What’s Your Beef With Avigdor Lieberman?

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Your January 7 editorial, “The Lieberman Question,” attacks Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman for calling the Palestinian Authority illegitimate and for accusing Turkey’s prime minister of lying. Yet you haven’t told us why these were bad choices of words.

The Palestinian president remains in office even though presidential elections were supposed to have been held a year ago. In America that does not happen, nor in Israel. Is not the label “illegitimate” accurate?

Similarly, Turkey’s current leadership chooses to score points with other Middle Eastern countries by being hostile and adversarial toward Israel. Perhaps Lieberman had good reasons for calling Turkey’s leader a liar.

It is important that you define the basis for your objections rather than expect that by an act of faith we will all concur with your negative view of Israel’s foreign minister.

Jim Heft
New York, N.Y.