To the Editor:

Re: “The Wrong to Remain Silent by Ariela Rutkin-Becker,” Opinion, Jan. 27 & “Gaza Razed: Will Israel Be Held accountable? by Munier Salem,” Opinion, Jan. 29

Having read the two most recent Opinion columns on the situation in Gaza, and the resulting flurry of responses, I have been silent for long enough. I worked as a medic in Ashqelon, Israel when the Qassams were falling. We knew when a rocket would hit 20 seconds in advance, and all one could do was wait, not knowing where it would strike. Ariela Rutkin-Becker surely does not know that terror, as I do, for she referred to a program to relocate Israeli youth as a cause she “never would have personally supported.”

Munier Salem’s column on Thursday (“Gaza Razed”) shows the same defect: a basic ignorance of the facts on the ground. For instance, Mr. Salem ridicules the idea that Palestinians could hide weapons under non-military guises. My friend Simon might disagree. As an Israeli soldier, he was once manning a checkpoint in the West Bank when he found several kilograms of high explosive hidden in a Palestinian ambulance. On the other hand, as a medic I transported sick Palestinians to Israeli hospitals, at personal risk. The contrast is astounding and illuminating. To Mr. Salem and Ms. Rutkin-Becker: Get off your soapboxes, for the facts belie your feelings of self-righteousness.

Jonathan G. Panter ’12