The op-ed (“Attack on human rights community” in the Dec. 9 issue) that was written by Moriel Rothman (who should have been
identified as being part of JStreet) is a naïve statement of the effects of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Israel funded by mostly foreign governments. Honest debate in Israel and elsewhere is going on, pro and con.

Later in his column, Rothman cites Judah Magnes  (1887-1948),  a   former president of Hebrew University and a leading
pacifist in Eretz Yis’rael, as one of his “important thinkers.” Magnes advocated a joint Jewish-Arab state, and as a gesture of good will to the Arabs, suggested that the Jews should stop all immigration to the Holy Land.  The Arabs completely pooh-poohed his wide concessions. Instead, in the spring of 1948 they gathered together and attacked the Jewish State with the idea of exterminating it. Magnus and his “Ihud”
followers, as well as every Israeli, were then locked into a life-and-death struggle, which is still going on.

If Magnus is a model man for Rothman’s “can’t we all get along” philosophy, then we should reject it and look for something that is more workable.

Sy Dill
Providence

Editor’s Note: Moriel Rothman is president of the JStreet U student board and should have been identified accordingly.