Letters to the Editor:

Dear Editor,

I was really surprised to see the letter of the Jewish Community Relations Council of metropolitan Detroit reacting on the publication of an article in the Muslim Observer. If the Council has facts contrary to what were presented in the article, it should have stated rather than accusing the Observer to incite Muslim hatred against Jews. The article was discussing the state of Israel, a political entity and not Judaism or Jews. This is the kind of language such organizations have used to shut people up and silence their perspectives.

Ahmed Nadeem, Fontana CA

Dear Editor,

I am not surprised to see the partisan response of the Jewish Community Council of Detroit. Rather than acknowledging the truth that the Palestinians have ben reduced to sub human status as a result of continuous aggression on the part of Israel, the Council adopted the terror techniques of name calling. I strongly protest their arrogant attitude.

Zubair Ahmed, Atlanta GA

Dear Editor,

It is a shame that the Jewish Council of Detroit would ignore the ground reality in Israel. If it claims to speak the truth, then it must acknowledge the truth and the truth is that Israel has been brutal to Palestinians during the last several decades of occupation. It is an apartheid state and it challenges all the norms of justice in the world. Jews should be the first to acknowledge that. They are mandated by their religion to stand for justice.

Afraz Khan, Chicago IL

Dear Editor,

The Muslim Observer is doing a great job by exposing the injustices of the state of Israel. I hope you would publish more articles that shows the true face of Israel that has denied the Palestinians their human rights.

Ibn Omar, Detroit

Dear Editor,

Isrel is an apartheid society. It discriminates against Arabs, Muslims and Christians alike. Arabs include Druze, Christians and Muslims and atheists as well. This is what one finds in israel on a regular basis:

In Hebron, the slogans “Arabs to the crematoria” and “Arabs – sub-humans” were once spray-painted on a wall, and anti-Arab graffiti has been spray-painted in Jerusalem.
In the 1980s and 1990s “Geography books for the elementary and junior high schools stereotype Arabs negatively, as primitive, dirty, agitated, aggressive, and hostile to Jews … history books in the elementary schools hardly mention Arabs … history textbooks of the high schools, the majority of which cover the Arab-Jewish conflict, stereotype the Arabs negatively. Arabs are presented as intransigent and uncompromising. Jewish groups must stand against this bigotry.

Abdullah Shakoor Dawson, NYC

Dear Editor,

I saw the recent letter complaining about a Chris Hedges story.

However I was so shocked because it is simply true that Palestinians are routinely abused by Israelis, especially when they travel.

A Palestinian comedian, Maysoon Zayid, who has cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair, was deprived by Israeli security personnel of her feminine hygiene products and forced to wait until she bled on her clothes in front of other passengers, before leaving Israel to return to the United States.  She was unable to clean herself before boarding her airplane–forced to endure hours of air travel covered in her own filth–Israelis did this to humiliate her.

Other Palestinians are sexually abused with rifles by settlers.  Others are murdered, whether by settlers or IDF forces.  This is aside from other provocations.

To be honest I blame Palestinians for much of what goes wrong, but it is absolutely a fact that Palestinian lives can be taken at any time for no reason by Israelis, without consequence, especially when the Palestinians go through Israeli security as they have to do for international travel.

Chris Hedges is an internationally known journalist, formerly of the New York Times.  I have met him.  While he may politically stand aside from where I stand, and his beliefs may be different from mine, it is unlikely that he would make factual allegations that are untrue in an article.  He may make extreme inferences based on the available facts but he would never fabricate the facts themselves. 

I find it hard to believe that you yourself, Mr. Cohen, believe it is safe for Palestinians to travel through Israeli security.

Abdul Jabbar Memon, Detroit

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