Supporters of Israel rally at USC on May 8.

 Like Hala Alyan, who wonders if recent protests signify a turning point in support for the Palestinians, I mourn the loss of innocent lives in Gaza. I have some questions for her:

• Could the war and death of innocent Palestinians have been avoided completely if Hamas had not entered Israel and murdered and captured so many Israelis on Oct. 7?
  
  

• What would Palestinian life be like in the Gaza Strip if Hamas, instead of building an extensive tunnel and weapons system, had spent that money building a thriving economy?
  
  

• Do you really think that Hamas is interested in the well-being of the Palestinian people?
  
  

• The Hamas doctrine calls for destruction of Israel. Do you believe that Israel has a right to exist? Do you believe in a two-state solution?
  
  

• Who could best represent the Palestinian people in trying to create a Palestinian state? What should be the next step?

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Hopefully the day will come when Israelis and Palestinians live in peace.

Howard Sherwood, Los Angeles

As a 72-year-old secular Jew, I keep reading that my generation has a more favorable view of Israel than the younger generation because we remember when Israel was the proud underdog winning existential wars. We also know that at Israel's founding, it aspired to be a "light unto the nations," in accordance with that biblical phrase.

Israel's actions in Gaza betray that creed.

Asking me if I support Israel is like asking me if I support the police. I support them when they do the right thing; I do not when they do the wrong thing. I am not tribal.

To my fellow Jews who justify the catastrophe that is Gaza because of Hamas' Oct. 7 barbarity, I say we must be better than that. Otherwise, with an eye for an eye and then some, we surrender the light that marked Israel's founding.

Alan B. Posner, Santa Barbara

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Last February, in a poll conducted in Israel, 68% of Israeli Jewish respondents expressed opposition to the transfer of any food and medicine into Gaza. Eighty percent of right-wing Israeli Jews were opposed, as were 39% of Israeli Jews on the left.

There is a hole in humanity. As one very old woman, I am sad and shocked beyond belief, stopped in my tracks as though a cement hand has pushed me over and down.

And now, as I type, Israel strikes Rafah with American military might. Who can be surprised by Gen Z support for Palestinians?

Katherine Holden, Ojai

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