What is ‘normal’?

With regard to “Palestine in Tel Aviv” (November 9), no amount of olive oil, stuffed eggplant or paintings of olive trees will show that Palestinians are “normal people through art, food and literature.”

They believe and teach their children that Jews are the sons of monkeys and pigs. They send eight-year-old children to kill Israelis with knives. They idolize teenagers who murder Jewish children in their beds, and name sports teams after terrorists. All this while Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says with impunity that “Jews have no right to desecrate the Temple Mount with their filthy feet” and that Palestinians “bless every drop of blood that has been spilled for Jerusalem.”

Those who helped Nazis in the countries of Europe were “normal” people. So were the Nazis: Hitler was a vegetarian. Himmler was fond of classical music. Goebbels loved his children. Goering loved his food. But this didn’t stop them from murdering millions of innocent people.

Tel Aviv’s Palestine House is misnamed and misplaced. It should be called Israel House and situated in Nablus to show the Arabs of Judea and Samaria (and of Umm el-Fahm) that Israelis are normal people, and that cooperation with Israel will bring many more benefits to the Arab peoples than will their despotic rulers.

CYRIL ATKINS Beit Shemesh