Jews have been persecuted

I am writing this letter as both an American citizen and an Israeli citizen.

Seven million or so Israelis live surrounded by over 100 million Muslims that pray every day, five times a day, for the destruction and annihilation of the tiny state of Israel and the Jewish people.

The Jewish people have been victimized by hatred, persecution and preaching against them for over 2,000 years. Yet we don't hear or see any Jewish person putting bombs in Germany, killing themselves in the act, or burning down churches, mosques, embassies or innocent civilians.

The Israelis are "weak" in two instances: we love our children dearly and we want to live. We look forward to the future and the sun that will surely rise the next day. Israel should not be blamed for defending its homes, its citizens and its future. Would any sane person in the world accept living with hundreds of missiles fired daily at their houses and keep quiet?

Stop criticizing Israel and believing every piece of propaganda that you see in the news. Israel needs to defend itself because when the world needed to help the Jewish people, very few did. Most of them kept quiet while watching.

When the Arabs lay down their weapons, there would be peace. When the Israelis lay down theirs, there will be no more Israel. Elisa Dembsky Oak Park