Matters Of Fact

 Dear Editor: Despite the slant injected into the July 3 article "Hamas, Israel fall short of accepting cease-fire proposal," if one actually reads the article it's clear that while Hamas rejected the American proposal, Israel accepted it. This is despite the fact that the unjust and one-sided proposal would have guaranteed half the remaining Israeli civilians not already murdered by Hamas would have to endure at least another 60 days of brutality and torture, while an additional undisclosed but clearly large number of Hamas terrorists, including mass murderers, would be freed. Israel, of course, reiterated President Biden's position in the aftermath of Hamas' October 7 attack, that ultimately all the hostages kidnaped by Hamas must be freed and Hamas must never be in a position to repeat its atrocities, but that doesn't change the facts that Israel accepted the proposal while Hamas rejected it. The headline should have reflected those facts, rather than propa...

Dear Editor: Thanks to Israel bypassing Hamas to provide humanitarian assistance directly to the people in Gaza - rather than going through organizations such as UNRWA that essentially let Hamas steal almost all the aid, and thanks to Israel virtually destroying Iran's terror proxies and, with America's help, destroying much if not all of Iran's nuclear weapons program, the world has a golden opportunity. The people in Gaza have a chance to throw off the yoke of Hamas, a prerequisite for rebuilding Gaza and turning it into a place where people can live normal lives for the first time since Israel withdrew in 2005. The world has a chance to free itself permanently from the horrendous danger of a nuclear Islamic Republic. We should not neglect this opportunity. We need to support Israel as it works to free Gaza from Hamas' death grip. And we need to prevent Iran from rebuilding its nuclear weapons program as well as its deadly missile arsenal, either compelling Iran to ab...

Regarding The Post's editorial on the Arab plan for Gaza, it is essential that any plan for the region's future ensure Hamas is effectively eliminated, completely disarmed and unable to play any role, whether military or political, in the governance of Gaza. Any plan lacking that element would simply repeat the errors of the past that led to Oct. 7, 2023, and the current devastation in Gaza, thus satisfying the definition of insanity often attributed to Albert Einstein: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The Arab plan does nothing to guarantee Hamas's elimination and definitely should not be taken seriously.
 Alan Stein, Natick Massachusetts Published in the Washington Post on March 29, 2025

 Dear Editor: The article "Trump issues warning to Hamas; Group demands permanent truce" (Boston Globe, March 7, 2025) fails to mention that for Hamas, the meaning of a "permanent truce" is very different from our understanding. For Hamas, a "permanent truce" is meant to last only until Hamas decides to violate it, as it has violated every previous truce, including countless violations of the current ceasefire which involves the release of a handful of the innocent hostages being held by Hamas in blatant violation of international law in exchange for the release of hundreds of violent terrorists, including numerous mass murderers. Sincerely, Alan Stein   Sent to the Boston Globe on March 7, 2025

 Dear Editor: In his letter "Resettlement and Violence Go Hand in Hand" (The Day, March 7,2025), Kevin Munday may be correct, but he leaves out the most salient result of most resettlements, peace. Whatever violence occurred during most resettlements after war, including the transfer of ethnic Germans to Germany after World War II and the exchange of populations between India and Pakistan about the same time six Arab armies invaded Israel with the intent of destroying it and "driving all the Jews into the sea" but instead causing the displacement of 400,000-700,000 of their brethren, who had not yet adopted their new identity as "Palestinian," those displacements actually saved lives and were critically in bringing about peace. President Trump put forth the only proposal that hasn't essentially been a rehash of previous failed ones. It should be given serious consideration. Sincerely, Alan Stein Sent to the New London Day on March 7, 2025

Dear Editor: Regarding "With shaky cease-fire, Arab leaders look to Gaza’s future" (Boston Globe, March 4, 2025), everyone needs to realize that no plan for Gaza's future will succeed and any investment in rebuilding Gaza will be totally wasted unless Hamas is first eliminated. Sincerely, Alan Stein Submitted to the Boston Globe, March 4, 2025

 Dear Editor: I had to laugh at Naim Qassem, the head of the Hezbollah terrorist group, saying Israeli troops had to withdraw from Lebanese territory in full by February 18. Under binding United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, passed in 2006, Hezbollah had to withdraw from any part of Lebanon south of the Litani River and be disarmed. This was a followup to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559, adopted in 2004, calling for the disarmament of Hezbollah and all the other terror groups and militias in Lebanon. According to the article "Hezbollah chief: Israel must fully withdraw from Lebanon by Feb. 18" (MetroWest Daily News, February 17),  Qassem said Israel "had 'no pretext' to maintain a military presence in any post in southern Lebanon." Perhaps Qassem should look in a mirror. Hezbollah has had no pretext to maintain its presence as a terrorist army anywhere in Lebanon since 2004, and if Hezbollah wasn't there and constantly attacki...

  Sent to the MetroWest Daily News, February 15, 2025 Dear Editor: Considering the article "Arab proposal to rebuild Gaza Strip in the works" (February 15), any rebuilding needs to be approached with caution. Billions have been poured into Gaza for rebuilding after past wars, with most of it being used by Hamas to build its massive underground terror infrastructure and most of the what was used for its intended purposes destroyed when Hamas started its next war. This should be a lesson; anything spent to rehabilitate Gaza will both bring about more war and be destroyed unless Hamas is not first permanently neutralized. The horrendous mistakes of the past, which greatly contributed to October 7 and the current war, must not be repeated. Sincerely, Alan Stein (I'm catching up on a backlog after months of chemotherapy.)

Sent to the Boston Globe February 14, 2025  Dear Editor: The article "Hamas says it's ready to resume hostage releases" (Friday, February 14), about Hamas not carrying out it threat to most blatantly violate what should be called the exchange of a handful of innocent hostages for hundreds of Hamas terrorists, including many mass murderers, plus the massive resupply of "humanitarian aid" to be stolen by Hamas to strengthen it for future terror attacks, omitted any reference to the way Hamas has "abided" by the one-sided agreement. This includes its firing a rocket at Israel on Thursday. The rocket, as so many of Hamas' rockets do, fell short of its Israeli target, landing within Gaza and killing a child. That child will undoubtedly be counted in the future by Hamas as one of the Palestinians in Gaza killed by Israel in its future propaganda releases that are then uncritically accepted by the mainstream media, including the Boston Globe. Sincerely, A...