Thomas Friedman is very wrong in the advice he gives Israel in his column "Israel must focus on its own races," Nov. 11. It reminds me of the treacherous biblical advice of Achitofel in Samuel 2 16:20-21.
Mr. Friedman recommends Israel agree to the Palestinian leader President Mahmoud Abbas' demand that Israel return to the pre-1967 borders and then everything will be good.
The columnist is forgetting a few minor details such as:
A significant percentage of Palestinians support Hamas, which calls for the extermination of the Jews of Israel and lobs missiles into Israel.
Abbas is steadfast on the "right of return," in which about 2.5 million Palestinian offspring of the original refugees be allowed to settle in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa.
That King Solomon's "Wailing Wall" Jerusalem will not be part of Israel.
That, in Arabic, Abbas' party calls for the extermination of Israel in stages, where the first stage is a sort of a settlement with Israel.
I believe there are enough things for us to do here at home than give bad advice to a very small country in the Middle East that is fighting for its very survival.
Hiram Cohen
Colonie