Overlooked facts in debate over Palestine

Sandy Tolan suggests in “The incredible shrinking Palestine” (Current, May 21) that the U.S. should be wary of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s plan for Israel to withdraw from territory in the West Bank.

What does Tolan think would be a better plan -- to wait around and see what better solution Hamas proposes? Tolan states that it “is too early to be sure which direction the Hamas-run Palestinian government will take.”

How many times does Hamas have to state its intention to destroy Israel before Tolan will be “sure”? How many Hamas-authorized rocket attacks and suicide bombings against Israeli civilians will it take to give Tolan clarity?

SHARON MERKIN

Los Angeles

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It is a pity that Tolan chose a 1936 map to start his article on the shrinking of Palestine. Had he looked at a map of Palestine in 1922, he would have seen that it then included what is today called Jordan, which comprised about three-quarters of Palestine. Yes, Palestine has shrunk, but not in the way Tolan mischievously suggests.

Promised as a homeland for Jews, the largest part of it became an Arab state in which Jews can’t be citizens and Israelis are not allowed to purchase property. Funny how so many people overlook this important fact. I wonder why?

DAVID SINGER

Sydney, Australia

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Tolan’s article could just as well have been called, “Hey dude, where is my state?” Either way, the underlying premise is that there once was a Palestine within internationally fixed and recognized borders, that Israel invaded this area called Palestine and now is willing to give up only 20% of the country.

But even Tolan admits that Palestine as such was never more than a dream. If so, why is the dream of the Arabs worthy of greater recognition than the dream of the Jews, who have a truly historic connection to the Holy Land going back to the days of the Canaanites? Let them come forth and make a claim; theirs would at least be based on historical truth.

LEIB ORLANSKI

Beverly Hills