Met bijna twee weken vertraging gelezen wegens werkmail niet bekeken, maar ik werd er helemaal stil van…

Sputtering light

Sir, – I am an Israeli expatriate, born in 1946. I have always loved my homeland and been proud to be an Israeli. My father used to say, “Israel is a light to all nations.” I never thought much about this until recently, when I wished it were true.

When Cpl. Gilad Shalit was taken by Hamas, a nation that is a light to all others would have said: “Yes, our neighbors in Gaza, we do indeed plan to return your [jailed] women and children. But that is not all; we will provide a stipend of $20,000 for every freed Palestinian child to study, and $20,000 for every freed Palestinian woman to plant her vegetable garden, and provide a little bit for her family. We will call this the Gilad Shalit Fund.”

A deed like this, which would cost Israel less than a half a day of war, would surely turn the Middle East around.

My uncle, Andrew Loew, a Holocaust survivor who learned on his own flesh what it is like to be a Jew without a homeland, encouraged me to write this letter to you (“Red Cross demands that soldiers’ captors allow links to families,” July 14).

NAOMI L. NAKAO New York

Stond in de Jerusalem Post op 18 juli.

Geschreven al luisterend naar: Bing Crosby – Only The Number 1’s – Moonlight Becomes You