Dear Editor,
I think that Danny Tenenbaum's article "New Hope for Israel as Hamas falters" has some serious problems. He comments in the beginning of the article that there has not been a suicide bombing in Israel's borders in the past nine months. This statement is totally false as there was a devastating bombing in a Tel Aviv bus station in April over the Jewish holiday of Passover. This blatant insensitivity to the victims of suicide bombings in Israel and their families is upsetting to me and I think that Tenenbaum should not be gloating over the lack of terrorist acts in Israel when he doesn't even know if they are happening or not.
The article goes on to say that the security fence, (which is incorrectly titled a "massive wall," less than 5% of the fence is made up of concrete) should be dismantled and that checkpoints and roadblocks should be closed. I think it is obvious to most that the reason there has been a diminishing number of terrorist bombings and actions in Israel is because of the security fence and the checkpoints. As the article states in the end, the Middle East is not in a peaceful situation right now and I feel that Israel has every right to protect herself and her citizens. If this protection involves stopping every car that goes into Israel from the West Bank to check it for bombs then so be it. If anyone was visiting Israel I think they would be thankful that militant groups are not being allowed into the country freely without being physically searched for bombs. This may seem over-the-top but what else can a country that is so targeted by her neighbors do?
I understand that the security fence is sometimes located in areas where it cuts through Palestinian towns. This should be changed and I think that eventually Israel will make these changes so that Palestinians are not split from their friends and family. But that does not mean that the fence should come down and that the checkpoints should close so that every suicide bomber who is currently stopped at the checkpoints can get in and have a free reign of annihilation on Israeli civilians.
Emily Singer
Sophomore
