What if pharmacists start refusing to dispense HIV medication, on the grounds that the disease was most likely contacted through immoral activities?

Given the current political climate, in which religious beliefs are allowed to stomp on individual rights and privacy, in the name of "religious freedom" (read: freedom to limit the rights of others), it doesn't sound very far-fetched to me!

Furthermore, some women are prescribed birth-control pills for health reasons, due to heavy or irregular periods. Why is this fact so rarely mentioned in debate?

I don't shop at Target much anyway, so it isn't hard for me to give them up altogether. Some readers have mentioned that other chains have nearly identical policies. I will find out which chains those are, and avoid those stores as well, and urge my friends to do the same!

My bona fides: I am a contributor to the democratic party and have contributed to more than one democratic campaign, including John Kerry's and Al Gore's. I despise Republican leadership and all they stand for. I am not religious in any way whatsoever (though I also would not call myself an Atheist, that is not what this letter is about). I am of Irish descent, and as far as I know I have no Jewish ancestors.

Whew. Okay. Noam Chomsky has got to go. He is undoubtedly brilliant, well spoken, and a talented political writer. I happen to agree with him about nearly everything he says, with one big exception: the state of Israel.

The American Jews are in this predicament, and have an uneasy alliance with the religious right, because liberals favor a thugocracy (in the form of the Palestinian Authority), over a democracy (in the form of the state of Israel), in the misguided belief that the Israelis are oppressive bullies, and Palestinians are oppressed innocents.

Surely, Israel has, and has had, its failings. I could write a very detailed article about the history of the region. Unfortunately there is not space for that here, so let me outline some key points, and those with an open mind may do their own reading and see for themselves that I speak the truth.

The Palestinians have been waging an illegal war with Israel for decades. Soldiers are required to wear uniforms that clearly identify them as soldiers. This is a basic tenet of the international law of warfare. They choose instead to hide in civilian clothing and kill innocents.

Israel has also killed innocents, with a key difference: that has never been the *intent*. In fact, when your enemy refuses to face you on the battlefield, your choices are very limited. Israelis make every attempt to spare innocent life when they kill the soldiers of Hamas. The soldiers of Hamas make every attempt to maximize the loss of innocent Jews when they blow themselves up.

The UN consistently drafts language condemning Israel in strong terms. When the US Govt and the Israeli Govt ask that suicide bombing and terrorism also be condemned, they are always met with great resistance. This must contribute to the lopsided view of guilt on the part of Israel in the international community, as well as in the American liberal community.

I wish I could go on forever, but let me leave you with this: original estimates of the number of "ethnic jordanians" (now called palestinians) that were inhabiting Israel/Palestine at the time of the formation of Israel were about 100,000-200,000. That estimate has gone up many times in the intervening years to bolster the Palestinian claim to the land, but no estimate I have seen puts the number greater than 900,000. There are now, by some estimates, 15 million "Palestinians" claiming a right to the disputed lands of Israel. Where did they come from? Answer: all of the surrounding nations have sent their rabble rousers and criminals there to lay claim to Israel for decades. Certainly there are many who call themselves Palestinian now that are legitimately descended from the original "Ethnic Jordanians". Just as certainly, there are many who are not!

To believe otherwise is to believe they have multiplied their numbers anywhere from 15 times (by the generous estimates of today) to over 100 times (by the more conservative original estimates) in the span of 50 years.

Plain and simple, most so-called Palestinians are imposters who are merely interested in the destruction of Israel.

I invite you not to take my word for any of this, but to do your own reading on the subject. Perhaps your eyes will be opened. Perhaps if enough eyes are opened, the Jews will no longer need to ally themselves with the harbinger of their destruction.