Let's admit to extremists on both sides in the Mideast

Charles Krauthammer's July 15 column is one-sided for the support of Israel ("Israel's Existence Is the Real Issue at Stake"). What is never mentioned are the extremes that exist on both sides. We all know about the extreme Palestinians, but what about the extreme Israelis?

First, the Israeli Defense Forces are extreme in their operations. They overreact to attacks by destroying and bulldozing civilian areas where their capabilities are clearly at an advantage and disproportionate.

Second are the Israeli settlements in the West Bank that are classified as illegal by the World Court. The settlements require the military and the security separation barrier or "apartheid wall" for protection. Israel has created "Bantustans" just like South Africa to protect these people who radically claim it as their birthright to be there.

Third, the demographics of Israel are a problem. Israel has a population of 6.2 million, 1.2 million of which are Arab. The other 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are not citizens of Israel. If all the Palestinian Arabs were citizens of Israel, then a purely Jewish state is in jeopardy.

Just as Hamas wishes to create an Islamic Palestinian state, the current Jewish state of Israel wants to maintain a state for one particular religion and ethnic group.

PHILLIP SOFIS
Mt. Lebanon

Direct to Oakland

I have read with interest the various opinions that people have about the North Shore Connector. I would like to make a suggestion to the Port Authority of Allegheny County. Has it ever considered running buses from the suburbs directly to Oakland? A large percentage of people commuting from the suburbs work in Oakland, and many for institutions that pay for bus transportation for their employees.

This would be a tremendous savings to the people who have this benefit. It would also make it more convenient to travel to Oakland by bus if the route were direct, rather than riders having to transfer in Downtown.

I work in Oakland and would certainly use public transportation if it were convenient.

MARILYN WALGORA
West Mifflin

Truth over caution

Near the end of the July 17 article "Mainline Denominations Losing Impact on Nation," religion sociologist Scott L. Thumma refers to the reluctance of national church leaders to make any bold doctrinal moves for fear of alienating significant numbers of members.

He states: "If you make a strong claim, you lose people. It requires the national leaders to be more cautious about what they say and about what they are going to stand up for."

I am thankful that I am part of a mainline denomination (the Christian and Missionary Alliance) that bases its doctrine squarely on the word of God, as revealed in the Bible, and that I sit under the teaching of a pastor who boldly proclaims the truth and doesn't preach to "tickle the ears" of men.

As he says, one day he will be responsible before God for the souls of all those in his congregation, so he dare not compromise God's word to be more "acceptable" to the world. And, contrary to churches that have tampered with or ignored biblical truths and are losing members, my church has seen phenomenal growth in the last decade. As my pastor also says, "When Christ -- not a program, politics or a social agenda -- is lifted up, men are drawn to him."

When properly proclaimed and understood, God's word is timeless and relevant to all people everywhere. The "caution," then, that Dr. Thumma speaks of can -- and should -- surely be tossed to the wind.

BEV COLLIER
Sheraden

Society's vanguard?

I was surprised by the first few paragraphs of Steve Levin's July 17 article "Mainline Denominations Losing Impact on Nation." I do not have the sense that the "mainline" churches were society's vanguard in the 20th century. Union leaders, leftist political figures, Catholics, Jews and Quakers were among the foot soldiers of the civil rights movement and of the anti-war movement -- and among the leaders. As were black pastors. And, certainly, "mainline" clergy.

You could call me a "foot soldier" in the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement. I went to the August 1963 "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom" (its full title). That march, incidentally, was largely coordinated by Bayard Rustin, a gay African-American man and ex-Communist.

Martin Luther King Jr. famously said that 11 o'clock on Sunday -- when Christians are in church -- was the most segregated hour in America. On the Western Michigan University Web site, in the university library archives, you can see what he thought about the churches' activity (in December 1963): "Now, I'm sure that if the church had taken a stronger stand all along, we wouldn't have many of the problems that we have. The first way that the church can repent, the first way that it can move out into the arena of social reform is to remove the yoke of segregation from its own body. Now, I'm not saying that society must sit down and wait on a spiritual and moribund church as we've so often seen. I think it should have started in the church, but since it didn't start in the church, our society needed to move on. The church, itself, will stand under the judgment of God."

ARLENE WEITZ WEINER
Squirrel Hill

Injustice to babies

As a breast-feeding mother of a 2-week-old, I knew that I was opening up myself and my daughter to some degree of controversy. Though I have met some people who are disgusted by breast-feeding, with the national breast-feeding campaign going on I had hoped that this natural act would be met with tolerance, at least.

Recently, when visiting the Allegheny County Courthouse, I learned that the national campaign had not reached everyone yet.

During the trip, when my daughter cried for milk, I was directed to the children's room to nurse her. I quickly headed there, toting along a screaming baby.

A woman got a disgusted look on her face and said, "Can't you just go into the bathroom or something?" I was horrified. She was actually telling me to feed my baby in the bathroom. Bottle-fed babies don't eat in the bathroom, adults don't eat in the bathroom, so why should my baby have to?

I ended up standing in the bathroom, balancing my little girl, while feeding her. As I was doing that, I thought about all the mothers with their babies and small children and the terrible conditions in which they would be forced to breast-feed at the courthouse. It is an outrage and needs to be addressed right away so no one else will have to suffer.

MARIA NOTARO
West Mifflin