And the rockets’ red glare

Regarding “On the border during rocket fire” (November 13), according to Wikipedia, Nazi Germany terrorized the United Kingdom by shooting 1,402 V2 missiles at civilian targets in World War II. In comparison, the terrorist regime in Gaza has fired more than 400 missiles in a single day at Israeli civilians.

Thank God Israel has developed the ability to neutralize many of the missiles before they land or the scope of damage and death would have been unimaginable.

Nazi Germany is gone; the Britons again are safe. Unfortunately, Israelis in the South still have to live with the outrageous reality that thousands of missiles nearby are pointed right at them. DAVID WEINBERG

Rehovot

In May of this year, enshrouded in thick billowing smoke from burning tires, thousands of violent rioting Gazans stormed the Israeli border armed with knives, guns, firebombs and more. Their goal: to vandalize Israeli property and attack innocent civilians. Israeli soldiers defended the border with admirable restraint: riot dispersal means and only when necessary, live fire.

The then-United Nations high commissioner for Human Rights condemned Israel for using “wholly disproportionate” force in its response to that largescale mortal threat. We hear “disproportionate” a lot – it is a favorite term used by diplomats and nations to condemn Israel nearly anytime it acts to defend itself.

This week, after an apparent intelligence-gathering mission in Gaza ran into complications and ended with casualties on both sides, Hamas responded by firing more than 400 lethal missiles at the civilian population in many of Israel’s southern cities – clearly a war crime/ crime against humanity.

I searched the Internet. Has the UN or any world leader condemned Gaza’s hail of terror rockets causing damage and casualties as “wholly disproportionate?” Unsurprisingly – no. Apparently, the world has a double standard; that phrase can be applied only to an action that Israel takes. FAY SULLIVAN Beit Shemesh