Dear Mass Media, Claire’s trip to the territories sounds fascinating one but very one sided. I do not dispute the difficulties the Palestinians face. I will not even dispute that some Israeli policies are harsh. However, one cannot abdicate the blame Palestinians deserve for their role in this conflict.

There have been countless attempts by Israel to make peace- to produce a Palestinian state- to live side by side with her neighbor and each offer has been greeted with violence. We need only look at the situation in Gaza. One year after Israelis removed settlers from the strip, the vacant land is used as nothing more than a launching pad for missile attacks into Israel proper- which occur every day.

Claire had this rare opportunity to learn about this complex conflict but instead she followed a biased group and only got one side of the story. Regarding your reference to apartheid you are factually, even according to the South Africans, incorrect. Israel has 7 Million residents, 20% are of Muslim or Christian heritage and they are entitled to all of the rights of an Israeli. During apartheid the minority white citizens controlled the majority of black citizens. Palestinians are not the majority. Maybe there is a correlation with Palestinian suffering and the fact that you had to have your bag checked at Burger King?Robert BelinkyBoston, MA

Dear Mass Media, “Crossing Boundaries” sounds like a very positive matter. Someone who does this crossing is supposed to know both sides and be able to achieve a broader point of view. But sometimes the opposite happens. If someone went to Palestine for a while and is therefore emotionally affected, one can understand that she does not have a balanced view of the conflict.

The text leaves the impression that Israel represses Palestinians for no reason. This is not just because of the language used, like the comparison to the South African Apartheid-Regime. The basic mistake is that suicide bombing and terrorism, anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are not even mentioned. Leaving these aside it has to seem like a paranoid action of a police state, when the bags of Burger King customers are searched. Considering the facts high security standards are self-evident in this country, which has to face a greater risk of terrorist attacks than almost any other.

Israel is under attack, Israel has problems to solve and enemies to confront, Israel is for good reasons officially in a state of emergency. In consideration of that, its policy is quite rational and has for sure nothing in common with Apartheid. Comparing Israel to this regime is not just an oblique defamation of Israel, it is a not less oblique belittlement of the South African Regime and an insult to all its victims as well.

I don’t want to deny that these practices are unfair to all the peaceful and freedom loving Palestinians. Israel does not do this out of evil, but out of justified fear. I don’t want to deny the existence of injustice in Israel and racism among Israelis. These are problems there just as in every country in this world and have to be criticized. But in its one-sidedness the mentioned article does not criticize, it fans resentments.Floris Biskamp via email