Embrace Avnery’s legacy

Regarding your editorials “Recognizing Palestine” (August 14) and “Avnery’s Legacy” (August 20), Israel and the United States both unilaterally declared statehood. They did not need to have been states in the past – the United States wasn’t, and in the case of Europe’s colonies, their statehoods were overdue and often firsttime.

Also Israel didn’t need borders at first anymore than the US and intentionally rejected them for its Declaration. Israel leveraged the UN declaration to obtain statehood without consultation with the Palestinians. But now that the Palestinians are doing this, the current rightist coalition and a Jerusalem Post editorial both cry foul.

Why is there a double standard that singles out Palestine with a higher bar than all post-colonial Third World countries had and condemns Columbia simply for joining the rest of South America in recognizing Palestine?

Doesn’t history suggest peace and security would come easier if Israel itself helped Palestine give itself independence – even sponsored its membership in the UN? Be bold in the spirit of Anwar Sadat?

Or is the problem that the rightist ruling coalition doesn’t want to help Palestinians on statehood, showcase Israeli generosity, or facilitate peace and security, because it wants Palestine for itself?

A new fine Post editorial laudably praises Israeli reconciler Uri Avnery at his passing. Why not try Avnery’s legacy after its failure with the opposite for so many years ?

JAMES ADLER Cambridge, MA