Peace perspectives

I applaud Ken Frankel for stating that Peace Now “is part of the solution” and has considerable support in Israel [e-mail, June 13]. He seems to have moved on to a new point, however. Peace Now may have the right idea, but conditions are not ripe for negotiations because “it is absolutely clear” that Arafat responded only with violence to Israel’s last offers and will therefore have to be “bullied” into negotiating, for which “many will pay a steep price.”

Alas, things are not so clear. When talks ended at Taba in January, 2001, the negotiators stated that, “The two sides declare that they have never been closer to reaching an agreement and it is thus our shared belief that the remaining gaps could be bridged with the resumption of negotiations following the Israeli elections.” Of course, Ariel Sharon was elected the following month, and there have been no political negotiations since then. (For more details see “Camp David and After, An Exchange” , and “Is There a Solution?” by Anthony Lewis.)

Sharon has now declared he will not consider negotiating the removal of a single settlement during the rest of his mandate. So even if Palestinians carry out reforms, replace Arafat and put an end to terrorism, all they can expect in the end are the new settlements Sharon is now building. Does Mr. Frankel really believe that Sharon is trying to press Arafat to negotiate?

I think Israeli reporter Amira Hass has a better idea of what Sharon is up to. Writing in Ha’aretz on April 24, she summed up the recent offensive as follows: “The scenes of systematic destruction show how the IDF translated into the field the instructions inherent in the political echelon’s policies: Israel must destroy Palestinian civil institutions, sabotaging for years to come the Palestinian goal for independence, sending all of Palestinian society backward.”

Yes, Arafat has blood on his hands, but isn’t the whole idea behind peace talks to end conflicts between enemies, not friends? And has anyone ever explained how Sharon’s current policy, described by Mr. Frankel as more “bullying,” is going to solve anything?

Rather than supporting Sharon unconditionally, I believe that we in the Diaspora can best serve our Israeli (and Palestinian) brothers and sisters by showing support for the majority of the Israeli population who seek a political settlement without a military solution. These are the people to whom Sharon is showing a deaf ear.
-Richard Goldman

Ken Frankel’s recent letter to the Mirror delineates the dynamic that underpins the current conflict in the Middle East. I’m not addressing his half-baked theory that Arafat-the impotent leader of an unpopular regime-“unleashed” the current intifada. There’s no need to point out here that this argument is founded on a mystical formula that shifts the blame from the brutal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and places it on the lap of a despised and incompetent leader.

More importantly is the profound contempt with which pro-Israel advocates view the Palestinian people, and with which Frankel’s letter is laced. It is no secret that, between 1948–49, Israeli paramilitaries expelled over 800,000 Palestinians from their ancestral homelands, barred the refugees from returning, and proceeded to settle their confiscated lands with Jewish immigrants. The brutality and callousness of this ethnic cleansing campaign is well documented in the Central Zionist Archives in Israel, which over the past two decades has declassified military documents and correspondence that accurately depict this campaign.

Now that this is undeniable, does Mr. Frankel advocate the repatriation of the refugees? Far from it. He labels the refugees’ right of return, which he places between quotation marks as a “preposterous” euphemism for the “elimination of Israel.” This begs the question: if the right of return is a euphemism for the “elimination of Israel,” is the “preservation of Israel” not a euphemism for the normalization of ethnic cleansing?

Frankel can argue that this happened 54 years ago, and should we not just get over it and look forward rather than backward? Fair enough, if it wasn’t for the fact that while Israel denies the right of return for the expelled Palestinians, any Jew in the world can immigrate to Israel and obtain immediate citizenship under the “right of return” granted, of course, only to Jews. We will see an end to this conflict only when Israel decides to dismantle its discriminatory policies and treat humans like humans, not as Jews and “others.”
-Samer Elatrash

Needle Man kudos
I enjoyed reading about the work of “Needle Man” Dan Raymond [“Zen and the art of needle pick-up,” June 20] and was pleased to see his work presented in a positive light. He and his colleagues provide a valuable service to your community. Your parks, streets, and alleys are safer because of his work. Your police, fire, and EMS workers are safer because of his work. Your garbage pickup personnel are safer because of this work. Overall, your citizens-young and old-benefit.

Appreciation for the Needle Man is both well-targeted and important to his ongoing service. Thank you for your dedication and concern!
-Beth Wehrman,
Rock Island, Illinois

Dan Raymond and Serge Boulet are special kinds of street workers that every large city can’t afford to be without. Dan is so right when he says, “I am trying to change society’s values. The government has to put more money into prevention.”

All the power to each and every Dan and Serge in Canada and much kudos to the Mirror and writer Craig Segal for putting a human face on that which so many in media wouldn’t.
-Wayne Phillips, Hamilton

More organic gripes
Regarding Noemi Lopinto’s story on WWOOFing [“Adventures in asparagus,” June 6]. We were surprised to read her negative comments about people who not only open their arms to invite workers in their businesses, but also their homes, families and lives. What a great way to thank them for their goodness and generosity.

La récolte Osiris is an example that other farmers should try to emulate. They are a great, loving environment in which to try your hand at farming. My wife works (enjoys, has fun and laughs) there once a week in exchange for a basket of wonderful organic vegetables. Danielle and Daniel Turpin are not just bosses, but have become friends over time.

I read the article and didn’t even recognize the place she was describing. I would have easily believed she went to a prison or concentration camp.
-Daniel Barbe and
Nathalie Rousselot

Crazy from the heat
Just to let you know that the old rich people at the Bilboquet ice cream parlour in Outremont are more aggressive than small children on a playground or the homeless youth who go for free meals at “The Rock” hall on Beaudry. I almost smashed my maple-syrup coco balls in some tall, pushy old woman’s face. I was just as hot as her and how could she not see me through any of her three eyes? I have red hair, green eyes and I was wearing a beautiful bright orange scarf made of rayon fabric. True, it was covering a swollen lymph node, but there is nothing wrong with my brain!

Manners. Even if your mother didn’t teach you to be polite, you are old enough to know better. Be nice and enjoy your favourite flavour-mind is kindness.
-Jon Kirk

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