Israel’s standing in the world

Re “Biden had words with Bibi. Only actions will do,” Opinion, April 8

Jackie Calmes accuses President Biden of complicity in Israel’s continuing assault on Hamas. Doesn’t the president’s advocacy of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip also suggest complicity in allowing Hamas time to rearm and strike again at a later date, which it has vowed to do?

Calmes says that Israel has lost the “global goodwill” that came in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7. Where did that sudden surge in new global goodwill come from? I don’t recall any, just campus protests and other demonstrations of opposition to Israel. Joel Athey Valley Village

What tonnage of dead Palestinian children is sufficient vengeance for Hamas’ bloody barbarism on Oct. 7? Biden is very gravely and dangerously behind the curve on this issue.

Yes, Hamas proved once again that it is worthy of extermination. Israel also has an absolute duty and responsibility to defend itself, and with the steadfast support of the United States.

Instead, Israel’s scorched-earth war will prove only to be a spectacularly successful recruitment campaign for Israel’s enemies and render it a global pariah well into the future. The U.S. has no obligation to enable the carnage in Gaza.

Led by a corrupt extremist and racist who seeks to weaken the Israeli judiciary, and who has surrounded himself with like-minded extremists and racists, Israel is at a critical low point in its history.

An immediate suspension of offensive military aid could not only save lives in Gaza, but it would also send the message that current Israeli leadership cannot seek cover behind the Israeli flag for its actions, nor abuse the American support that Israel has always relied on and enjoyed.

How much more tonnage of dead Palestinian children will we see?

Kurt I. Muller Rancho Palos Verdes

The rising potential for an all-out conflict in the Middle East speaks to Hamas militants’ presumptive rationale for launching its barbaric attack on Israel last October.

They surely foresaw the pervasive devastation that Gaza’s civilians would suffer from Israel’s inevitable, overpowering military response. Hence Hamas could have harbored just one realistic hope with its murderous Oct. 7 invasion: that Israel’s response would prove so catastrophic for Palestinians as to induce multiple Mideast countries to take up arms against Israel.

If, as suspected, Israel perpetrated the airstrike on the Iranian Embassy in Syria, Iran’s response and Israel’s counter-response may prove so increasingly devastating as to trigger the regional war that Hamas would welcome.

Finding a way to give peace a chance looks like a lost cause.

Arthur Stone Santa Monica