Readers sound off on Palestinian statehood, supporting cops and the BOE

Davidson, N.C.: Benjamin Netanyahu has been voted in again as Israel’s prime minister and has a coalition of far-right conservatives. His proposals are seen as extreme and would change the government.

The primary concern of the opposition is the kind of democracy Israel should be. However, the most outstanding issue for the past 75 years is Palestine. While proposals to establish Palestine as a nation have been rejected by Palestinian leadership, this issue needs to be addressed in a peaceful way. Over these years, times have changed, as have circumstances. The Abraham Accords opened the door for Arab nations to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, along with Egypt and Jordan, which already have ongoing relations with Israel. Several other Arab countries now have informal relations with Israel and will probably formalize them if a Palestinian nation is established.

What is needed to end this conflict is action, not words. The U.S. should take the lead. In a preliminary initiative, President Biden should ask Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu to appoint representatives to meet with his emissary to discuss options that could be implemented for a Palestinian state. Jordan’s King Abdullah II would play a significant role in reaching any agreement, so he too should have a representative. His participation might affect Israel’s West Bank annexation plan. The U.S. official would serve as a mediator during this initial meeting. If there is a positive outcome, the four leaders should meet to discuss and formalize an acceptable agreement.

If they can achieve a two-state solution, then Israel’s internal issues can be addressed. Sorrell Chesin

Brooklyn: Re (“Kavanagh lays down the law,” Feb. 12): Of course the senior management at the FDNY is resentful and unhappy about working for the current commissioner. Laura Kavanagh is as unqualified as can be. Aside from a few years of doing some press releases to promote diversity, she has zero experience running an organization that large or running our fire department. The only reason she is there is because of political patronage to the Obamas and the de Blasios. Choosing the best person for the job is no longer a concern in woke America. Glenn Brown

Yonkers: A police officer has died at the hands of a career criminal with a record of more than 20 arrests for violent crimes (“NYPD cop a ‘great person, great father’ dies 3 days after being shot in B’klyn,” Feb. 8). The accused killer should have been permanently locked away if not for the lax laws of our penal system. The blood of officer Adeed Fayaz is on the hands of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. Their legislation is responsible for the rise in crime throughout the state. They have tied the hands of our police and district attorneys and made our streets unsafe to walk. It seems they’re more concerned about the color of those being arrested rather than their behavior. It is also time for our lawmakers to do something about Facebook Marketplace. Too often, criminals use this network to set up buyers (or sellers). Nicholas Maffei

Farmingdale, L.I.: I tip my hat to the City Council members who walked out in protest of defunding the police (“Demand to support cutting sparks mass exodus from Council’s progressives,” Feb. 11). Ironically, two pages later in the same paper, a headline reads “After-school cop patrols.” That is the answer to all the city’s problems. Crimes in transit? Send more cops! Shootings outside schools? Send more cops! And then the idiocy of wanting to defund and reduce the number of cops still continues with progressives. It is truly mind-boggling when crime is so rampant in this city and the cops are the only hope for any type of safety. Give them a raise and renew their contract already! Laura Cantatore

Jackson Heights: Aren’t the people committing the shootings in the city aware that Gov. Hochul has banned firearms from “sensitive” areas? Oh, wait — that applies only to people with legal pistol licenses. Never mind. Glenn B. Jacobi

Manhattan: Shame, shame, and more shame on you. Bronx native and jazz vocalist Samara Joy rocked the music world by being named best new artist at the Grammys and you completely dissed her. Is this a form of resentment or incompetence? Even international pop star Adele was elated about Joy’s being chosen (as seen on the broadcast) but her own hometown paper couldn’t find two lines to write about her on the day after the big show. Nice going for ignoring our home girl. Steve Wilson

Manhattan: Re “Hope on the Board of Elections” (editorial, Feb. 8): Judge Carol Edmead certainly has an impressive track record. I hope other party leaders will appoint similarly qualified individuals when future openings arise. The frustration voters have had with the NYC BOE stems from the agency being staffed with politically connected patronage hires rather than a highly professional team of election administrators. Edmead should begin her tenure by getting the BOE to implement professional hiring practices, including recruiting staff through public job postings, like any other government agency. For generations, the partisan structure of the BOE has failed voters. Until it is fundamentally reformed, we will never have the elections New Yorkers deserve. The responsibility for enacting these reforms falls on Albany, and we encourage the Legislature to continue the long-overdue process of reforming election administration in New York. New election commissioners can lead the way by making the NYC BOE more transparent about staff hiring and management. Betsy Gotbaum, executive director, Citizens Union

Richmond Hill: I think we are all sick and tired of reading about who has walked off with top-secret government papers. How hard is it to have someone sign for the document and return it at the proper time? If we keep track of it, it will be less likely to get put in someone’s shoebox for eternity. Robert Clolery

Queens Village: Enough already with these MAGA idiots on the balloon. If the U.S. military would have shot it down early, the MAGAs would be crying that we could have gotten important data if we had waited a bit. Or they would say we put lives in danger when it was over land, just as President Biden had said. I think Biden should order the military to send up our own surveillance balloon, but not over China. Let’s send it permanently over Mar-a-Lago! Lawrence Krasner

Chicago: While making his pact with the devil prior to his win as speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy should’ve insisted that the so-called Freedom Caucus change its name as part of the deal. Freedom from what? Rational thought? Coherent speech? Is there any doubt after observing Marjorie Taylor Greene and her cohorts during the State of the Union address that these extremists not only occupy the outer fringes of their own party but mankind as well? If they were real elephants, they’d surely be driven from the herd. It’s long overdue that this group is finally and forever recognized for what it truly is: a mindless, self-absorbed band of publicity-seeking robots controlled by an evil madman living in a Floridian swamp. Bob Ory

Manhattan: The Republican representatives who misbehaved at the SOTU address ought to be ashamed of themselves. I’ve seen third-graders with better manners. Chris Job

Beechhurst: In her reply to my letter that corrupt old Uncle Joe has got to go, Voicer Ellen Settanni shows that she’s totally bought into President Biden’s disgustingly divisive rhetoric (prominently displayed in his Philadelphia speech last year) about how MAGA Republicans pose an existential threat to our democracy. As I see it, an overwhelming majority of MAGA supporters were aghast at what transpired on Jan. 6, 2021, and this administration’s attempt to lump them in the same box with those Trump idolators who disrupted the peaceful transfer of power was an exercise in sheer political propaganda. James Hyland