To the Editor:
Max Bryer's op-ed on July 13 ("Israel's Right to Self-Defense") is embarrassingly simplistic. He entirely misses the complexity of the current Middle East conflagration.
First, the international community is not against Israel "react[ing] in any way." Rather, it condemns a disproportionate reaction, namely the destruction of non-military targets, such as Gaza's electric power plant. Collective punishment violates the Fourth Geneva Convention. This is what the international community condemns, not Israel's "right to protect its own citizens" as Bryer claims.
Second, Bryer's characterization of the international community as anti-Semitic is a low blow and ill-informed. If the international community said my views were wrong, I would look inward, evaluate myself and do more research rather than stoop to invective.
Finally, neither the conflict nor the solution is as simple as Bryer paints it to be. I choose not to delve into the contentious history here, but I think it is worth stating an obvious fact: the peoples of Palestine and Israel have lived their entire lives mired in violent conflict. Many of them are scarred and have been so utterly wronged that they are unable to really open their hearts to a solution. If there is any hope for positive change, it will require all of us to inform ourselves about the reality of the situation, rather than jumping to simplistic conclusions.
