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The authors of a July 24 letter rebuke U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (my congressman) for refusing to acknowledge that Israeli policy toward the Palestinians is racist. Although Phillips is otherwise an excellent representative, I concur with their rebuke of him regarding this issue.
Former President Jimmy Carter in 1978 brokered the Camp David Accords approved by Israel and Egypt. In 1979 a peace treaty was signed between those countries.
In 2006, former President Carter published "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" with the following concluding remarks:
"The bottom line is this: Peace will come to Israel and the Middle East only when the Israeli government is willing to comply with international law, with the Roadmap for Peace, with official American policy, with the wishes of the majority of its own citizens — and honor its own previous commitments — by accepting its legal borders. All Arab neighbors must pledge to honor Israel's right to live in peace under these conditions. The United States is squandering international prestige and goodwill and intensifying global anti-American terrorism by unofficially condoning or abetting the Israeli confiscation and colonization of Palestinian territories.
"It will be a tragedy — for the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the world — if peace is rejected and a system of oppression, apartheid, and sustained violence is permitted to prevail."
Unfortunately, the predicted tragedy continues.
Harvey Swenson, Edina
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How embarrassing it was to see the U.S. House pass a resolution stating that Israel is not a racist or apartheid state. The bipartisan vote was 412 to 9. It reminded me of the Hans Christian Andersen tale of "The Emperor's New Clothes," when most of the loyal crowd — afraid to tell the truth — applauded the emperor's invisible new garments. In the story, only a child had the courage to yell, "He's naked!"
The current congressional tale was triggered by U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal's calling Israel a "racist state" at a meeting with Palestinian activists. Israel supporters were outraged. Presumably, to save her political skin, Jayapal, D-Wash., walked back her comment and even voted for the resolution. (To her credit, Rep. Ilhan Omar was the only member of Minnesota's delegation to vote no on the resolution. Rep. Betty McCollum voted present.)
For the record, there is plenty of evidence Israel is racist. One of numerous definitions of racism is the "systemic oppression of a racial group to the social, economic and political advantage of another." That's the story of Israel since before its founding in 1948. Major human rights organizations, including Israel's own B'Tselem, have accused Israel of apartheid, operating a "regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea."
For 75 years, too many Americans have averted their eyes from Israel's ethnic cleansing, land thefts, home demolitions, imprisonment of Palestinians without charges and illegal occupation of Palestinian lands. We mindlessly accept the label "terrorist" for any Palestinian who resists abuse and the violations of international law by their powerful Israeli occupiers. And now our representatives in Congress have become our "thought police," instructing us that racism is not racism and apartheid is not apartheid.
Who should we believe — our congressional representatives or our own eyes?
Mary Christine Bader, Wayzata
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Over the course of our history we have seen many examples of good things resulting from bad. To list them would require more space than this letter is allowed. But to that list we may now add the bipartisan response in the U.S. House to the unwarranted attack on the Jewish State of Israel by Congressional Progressive Caucus Leader Pramila Jayapal, who called it "a racist state." In response to this outrageous claim, 412 House members voted in favor of a resolution denouncing that claim, saying that "Israel is not a racist or apartheid state." The resolution went further, saying Congress "rejects all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia" ("Israel House vote finds support, division," July 23).
As a Jew residing in Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District, I want to thank Democratic Reps. Dean Philips and Angie Craig, and the state's four congressional Republicans, for supporting the resolution.
Ronald Haskvitz, Golden Valley
CURIOUS MINNESOTA
Another name from Hibbing
I thoroughly enjoy reading Curious Minnesota, and the July 23 installment ("What's the deal with fame in Hibbing?") was especially interesting. In addition to Bob Dylan, Kevin McHale and Jeno Paulucci, another Hibbing High School graduate of special note is Jeff Halper, who graduated in 1964, went on to Macalester College and eventually settled in Israel.
A Jew who was engaged in civil rights issues in the U.S. (and who also knew Bob Dylan in Hibbing), Halper co-founded Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) to resist Israel's occupation and to work for a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians by denouncing the illegal demolition of Palestinian homes. The Israeli government claims the homes that are demolished are done so for security reasons; according to Halper and others, demolitions happen simply to confine residents in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to small, impoverished and disconnected enclaves, leaving most of the land free for Israeli settlement and annexation. Hibbing is justly proud of its citizens, and Jeff Halper deserves to be added to the list of notable Hibbing High School graduates.
Janet Tollund, Bloomington
MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SAFETY
Thoughts on Cedric Alexander's departure too critical
The views of the Star Tribune Editorial Board and most letter writers (July 22) regarding Cedric Alexander's retirement announcement were overly critical. Before his appointment as the community safety commissioner in Minneapolis last year, Alexander earned the respect of city and community leaders with his consulting work for the city, and in light of his long career of experience and accomplishments in the public safety sector, he was a sound choice to lead the unprecedented work to integrate the city's full spectrum of public safety services.
Integration of our public safety services is a long-term endeavor requiring continuity in leadership, but when to retire is always a question in play for leaders on the cusp of retirement. Let's respect Alexander's decision, thank him for his work, and support Mayor Jacob Frey and city leaders in the effort to attract a qualified successor who is eager to continue the work begun by Alexander.
Catherine Shreves and John Satorius, Minneapolis
The writers are co-chairs of Plymouth Church Re-imagining Community Safety Group.
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There are elements in south Minneapolis who do not want the Third Precinct police station at its former site at Lake and Minnehaha, and there are some who don't even want the precinct station to be in the precinct. We recognize that wounds such as the city suffered in 2020 do not disappear overnight, but we also have to realize that three years have passed and we have to approach this issue with eyes that are firmly rooted in the future.
Back in 2019, Deputy Chief Art Knight admitted that 3-6% of the Minneapolis police force shouldn't be cops. We're talking about 25-50 officers like Derek Chauvin who routinely employed racial profiling and took their anger out on the minorities who were an important part of the city they were supposed to be serving. It's my belief that every last one of those men left the force sometime between mid-2020 and 2022. Their influence is gone, the slate has been cleaned to a large extent and Behavioral Crisis Response Teams are filling a sorely needed gap.
I think we need to have some faith in the changes that have been made and those which are yet to come. Part of that is acknowledging the departure of the men who vented their personal hatred upon the citizens of our city. The other is coming to an understanding that the Third Precinct will be better served if the headquarters is somewhere close to the heart of the precinct.
Dale Jernberg, Minneapolis
