LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Author of op-ed about Arab war on Israel is misinformed

I’m appalled by the ignorance about the Arab war on Israel shown by Michael Galant in his recent op-ed, “Murphy wants a new foreign policy.”

He complains about alleged Israeli “oppression” of Palestinian Arabs, apparently unaware that more than 95 percent of the Arabs in the disputed territories have had their own government, the Palestinian Authority, for nearly a quarter-century and Israel only goes into the areas ruled by the PA when it’s necessary to prevent or respond to Palestinian terror attacks.

Israel completely left Gaza 13 years ago, yet recently, Hamas and other terror groups there launched 460 rockets at Israeli civilians in the course of a few hours. Thanks to extensive civil defense measures, including expensive bomb shelters in all homes and public facilities and the innovative “Iron Dome” missile defense system, only one person was killed — ironically, a Palestinian Arab from PA-controlled Hebron — but if Galant had his way and Israel hadn’t gotten financial assistance from the United States necessary for the development and deployment of Iron Dome batteries, hundreds if not thousands of innocent Israeli Jews would have died.

Ironically, while Gallant concludes by asserting “there is no progressive policy without Palestinians,” the opposite is true. Democratic Israel exemplifies most of the values progressives claim to uphold, while both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority persecute gays and other minorities as they strive to establish an intolerant, Shariahbased Muslim state which would not only heavily discriminate against minorities but also ethnically cleanse all Jews even from the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem.

Alan Stein, Netanya, Israel Editor’s note: The writer, a longtime resident of Connecticut who splits his time between Israel and Massachusetts, is president emeritus of PRIMER-Connecticut, Promoting Responsibility in Middle East Reporting

Lawmakers must support Energy Innovation, Carbon Dividend Act

With increasingly dire news about the current and future impacts of climate change, a breath of fresh air is in sight. On Tuesday, five members of the House of Representatives introduced the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, market-based climate legislation that places a steadily rising fee on carbon pollution and returns 100 percent of revenue to households.

Bill sponsors Ted Deutch, D-Florida; Francis Rooney, R-Florida; Charlie Cris, D-Florida; Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania; and John Delaney, D-Maryland; should be applauded for their bipartisan collaboration. That has yielded a bill that decreases U.S. carbon emissions 33 percent over the next decade, all while creating over 2 million new jobs, lowering health care costs, promoting energy innovation, and addressing the impact of energy prices on farmers and lowincome households.

I hope to soon see support from U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, and the rest of the Connecticut Congressional delegation. It’s time to put aside our partisan differences and come together to enact the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act in the next Congress.

Jennifer Kleindienst, Middletown