Palestinian nationalism
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Palestinian nationalism

I highly respect Stephen Flatow and his well-written pieces supporting Israel. However, there is one position in his op-ed “‘P is for Palestine’ author got one thing right” (Dec. 21) that I hope he will reconsider and change.

The error is his statement that we should oppose the “falseness of Palestinian nationalism.”  I do not believe we should, nor do we have the right to, judge the national identity of the Palestinians. If they want to be a recognized nation and aspire to statehood, we should not oppose that as long as their aspirations are not used to negate ours.

By recognizing the rights of the Palestinians to control their own destinies and decide what kind of entity they want to be, we show strength and self-assurance in our position. If they really mean peace and amicable coexistence, a solution to the conflict can be found. The problem is not our need to negate their nationalism, it is their complete failure to recognize Jewish rights to live independently in the region. We can accept their nationalism without diminishing ours.

Howard Gluckman
Springfield

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