In the August 24, 2005 article, Pulling up Stakes Doesn’t Mean Israelis are Settling for Less, Gerald D. Skoning gave a rather weak and disturbing metaphor for the Israeli government’s eviction of Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip.

The article about the Arab-Israeli orchestra is a welcome change to the usual coverage of the Middle East in the media (“Barenboim seeks peace with his baton,” Aug. 23)

By warning against British policies towards Israel, London Mayor Ken Livingstone is not trying to appease the terrorists as Sheryl Jedlinski claims, but rather is considering how British citizens feel towards their government’s positions (“There’s no future in appeasing terrorists,” Fencepost, Aug. 22). There is obviously disconnect between the country’s 1.5 million Muslim citizens and the greater population, and Livingstone is trying to figure out why it exists.

A grim picture of a Gaza settler’s life emerges from the editorial “Clinging to Gaza,” (Aug. 17) a picture that is not entirely accurate. The article offers a wrongful depiction of settlers living among animals just waiting to attack.

In his letter (“Breaking ties to Israel,” Aug. 17), Isaac Cohen cannot understand how the Presbyterian Church dares to divest from companies such as Caterpillar, which sells to Israel the equipment used to bulldoze the homes and farms of innocent Palestinians.