Promote human rights by supporting bill HR. 4391

I am writing in response to the Letter to the Editor of July 8. This letter is itself a response to the Forum article of July 1.

In his letter, Dr. Arthur Levy describes the author of the article, Shelly Altman, as using “false equivalence and distortion.” I would like to comment on this author’s misrepresentation. Dr. Levy makes reference to the recent situation on the Gazan-Israeli border. However, Altman references the children of the West Bank who are arrested, sometimes taken from their beds in the middle of the night, by the Israeli Defense Force. The comparison made to the children at the U.S.Mexico border is that, in both bases, the parents are unaware of where their children are taken.

Altman provides statistics about the Palestinian children detained by the IDF. These statistics are provided by two well-known, well-respected organizations working in the region. While the statistics are indeed alarming, they are facts and not distortions.

Finally, the Forum article references legislation that has currently been introduced in the U.S. Congress. This bill, HR. 4391, is titled Promoting Human Rights by Ending Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act. To date, the bill has 28 sponsors. We certainly are fighting to stop detention when it comes to the brown children on our southern border. Shouldn’t we be fighting for the end of military detention for the Palestinian children too?

Write to your congressional representatives asking them to sign on as co-sponsors of HR. 4391. Catherine E. Jackson, PhD Member, Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven