Letters to the Editor
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‘Hertzberg’s Constitution’
Having read other columns in the New Yorker by Hendrik Hertzberg about our electoral process, I’m surprised that you’ve left out a key element of his position, one that would certainly affect the rest of the process down the line [Editorial, “Hertzberg’s Constitution,” August6,2007].
It regards gerrymandering, which he did mention at the end of this week’s column.
As I understand it, Mr. Hertzberg proposes that each state be broken up into voting districts by forming population squares starting simultaneously from each corner of the state.
Each state would be allotted the number of squares its population deserved relative to all the other states in the country.
In short, no gerrymandering; you simply vote where you live, and your representative represents whoever lives in his or her district. If the population changes, by golly, the representative might have to change — or be replaced.
Were this approach to be taken here in America, and I’d certainly support it, one could imagine electoral votes being distributed according to the will of the districts. For this reason, I don’t believe Mr. Hertzberg is being inconsistent.
Joseph McCarthy
Brooklyn, N.Y.
‘Water or War’
Mr. Bard discusses the pitfalls of desalinization as a way to combat Israel’s water shortage yet does not mention a successful, cheaper alternative: the construction of 192 reservoirs by Jewish National Fund [Oped, “Water or War,” August 1, 2007].
With a combined storage capacity of more than 34 billion gallons, these reservoirs capture flood and runoff water and recycle waste water for agricultural use, freeing up enough freshwater to meet the needs of more than 1.2 million Israelis each year and increasing Israel’s annual water supply by 10%.
In a rare show of collaboration, JNF led a joint effort between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to restore the Alexander River, a severely polluted 20-mile stream that runs through Jewish and Arab towns.
A series of JNF reservoirs and treatment plants receive waste water from a contaminated tributary before it can reach the river; once treated, the water is reused for irrigation.
While many social and political factors must converge to effectively deal with Israel’s water deficit, JNF is committed to mitigating the problem with practical, immediate solutions.
Ronald Lauder
President
Jewish National Fund of America
New York, N.Y.
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