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Israel’s True Borders
Dear Editor:
Under international law, Israel includes Gaza, Judea and Samaria.
Israel’s border was drawn in 1920 at San Remo, when a series of mandates were created following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in WW1. The British Mandate for Palestine was defined as the reconstituted homeland of the Jews. In 1922, the League of Nations ratified the San Remo accords. In 1923, Britain severed 78% of the mandate and recognized Transjordan’s independence under the rule of Emir Abdullah. In 1945, article 80 of the UN charter stated that what was promised the Jews at San Remo, except for Transjordan, cannot be over-ridden.
The 1947 UN partition plan (resolution 181) was a recommendation to split the mandate between Jews and Arabs, in violation of article 80. The Zionists agreed, but the Arabs, under the leadership of Nazi War criminal, Haj Amin al-Husseini, (now escaped from French captivity to Beirut) refused and launched a war to ‘drive the Jews into the sea.’ 5 Arab armies joined in. They failed. This humiliation became known as the Nakba.
Fighting lasted from 1947 to 1949, ending with an armistice. Jordan and Egypt occupied Judea, Samaria and Gaza. 30,000 Jew in these territories were killed or forced out, their synagogues destroyed and their properties turned over to Arab squatters.
Israel recaptured the area in 1967 and offered to make peace. Arab leaders meeting in Khartoum vowed ‘no peace, no negotiations and no recognition of Israel’.
The 1993-1995 Oslo accords allowed 100,000 PLO supporters to set up shop in Israel while working on a final peace deal.
At the 2000 Camp David Summit, between Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat, the Arabs were offered everything they asked for, but Arafat balked and started the 2nd Intifada, murdering 1,300 Israelis and wounded thousands more.
Trump’s Peace to Prosperity Plan in 2020, reorganized the map. It gave the Palestinians slightly more land than they occupied in 1967, plus a $50 billion development plan. The PA rejected the plan, offering no alternative.
The Israeli government is fighting terrorism in Gaza and the PA areas. It is standing-up to the Islamist U.N. and left-wing politicians and NGO’s. It has opened the door for the Arab League to help the Palestinians make peace among themselves, accept the consequences of Oct. 7, 2023 and recognize Israel as an integral part of the Middle East.
Sincerely
Len Bennett, Author of ‘Unfinished Work’
Deerfield Beach, Fl.
The West Must Confront the Real Source of Terror—Tehran
Dear Editor:
There is a growing and unavoidable truth that must be acknowledged if the West—especially Israel and the United States—intends to prevail in the battle against terror in the Middle East: the source of the fire must be extinguished, and that source is the Islamic Republic of Iran.
For too long, Western leaders have danced around the reality that Iran is not just a bad actor—it is the central engine of global Islamist terror. From Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, to the Houthis in Yemen who are now launching ballistic missiles at Israeli airports, these terrorist proxies are not acting independently. They are coordinated, funded, and armed by Tehran.
Despite sanctions, condemnations, and broken negotiations, Iran continues to enrich uranium at near-weapons-grade levels. Intelligence reports consistently show that Iran is nearing nuclear breakout capacity. No agreement—certainly not the type of deal that even the Trump administration is considering—will dissuade the mullahs in Tehran from their goal of regional domination and the destruction of Israel. They will sign one thing, say another, and act entirely in bad faith, as history has repeatedly proven.
We are well past the point of diplomacy. While targeted strikes against proxy groups provide temporary relief, they are nothing more than symptom management. As long as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps operates freely, training terrorists, exporting weapons, and building a nuclear arsenal, no lasting peace can be achieved in the region.
A direct and decisive strike against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and military command hubs would send a powerful message not only to its proxies but to the tyrants watching from afar. The West must reestablish deterrence, not through words or failed deals, but through clear, uncompromising action.
Only by confronting the head of the snake can Israel and its allies hope to secure a future free from the shadow of terror.
Sincerely,
Gustav Primo
Bronx, NY
School Choice Is the Key to Educational Freedom
Dear Editor:
As a concerned New Yorker and a strong advocate for parental rights in education, I write to express my unwavering support for school choice and government vouchers—especially for yeshiva families and religious communities who want nothing more than the freedom to educate their children according to their values and standards.
In New York City, we’re facing an educational crisis. Public schools, despite consuming billions of taxpayer dollars annually, consistently underperform. Meanwhile, yeshivas across the city—serving tens of thousands of students—instill not only academic knowledge but a sense of purpose, discipline, and moral clarity. And yet, these schools receive little to no financial support from the government, even though their students are part of the same taxpaying families who help fund the public system.
School choice is the answer. Vouchers would allow families to redirect a portion of the money already being spent on their child’s education toward the school that actually fits their child’s needs—yeshiva or otherwise. It is a matter of fairness, liberty, and educational justice.
Opposing this movement with all their might is the United Federation of Teachers (UFT)—a bloated, self-serving political machine that masquerades as a defender of children but in reality, is a protector of perks. This union, which wields enormous influence in Albany and City Hall, is far more invested in securing its members’ lifetime pensions, gold-plated health benefits, and job protections than in actually improving educational outcomes.
The UFT has become a racket—demanding ever more from the taxpayers while delivering less and less in results. They fight tooth and nail against school choice, not because they care about students, but because they fear competition. If parents could choose, many would choose to leave—and the UFT knows it.
Let’s be clear: No union should have a monopoly on education, especially when it fails to serve the very children it claims to represent. It’s time we put students before union bosses. The future of yeshiva children—and indeed all children in New York—depends on our willingness to break the cycle of dependency on a corrupt public school bureaucracy and empower parents with real choice.
Sincerely,
Adina Koslowitz
Brooklyn, NY
Jews Must Demand Action Against Antisemitism
Dear Editor:
Recent data from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) paints a disturbing and deeply painful picture: antisemitism is not just rising—it is exploding across the New York-New Jersey region. The ADL’s detailed reports reveal that while some states have seen marginal improvements, ours continue to be epicenters of hate. New Jersey reported 719 antisemitic incidents in the last year alone—just a slight dip from its previous record-breaking year—and New York remains a national hotspot for verbal, physical, and institutional attacks on Jews.
This isn’t a matter of academic concern. These numbers translate into real fears for Jewish students, families, commuters, and synagogue-goers. Whether it’s a Jewish teenager harassed on the subway, a yeshiva defaced with swastikas, or pro-Hamas protesters flooding city streets with vitriolic chants, the message is clear: Jews in New York and New Jersey no longer feel as safe as they once did.
And while these threats may be growing, the response from our elected officials has been tepid at best and performative at worst. A tweet condemning hate, a symbolic resolution, or a “listening session” will not suffice. Our community can no longer afford to be polite or patient. We must raise our voices—with persistence and, if necessary, with relentless annoyance—until our leaders do more than pay lip service to Jewish safety.
We need state-level hate crime enforcement units that aggressively prosecute antisemitic offenders. We need increased NYPD and NJ law enforcement presence around Jewish schools, synagogues, and neighborhoods. We need concrete consequences for those inciting violence and intimidation on our streets and college campuses. And we need elected officials who treat Jewish safety not as a secondary issue—but as a central obligation of governance.
As we approach the next New York City mayoral race, this must be a defining issue. Candidates should be judged not just on housing or policing, but on their concrete strategies to combat antisemitism. Will they fund protection programs? Will they stand up to antisemitic campus radicals and radical city councilmembers? Will they take action when Jewish blood is spilled in our streets?
The Jewish community cannot afford to wait for another “wake-up call.” The time for organized, unrelenting advocacy is now. We must be loud, we must be firm, and above all, we must be united.
Sincerely,
Eli Osheri
Rego Park, NY