Letters from Readers
Your response to a sad saga is powerful
The editorial in the February 2024 issue of Khabar (“The Sad Saga of Performative Religion”) clearly articulated the current state of performative religion. The fervor with which things unfolded, and the extent of following among educated and smart people (some of whom included friends and family) across the globe, was extremely astonishing and sad. I am grateful to you for letting thousands of Khabar readers know, through your powerful editorial, what this particular religious event meant. Hope it makes a few of those rethink their stance on the issue.
Sitha Challa
Alpharetta, GA
A letter in your February issue is flawed
I respect people’s right to their opinion. However, a reader’s letter in Khabar (“Hamas is a hindrance to peace,” February 2024 issue), based on factual errors, fuels and prolongs a human tragedy. A modicum of research and reading would avoid a lot of inflammatory opinions being promulgated. Among several incorrect assertions made in the letter, I will point out five that any of us can verify with simple online research:
1. “Gaza would not be an open-air prison and there would be no blockades or check posts if Hamas were to stop firing thousands of rockets and digging tunnels into Israel.”
Gaza has been an open-air prison since 1967—twenty years before Hamas existed. Hamas is an armed struggle by the Palestinian people because of their imprisonment. Rockets have been fired into Israel and tunnels have been dug as evidence of an armed struggle by people who see their basic human rights suspended for over 75 years.
2. “The Hamas Charter officially calls for the extinction of Israel.”
It does not. Hamas revised (and issued) a new charter, in May 2017, in which it offered to accept an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders of Gaza and the West Bank—which have since shrunk (since 2017) to less than one-third of its size in 1967, and yet hosts a population of nearly six million people. The charter also made clear that its struggle for Palestinian freedom was against Israel, the government—not Judaism, the religion. Israel continues to accuse Hamas of maintaining its 1988 charter, despite the new charter being ratified and accepted by the entire Arab Union (formerly the Arab League)—i.e., over 22 countries.
3. The letter cites the Abraham Accords as a basis for working towards peace.
The widely published accords were a series of agreements aimed at normalizing relations between Israel and specific Arab countries (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and others). The four major points cited in the meetings’ Joint Release (also widely available) were: (1) The recognition of the sovereignty of Israel. (2) Suspension of all annexations and settlements in the West Bank, home to some three million Palestinians. (3) Cooperation in fields such as trade, tourism, health, education, etc. (4) Support for a two-state solution with Israel and an independent Palestine living side by side. Arab countries invited to these meetings have implemented their end of the bargain in items #1 and #3.
Despite no less than five UN resolutions demanding that Israel stop its settlements expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, accompanied by no less than four official U.S. government announcements denouncing settlement expansions and demanding they cease, Israel has established no less than 68 new settlements since signing the Abraham Accords.
Perhaps the letter writer can join us in calling for the entire Abraham Accords to be implemented by both sides of this horrific massacre, instead of vilifying one side and explaining away the horrors of the other side as a false existential necessity.
Dr. S. S. Kamal
by email
Interested in writing for Khabar?
Writers are invited to contact us at editor@khabar.com for submission guidelines. Please include links and/or attach copies of published articles, if any, as samples of your work. A review of our back issues online will give you a good idea of what we like to publish. Pitches or unsolicited articles that haven’t appeared elsewhere are welcome as well. If there is further interest, Khabar will respond with an offer or provide more information on our requirements.
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We welcome original, unpublished letters from our readers. You could either respond to a specific article in Khabar or write about issues relevant to our community. Letters may be edited for length and other considerations. Longer submissions by readers may be considered for the “My Turn” column.
Email: letters@khabar.com • Fax: (770) 234-6115.
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Note: Views expressed in the Letters section do not necessarily represent those of the publication.
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