Letters to the Editor
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

‘Abbas-Olmert Talks Will Signal Annapolis Positions’
Thearticle,”Abbas-Olmert Talks Will Signal Annapolis Positions,” ably described how the U.S., Israel, and the Palestinian Authority are intensifying their search for an agreement[Foreign,”Abbas-Olmert Talks Will Signal Annapolis Positions,” October 2,2007].
Unfortunately, however, the article did not address another key issue. Namely, that America, Israel, and PA leaders are all misreading theirownself-interest.
Any serious push for a two-state solution is guaranteed to fail and therefore embarrass and politically harm these respective leaders.
The key issue guaranteeing this failure is that the PA has never accepted a two-state solution without calling for the “right of return,” which would lead to the demise of Israel.
The sad reality is that if the PA ever accepts a two-state solution, which it will never do, the state would soon be undermined and taken over by Hamas (Iran), as just happenedinGaza.
Instead, the best possible near-term outcome for all is a continuation of the status quo, namely autonomy for the Palestinian Arabs, as exists now, with West Bank security remaining in Israeli hands, but with hopefully much improved economic relations between the two parties.
KENNETH ABRAMOWITZ
New York, N.Y.
‘The Shemita Debate’
Although the shemita year does pose challenges for the state of Israel, today there are a number of solutions that the rabbis are working on that make observance of this year less problematic [Oped, “The Shemita Debate,”October2,2007].
The tone of your column was one of ridicule and disdain for this special Biblical mitzvah, that Jews were unable to keep for nearly 2,000 years due to their exile, but are once more privileged to keep in the modern Jewish state.
In the Torah , God promises the Jews that those who keep shemita will be blessed, that “the land will bring forth increase for three years,” and that the Jews “will abide in the land in safety “(Leviticus, chapter25).
The rabbis put such a great value on observance of this mitzvah that they believed that the Babylonian exile was the consequence of not keeping the laws of Shemita .
DAVID SHERR
New York, N.Y.
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