To the Editor:
To Mayor Koch, I say let’s take a look at the borders of Palestine as they existed May 14, 1948 and ask ourselves this: If the Arabs say the state must be Arab but Jews can live here as second-class citizens, how many of our parents and grandparents would have said, "Great?" How many would have said, "OK?" Now how many would have said, "I’ll die fighting first?"
Fast forward 63 years later and we should look at the Palestinians living within those same borders with the same three questions.
As a Jew who considers himself a Democrat, I do not envision any Jewish state to include an Arab population whose choices are second-class status, deportation or extermination. Short of a miracle, those are the only three alternatives if we want a Jewish state without accepting an independent Palestinian state.
What Republican congressional candidate can offer a reasonable solution with a sufficient amount of sense that Jews can live with while Palestinians stop trying to exterminate us? All they are is grandstanding for votes.
You remember Republicans circa 1970, don’t you? Do you really think that when push comes to shove they will do anything different today than they would have done in 1970? When you answer that question, Mayor Koch, you’ll stop grandstanding about supporting Republicans because you don’t like the president’s position.
Sam Prince
Dallas
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