National Boundaries Define a Hero

Re “Armed Occupier Is Hardly a Hero,” Commentary, July 9: Palestinian definition of a hero: One who walks into a civilian area with bombs hidden under his/her clothes and detonates the explosives, killing himself/herself and innocent civilians.

Palestinian definition of an occupier: One who, after a war, settles land that was won in a war where the settler was attacked by invading forces intent on annihilating the attacked country, and the land became the possession of the future settler by repelling the invading forces. Is it any wonder why Israel will never be at peace with its Arab neighbors?

Jonathan Grossman

Huntington Beach

How does a young soldier tell the difference between a [Palestinian] student and a self-destructive bomber? How do you explain your heroes to Jewish teenagers waiting in line at a disco and being killed and maimed by a human bomb? Is your bomber a hero? When is the last time a Jewish human bomb destroyed your children and kept you away from public buses and shopping centers out of fear? Try peaceful coexistence, and the soldier will also go to classes without fear.

Leon Sturman

Sherman Oaks