To the editor:
Thomas Friedman still doesn't get it. We all now know that the Oslo process was fatally flawed from the very beginning because Yasser Arafat never had any intention of moving towards peace. His supposedly "moderate" successor may wear a suit, but Mahmoud Abbas is no more interested in peace and has rejected the very concept of two states for two peoples.
The unpalatable choices Friedman claims Israel faces bear no resemblance to reality. We no longer govern the Palestinian Arabs and that's not going to change. We dream of peace, but recognize those dreams remain without any reasonable chance of fulfillment until a new generation of Palestinian Arabs grow to maturity without having imbibed the poisonous propaganda of Arafat and Abbas.
In the meantime, we will continue to thrive with our state that's both Jewish and a vigorous democracy. Despite Friedman's fantasies, neither of those core characteristics are in any danger.
Sincerely,
Alan Stein