Poets & Writers Magazine welcomes feedback from its readers. Please post a comment on select articles at pw.org, e-mail editor@pw.org, or write to Editor, Poets & Writers Magazine, 90 Broad Street, Suite 2100, New York, NY 10004. Letters accepted for publication may be edited for clarity and length.
Letters
Feedback from readers
I appreciated Philip Metres’s passionate and nuanced take on the Israel-Gaza disaster (“In This Time of War: The Muses Refuse Silence,” May/June 2024). I am a Jew who believes that, given the oppression and murder Jews have endured over and over throughout the centuries, the existence of a Jewish homeland is essential. On the other hand I have never supported the expansion, occupation, and oppression that the Israeli government has perpetrated throughout my lifetime, and I am horrified by the death toll in Gaza. It is a complicated, difficult situation with no easy answers. But I do believe, as Metres does, that there needs to be a solution that involves peaceful coexistence, rather than one group exterminating the other, and that the U.S. government needs to stop providing offensive weapons. I have been more afraid to be openly Jewish in the past seven months than ever before, and I fear it will only get worse. I am used to right-wing white supremacist antisemitism, but it is chilling that some of the liberal left (my people) blame all Jews for the Israeli government’s actions. It reminds me of the vilification of Muslims after 9/11 and the blaming of Chinese Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. And I’m even more scared by [what I interpret as] calls for the genocide of Jews as a solution to the genocide of Palestinians. The U.S. government has perpetrated huge atrocities all around the world for decades on end, and we don’t want our entire population, as well as American expats, to be demonized for the actions of our government. Thank you, Philip Metres, for focusing on the suffering the Israeli government has inflicted on Palestinians, without resorting to black-and-white thinking. We need more people who can explore complex ethical issues in an empathetic and articulate manner, and who better to do that than writers?
Rebecca Rose-Langston
Northampton, Massachusetts
I just finished reading Philip Metres’s article in the latest issue of Poets & Writers Magazine. Let me state at once that I am a Jew. I share the angst of the author over the agony caused by war. However, I need to take issue with several points in his piece. Israel, a sovereign nation, was attacked and its civilians raped and tortured, murdered, and kidnapped. Israelis did not seek this war. I do not believe Israel is conducting a genocide in Gaza. Israel seeks to eliminate the Hamas leadership who planned and executed the brutal massacre and rape of innocent Israeli citizens on October 7. The Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) [have said they] are going to extraordinary lengths to move civilians out of harm’s way. ... It suits Hamas to have civilian casualties. ... Hamas does not care about Palestinian civilians, as is [reflected in reports of] Hamas using schools and hospitals as repositories of missiles. Hamas uses civilians as human shields. It is Hamas who [have been] intent on Jewish/Israeli genocide. They have stated this unequivocally. ... Metres’s essay barely mentions the torture and rape inflicted upon the Israeli abductees by Palestinians. Nor does it mention the exultation expressed by [some] Palestinian civilians at the orgy of violence conducted against Jews on October 7. He makes no mention of the rabid Jew-hatred that has been sowed in the U.S. by [some] Palestinian and/or Hamas supporters—a hatred that leaves Jews in fear for their lives—much as they lived in fear (before the establishment of a Jewish state) for nearly three thousand years. I would like to refer Metres and the editors of Poets & Writers Magazine to an essay that appeared on April 16 in Tablet: “The Silencing of the Jewish Poet” by Maxim D. Shrayer. This essay points to the anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish bias in [some] American literary circles and institutions. Jewish poets and writers need to be heard, not silenced, by publications such as yours.
Jo-Anne Berelowitz
Austin, Texas
A reader’s letter in the May/June 2024 issue (“Reactions”) struck a chord with me. Arya F. Jenkins asked, “How about a section on poets and writers over sixty who are just now successfully launching their careers?” Reading this really lifted my spirits. Being a late starter in this field myself, I suddenly felt it might be possible to start late and end well. The editor’s reply led me to previous articles that did reflect older writers. So much more inspiration to feed on.
Marie-Louise Cornelius
Třebíč, Czech Republic