Buttigieg's obtuseness

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg has a lot of nerve to make the suggestions he did at the J Street gala ("At J Street, military assistance becomes a campaign issue," Oct 30). Who does he think he is giving us this very paternal nonsense – "...put your arm around your friend and try to guide them toward a better place." Really?

I don't know where he was in 2005 when prime minister Ariel Sharon demolished Gush Katif, but we remember the productive farms and factories – to say nothing of the people's lives – that were destroyed. Sharon had the brilliant idea that all we had to do was uproot everyone who lived there and give the Arabs all the thriving farms, and then, no doubt, peace would break out. Except, of course, what we got instead was missiles, in the beginning actually made of the old irrigation pipes from the thriving farms. Mayor Buttigieg, just imagine that you have young children who at all times must be aware of where the closest bomb shelter or safe room is to scramble to. That's what we have had to contend with for the past 20 years!

You say you would like to see peace. Well, so would we, but we are not about to make erroneous assumptions again. J Street seems eager to repeat Sharon's horribly failed Gush Katif experiment – this time in our heartland of Judea and Samaria. Nobody here is ready to cede to others the right to decide our future and put us in mortal danger. Has Buttigieg seen any signs that the Arabs in Gaza want to make peace with us – or just violent riots and missiles? When will he put his arm around them and guide them to a better place?

Buttigieg, J Street, and all who urge us to dismantle our towns and communities should further their education and find out what is really going on in our part of the world.

THELMA JACOBSON

Petah Tikva