LEYDEN, MASS.-I was lucky to have been born in Boston in 1947 and never served in the military and have never lived any portion of my life with an existential threat hanging over my head.
I have never worried that the bus I was riding was about to be blown up by that guy wearing the overcoat or that some stranger might pull up beside me at an intersection and start shooting.
Had I been born in Tel Aviv in the same year, my life experiences would have been very different. Israelis of my generation have lived their lives in constant fear of just such genocidal attacks perpetrated not because of any personal animosity but solely because of religion or ethnicity.
We liberal Americans have lived our lives in relative safety - the Israelis have not. This certainly affects the way one sees the world. They are living in a small county surrounded by enemies who seek their death. From the river to the sea - what does that mean to you?
Every elected government has as its primary responsibility the protection and enhancement of the lives of its citizens, and Israel has an absolute responsibility to eliminate a terrorist threat on its borders. I would expect my government to do the same should some group decide to put a rocket through the roof of my house.
Richard Evers does not run to bomb shelters daily, as Israelis do. He and his children are not conscripted into the army to face death at the hands of genocidal Islamic jihadists. It's easy to sit in your comfortable home and point fingers at those who are forced to defend their very existence every day of their lives.
If Arabs put down their arms, there would be peace. If Israel did the same, there would be no Israel.
Louis Becker
Leyden, Mass.
This letter to the editor was submitted to The Commons.
This piece, published in print in the Voices section or as a column in the news sections, represents the opinion of the writer. In the newspaper and on this website, we strive to ensure that opinions are based on fair expression of established fact. In the spirit of transparency and accountability, The Commons is reviewing and developing more precise policies about editing of opinions and our role and our responsibility and standards in fact-checking our own work and the contributions to the newspaper. In the meantime, we heartily encourage civil and productive responses at [email protected].