Kudos to our US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, for asking the State Dept. to stop using the term “occupied territories” and to just refer to the area as the “West Bank”…as it should be!

The old adage, “Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never harm me” is only a half-truth. In fact, nomenclature and references by title are what formulate the perception of the situation. When we ourselves perpetuate the lie of “occupied territories” we are validating and condoning biases in the media. We need to take a step back to ponder on the linguistics and semantics we were used to. The label “occupation” is clearly putting the onus and blame on Israel. Perceptions and semantics are paramount when forming lasting impressions worldwide. One cannot mitigate the ripple effect on attitudes and perceptions—it’s all in the shade of meaning! Let’s call upon the global media and the entire Jewish community to respond accordingly. David Friedman is on the right track!

Ruby Kaplan

Teaneck