Ulpana is not the left’s fault

Regarding Dr. Scott David Lippe’s May 18 letter, it was not the demonized left that caused the need for removal of the homeowners from Ulpana. It was the actions of the homeowners and their allies within the coalition who caused the problem. They knowingly built on land privately owned by Palestinians, rather than land owned by the Israeli government. A forced compensation would resemble similar seizures against the American Indians by white settlers in the 19th century in this country.

The Zionist ideal is to build a just Jewish society in Eretz Yisrael, not to dispossess Arabs. Had the patriarch Abraham thought Lippe’s way, he would have seized the field and cave of Machpelah by force instead of negotiating with local leaders of Hebron.

Another point: Lippe’s complaint regarding the Jews of Gush Katif is misplaced. Many of the problems that the Jews evacuated from Gush Katif suffered were self-inflicted. They were not satisfied with fighting with all legal means at their disposal. Instead, they went well beyond the law, urging soldiers to resist legal orders. This had the effect of poisoning any desire within the Israeli populace to provide necessary help.

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