Letters to the Editor: Why is Ta-Nehisi Coates getting so much backlash for his book?
To the editor: Speaking as one who has visited Israel and the Palestinian territories three times, I experienced first-hand the same undemocratic laws and regulations as author Ta-Nehisi Coates. (“Here’s what Ta-Nehisi Coates got right about Israel and Palestinians,” Opinion, Oct. 15)
These differences in the way Israelis and Palestinians are treated have been the subject of numerous reports by human rights groups and the United Nations. But when a much-decorated African American writer brings up these sadly obvious examples of segregation, he is vilified by conservative fellow journalists, including columnist Jonah Goldberg.
Yes, there are terrorists among the millions of Palestinians residing between “the river and the sea.” Yet collective punishment against all non-Israelis, it seems to me, flies in the face of any notion of democratic statesmanship.
Eileen White Read, Santa Barbara
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To the editor: Seeing just the headline, I was at first nervous to read Goldberg’s excellent piece. Having read the column, I want to thank Goldberg for exposing the lazy reporting of Coates’ purposefully biased trip to Israel.
I listened to a New York Times interview with him and learned a lot about his position. He needs to take another trip to Israel and get some further education on the history of the conflict, which is indeed very complicated.
Paul Zimmelman, Marina del Rey
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To the editor: Goldberg suggests that Coates spend five minutes on Wikipedia to find the Houtis’ slogan on Israel. That slogan is indeed racist, pernicious and destructive, and acts of terror like the Oct. 7 attack not only push any dreams of peace further away, but also unleash more acts of even greater terror in response.
But Goldberg himself might spend some time on Wikipedia reading about Israel’s illegal settlements, its apartheid policies and the racist, inhumane reality those policies create as Israel takes more and more land and pushes more and more Palestinians out.
The heinous attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, does need mentioning — but the causes of such heinous acts, born in the barbarous reality of Palestine, need mention too.
Robert Ferguson, Atascadero, Calif.
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To the editor: Did the headline writer for Goldberg’s column read the article?
I was interested to find out what Coates “got right” in Goldberg’s opinion. I was happy to find out that it appears he got nothing right. So, why the disconnect between column and headline?
Roselee Packham, Santa Monica
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To the editor: Goldberg, with whom I often agree, fails to acknowledge the way Israel’s horrific treatment of Palestinians since 1948 has contributed to terrorist recruitment.
His claim that the Palestinians “probably would have had a viable state long ago” had they eschewed violence ignores the Israeli violence, the settlements and the explicit goal and actions of a significant portion of Israeli society to expel the Palestinians from Palestine.
Goldberg’s assertion that Israel must defend itself or die is true, and I fully support its right to do so. But he fails to admit that Israel has options for how to defend itself.
For example, instead of leveling Gaza, it could have reinforced its border such that Hamas could not cross it again. That would have come at considerable cost, but there is no mystery about how to do it, and thousands of children would still be alive had they done so.
Instead, Israel again choose an escalation of violence that will create more hatred and more terrorists.
Michael Snare, San Diego
