As the Israel-Hamas War Rages On

More from our inbox:

• Baseball Changes, to Jeers and Cheers
• Children’s Gun Deaths
• Turtles and Us

To the Editor:

Re “Israel Orders Siege; Hamas Issues Threats” (front page, Oct. 10):

As an emergency room physician on duty five blocks from the twin towers on 9/11, I witnessed the carnage of innocents. I grieve for Israel. Then, as now, the world closed ranks with the victims.

I pray that in its counterstrikes Israel will not commit our mistake. Instead of securing one victory and a lasting peace, we Americans went too far and lost not only two wars, thousands of lives and trillions of dollars, but also our moral standing in the world.

Antonio J. Dajer
Riverside, Conn.

To the Editor:

Re “The Attack on Israel Demands Unity and Resolve” (editorial, Oct. 10):

This inexcusable and horrific attack by Hamas has been a long time coming. It is the symptom of Israel’s disregard for Palestinian human rights and international law, which watchdogs like Amnesty International are constantly reporting on.

The editorial board is swayed by deference to U.S. foreign policy orthodoxy. It fears that terrorists will have “veto” power over Israel’s future, by disrupting the Saudi-Israeli rapprochement efforts, yet Israel has veto power over the disenfranchised West Bank population.

It reminds both sides to respect international law, but fails to mention Israel’s blatant disregard for international law when it comes to settlements and collective punishment. Any discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that fails to mention the half-century occupation of the West Bank is already dubious.

None of this is to justify Hamas’s campaign of antisemitic terrorism.

Unwavering Western support of Israel endorses its settlements and war crimes, and any real solution to this conflict requires cutting off U.S. military aid to Israel. Please hold Israel up to a standard, any standard — international law preferably.

I empathize deeply with all who are suffering in this conflict and hope for a just, peaceful future.

Theodore Yohalem Shouse
Montreal

To the Editor:

That did not take long. Just a few days after Hamas launched its vicious attacks, the editorial board has already gone down a familiar path, chastising Israel for the loss of civilian lives arising from its well-justified retaliation, accusing Israel of imposing “collective punishment,” and calling for an end to the “cycle of violence” (as if both sides share the blame).

No doubt the utter savagery to which Israel has been subjected will soon be forgotten and we will hear another standard accusation: that its response is “disproportionate.”

Kenneth A. Margolis
Chappaqua, N.Y.

To the Editor:

As long as Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled Israel, we have plunged into deeper hatred as his government erodes Palestinians’ rights and grabs their land and future.

This is no way to support dignity and achieve long-term peace on either side.

Tapani Talo
Scarsdale, N.Y.

Baseball Changes, to Jeers and Cheers

To the Editor:

Re “Baseball Has Lost Its Poetry,” by Jesse Nathan (Opinion guest essay, nytimes.com, Oct. 5):

As a 90-year-old baseball fan, starting with my Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940, I have watched the evolution of the game and its schedule and would like to kill all of the changes.

It’s bad enough that the clock, the base size, the automatic walk, etc. have imposed “time” on the game; the schedule is a nightmare. I want to watch my team play only teams in its own league, not every other team. The old way built classic rivalries that are now dying.

The season is too long. It also has a negative effect on players, contributing to injuries. Give me the old 154-game season (or even fewer games, given the postseason), then a World Series before it gets really cold.

Alan Wallach
Englewood, N.J.

To the Editor:

The pitch clock speeding up games is a good thing, though maybe not for vendors trying to sell a few more hot dogs or poets bemoaning a betrayal of the game’s pastoral 19th-century roots.

The real sin is the designated hitter rule, which robs the game of strategy, complexity and the chance that a lousy hitter might do something unexpectedly wondrous.

Catchers are notoriously slow afoot, so should we have designated runners? What about a designated thrower for outfielders with bad arms?

Now I am a Mets fan, so I know suffering. Arguably, speeding up the game with the pitch clock puts us out of our misery more quickly.

But the designated hitter rule makes the game more boring, less likely to keep baseball fans arguing through the cold winter months. What are we going to do? Watch the Knicks?

Bob Liff
New York

To the Editor:

As Jesse Nathan points out, the compressing of time on the field diminishes the game of baseball. The filling of time off the field is another factor.

Spectators are entertained with videos on the Jumbotron, directed to their phones for contests and exhorted by fake cheers. The game has become one of many entertainments at the stadium.

Something Mr. Nathan won’t have to lament this year, however, is “the oxymoron of baseball in Boston in November.”

Gary DeCoker
Dublin, Ohio

Children’s Gun Deaths

To the Editor:

Re “Study Finds Gun Deaths of Children Are Up” (news article, Oct. 7):

The astonishing and terrible findings of an 87 percent increase in gun fatalities for people under 18 between 2011 and 2021 make clear the frightening public health emergency occurring in the United States today.

Every parent, every child, every person who cares about children should be demanding gun safety features in their loudest voices. Demand them of local politicians (here in Pennsylvania the state legislature has taken the right to control guns away from the local government), demand them of senators and representatives at the state and national levels. Parents can ask the parents in the homes where their children visit whether there are guns, and if so, how they are stored.

Children are dying totally preventable deaths! How can anyone be opposed to the regulations that will change that?

As a 79-year-old retired pediatrician, I have been around long enough to see children die of a host of diseases that we can (and do) now prevent, so it is heartbreaking to see that child deaths are going up — because of something that’s a lot easier to prevent than polio was.

Barbara Gold
Philadelphia

Turtles and Us

To the Editor:

Re “What Do We Owe Turtles?,” by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Opinion guest essay, Sept. 24):

May humans protect turtles — and all wildlife — with the vigor we exert to protect our selfish wants. No turtles, no us.

Ann Bradley
Los Angeles