Saudi proposal aimed at destruction of Israel

Saudi proposal aimedat destruction of Israel
EDITOR:
There has been a lot of pro-Palestinian hype regarding settlements by Israelis on so-called Arab lands. Prior to the birth of Israel, a number of Jewish communities existed in what is now called the West Bank. They lived on land purchased by Jewish organizations. Even today, this land is registered to the Jewish National Fund, which granted Jewish settlers the right to live there.
Jordanian troops captured these lands in 1948, killing or imprisoning many of the settlers, laying waste to the land until 1967, when Israeli troops recaptured the area. Children of the original settlers were granted permission by the Israeli government to move back to the land of their parents. They moved back and rebuilt the decimated land. Bedouin Arabs noticed this and began to form villages around the area, realizing life there beat roaming around the desert. The idea that they were Palestinians had not occurred to them.
Not only are the Palestinians pushing for all the West Bank, including Hebron, where the Jews live in Jewish-owned land, they note on Palestinian maps that the city of Beersheba in Israel proper is an "illegal Israeli settlement."
Along come the Saudis with the proposal that all will be well, if the Israelis return to their pre-1967 borders. Acceptance would mean they also give up the old city of Jerusalem, which includes the Western Wall, the holiest shrine in Judaism. It is as much a shrine to the Jews as the Dome of the Rock is to Muslims.
Considering all the Palestinians are aiming for, it can be asked what the Saudi proposal really means. Any thinking person can recognize that a return to the 1967 borders under the present conditions would be the first step leading to the Arab plan to destroy Israel.
EDWARD KESSLER, M.D.
Howland
Screening for prostate cancer can save your life
EDITOR:
June is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. In 2002, approximately 189,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in American men. An estimated 30,200 men are expected to die from this disease. In Ohio, about 8,100 men will be diagnosed, and about 1,300 will die from prostate cancer this year.
If you are a man 50 or older, ask your doctor about getting the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and a digital rectal examination. African-American men, who are twice as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as other American men, and other high-risk men should start getting tested at age 45.
This Father's Day, encourage your father, your husband, your brother or a friend to talk to their doctors about screening.
I am a father and a husband. I know all about early detection and treatment of prostate cancer because I am also a prostate cancer survivor. Early detection of prostate cancer saved my life, and it could save yours or that of someone you love.
JOHN RICE
Poland
Nonsmokers sufferenough from smoke
EDITOR:
I am writing in response to the letter pertaining to the 31 cent tax increase on cigarettes being unfair to smokers.
I am all for the tax increases and only agree with the writer that this additional tax would go to the health or educational fund. Better yet, how about the money going to a nonsmokers fund? Since the smokers are putting us nonsmokers at a health risk, causing such deadly ailments as heart, cancer and respiratory diseases, it should only be fair that non-smokers are paid reparations for medical expenses caused by the smoke-infested environment.
How can the writer say that the non-smoker will not have to help reduce the debt just because the smoker is being discriminated against? As a nonsmoker, I feel being forced to breathe polluted air caused by cigarette smoke, which can shorten my life expectancy, is imposing on my rights. Smokers do have a choice. They can quit smoking and not have to pay the tax increase. Just think about how much money they can save by not having to pay for cigarettes and being able to live a healthier and longer life.
KAYE McFALL
Salem