacre was paved by the bad cease-fire deals ending the wars Hamas and other terror groups started in 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021. It's fairly obvious that Hamas must be permanently neutralized before it will ever accept a real permanent cease-fire that won't simply lead to yet another, deadlier war. Those truly interested in peace need to prioritize the defeat and unconditional surrender of Hamas over yet another terrorist empowering cease-fire deal. Sincerely, Alan Stein The writer, formerly a long-time Connecticut resident and President Emeritus of PRIMER-Connecticut, now splits his time between Natick, Massachusetts and Netanya, Israel. Sent to the Hartfo...

Dear Editor: I'm confused by the reports that Hamas has dropped the "key demand" that Israel commit to the complete end of the war (Hamas started with its barbaric massacre on October 7) before any cease-fire deal. The article later reported the terror group allegedly gave approval to President Biden's proposal after receiving "verbal commitments and guarantees" that the war won't be resumed, but it wants those "guarantees on paper." How does that differ from an upfront commitment to a complete end to the war? More important: President Biden said his proposal would bring about an end to the war without Hamas in power in Gaza. He has also said, correctly, that Hamas must be eliminated. Recognizing that a cease-fire which does not do both will simply lead to another October 7 and another, almost certainly even more devastating war, I'm skeptical about President Biden't proposal because none of the provisions revealed would do either. Sinc...