Dear Editor,
According to a news article in your September 12 edition, Israel’s lead negotiator for the Gaza hostages, Gen. Gal Hirsch, said international pressure on Israel is helping Hamas.
“When [Hamas] sees that Israel is under enormous pressure from our best allies, or from the United Nations, or Great Britain, or decisions by some and others in the international courts, they say to themselves that they are in no hurry [to make a deal],” Gen. Hirsch said.
J Street and other American Jewish critics of Israel should take note. Whatever their intentions, their pressure on Israel to agree to Hamas’s demands is directly harming the possibility of the hostages being released. One hopes the critics will pause to consider the real-life consequences of their reckless position.
Moshe Phillips
National Chairman
Americans For a Safe Israel
New York City, NY