Dear FRONTLINE,

Having visited Israel and the West Bank four times since April 2002, I can attest to the violence of these radical settlers who attack and often maim or kill Palestinian farmers and villagers, poison their sheep and water, and destroy their fields and olive groves.

Israel will continue to have problems with these religious maniacs until it removes every single settlement from Gaza and the West Bank. There is no legal Jewish settlement outside of the green line, and Sharon is reaping what he sowed when he undertook to build settlements for Jews in Palestine, in contravention of all international laws.

Mary Westwell
Beverly Hills, California

Dear FRONTLINE,

Dear Frontline,

The “Poor Palestinians,” they teach their children from a young age to hate and kill. You have Iran, Syria and the PA sending money to teach children “the way to get into to heaven is to have the blood of Jewish children on their hands. How quick we forget May 2004, a 34-year-old mother Tali Hatuel, who was eight months pregnant, and her four children: Hila, 11; Hadar, 9; Roni, 7; and Merav, 2 were murdered, shot at point blank range.

When you speak of the close knit family, you are right they are a close knit family. If someone did this to your family, how much could you take? Its very easy to sit hear and ready the New York Times and talk about your liberal ideas, but what about the people who have to watch their children die.

Centuries have proven and President Bush knows it to, the only thing that these blood thirsty “Poor Palestinians,” understand is strength and fear. Give them more land and they will just want more, more, more….until all the Jews are in the sea.

If you kill children and innocent people you DO NOT get rewarded.

These Hilltop people watch as their children’s blood flows in the Street. I would defend my children. How about you?

Ted Schwartz
Manhattan, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

I believe your show on Israeli extremists was anti-semitic. The truth is that if Israelis wanted to 'exterminate' the Palestinian people, they could. But the irony is they actually handle the enemy with kid gloves. Lets look at the truth. It is sad that PBS is brainwashing the public into flip-siding the people who are really the enemy to peace.

danielle rothman
albuquerque, new mexico

Dear FRONTLINE,

It's good to see Jews with guts and fortitude stand up for what they believe instead of retreating in the face of US, European and UN pressure. Violence is unfortunate, but the Land of Israel belongs to the Jews. The others are trespassers.

Steve Smith
Omaha, Nebraska

Dear FRONTLINE,

When the founder of modern political Zionism, the journalist Theodor Herzel, around 1884, wrote the book "The Jewish State"
(Der Judenstat), he described an utopian community in which Arabs and Jews would live together in peace.

The years I spent following the ideal of Zionism, including the 14 years I spent in Israel, I never dreamt that that the ideas shown in this reportage would take hold among a significant percentage of the Israeli population. At that time the labor- oriented collective settlers were the spiritual leaders of the country, the pioneers that were held as an example to the Jewish youth of he country.
The small religious minority were more tolerated, than counted as a political factor.
Through various political machinations that small religious minority has gained political power and a following among the youth of the country. They and the Intifadah have opened the way for the new right wing radicalism that saddens and frightens me.

In a way I am glad not to live there any more, although I can see similiar trends in this country.

Martin Ben-Ari

Dear FRONTLINE,

I found your report onesided and inaccurate.

Yes, there is a small group of Israelies calling for violence against the arabs, but you ignore the larger issue - Israels
right to defend itself.

Israels citizens were being attacked even Prior to the 6 day war-
when there was no occupied territories. Nor did you mention that
the arabs masacared the Jewish population of Hebron even prior to the creation of the state of Israel existing.

If there is a rise in Jewish extremism it is out of recognition, that Jews can only count on themselves to defend their people.
We cannot forget that the world stood by while Hitler murderd 12,000,00 people 6, million of which were Jews.

Finaly Jews need not apologize for wanting to pray at our holiest site. Must we bow to the Arabs demands not to allow
Jewish prayer on JEWISH LAND, if the situation was reversed the world would be up in arms.

It is time the world stoped living by a double standard. JEWS HAVE A RIGHT TO A JEWISH STATE - AND NEED NOT APOLOGIZE EVERY TIME THEY EXERT THEIR RIGHT TO INSURE ITS SAFTEY AND CONTINUED EXISTENCE

Dr David Gross
Long Beach, New York

Dear FRONTLINE,

It's important to remember that not all settlers are Kahanists. Some-- many, even-- are young, secular, Jewish families who are simply there because the settlements are a nice place to live. This is particularly true in the larger cities of Ma'ale Adumim and Ariel, among others. Judea and Samaria are beautiful areas of Israel, many of the settlement neighborhoods are attractive, and the government offers sizable subsidies and other incentives to anyone who will consider moving there.

Daniel Wiewel
Chicago, IL

Dear FRONTLINE,

Why no mention of the Rabbis and the Yeshivot that are indoctrinating and inciting these zealots, and the sources of the financial support of these Yeshivot? Why wasn't the venerable Sephardic Rabbi sitting next to a released suspect identified?

When Arabs build unauthorized houses the authorities bulldoze them. Why are the hilltop settlements exempt from this same treatment?

Why weren't the Labor and Likud leaders identified, who ok'd the construction of these settlements over the past 35 years?

How about an estimate of the financial cost of these settlements to the Israeli taxpayers, including the subsidies, the tax benefits to settlers, and the cost to the IDF for protecting them?

Bernard Bloom

Dear FRONTLINE,

Bravo to Frontlinel! We did not believe that we would live to witness this kind of jounalism in the U.S. Where is the massmedia? The networks? This story is a work in progress since the untimely execution of Israel's bright light PM Rabin, and his substitution by the likes of Sharon, who is a product and cause of this kind of mentality.

Thomas Kavunedus
Largo, Fl

Dear FRONTLINE,

I enjoyed your program as I do many. I completely understand why the Israeli goverment is worried about these "extremists" and that is because if the balance of power shifts to the right, then the leftists majority of the Israeli goverment will no longer be able to pander to Islamic terrorists and be the lap dog of the USA.

It's interesting that there are 22 Islamic Republics, but yet the world cannot accept one complete Jewish State, (a point your program left out). I did not agree in that any one culture should kill innocent people to acheive their means over another. However war has been declared on the State of Israel and yet they are unwilling to eradicate the terrorists and evict them.

In closing, I would like to applaud many of these Jewish Settlers which you would like to refer to as "extremists." Jesus himself was a shepard in Israel, if the arabs wanted to kill him and his family, would the rest of the world call him an "extremist" for protecting his family? Of course not. For every action there is a reaction. Why should the settlers not defend themselves from the philistines, "palestinians" and the corrupt Israeli goverment. An Israeli goverment which has failed their own people time & time again. Any goverment which cannot fufill the duty of protecting their own people should be removed. I rest my case.

Ben W.
Greenwich, Connecticut

Dear FRONTLINE,

Thank you for such an excellent program! It was informative and fair. All too often we hear about the Islamic extremists and nothing about the terror the Jewish extremist groups inflict on Palestinians.

I realize that it is incredibly difficult to air any program that is in any way critical of Israel so I commend you and PBS for airing this program. Keep up the good work in airing fair and unbiased programs that reveals the truth.

D. Shami

Dear FRONTLINE,

Thank you for presenting this story and I was reassured that the Israelis were going after these extremists. Extremism breeds extremism and the Jewish terrorists aren’t any different than Christian or Islamic ones. ...

But the real story has yet to be told. The American people have no clue as to “who” and “what” started the middle east problem in Palestine eighty years ago. It is an inescapably moral question that is eliminated from all media discussion in the west. I hope Frontline will consider the big picture and write about it. And a caveat to this story would be a public understanding of where terrorism really comes from. Until this story is told and retold a thousand times… I fear the same mistakes will give us more of the same.

Thanks again for a great presentation

William Coakley
Lake Worth, Florida

William Coakley
Lake Worth, FL

Dear FRONTLINE,

This episode showed how these so called Israeli Terrorists were harrased and arrested many times by the Israeli government. Had the Israeli policemen not stopped this horrible attack that would have taken place outside the Arab school, many young innocent people would have been killed. I would like to point out that the ISRAELI POLICE FORCE actually saved hundreds of Arab lives. How many Arabs can say that they have saved one Israeli life, or would even be willing to.

I believe that this show showed a very very small group and made it sound like half of the Israelis in the country felt that killing innocent Arabs is a good idea.
I think that is unfair and biast reporting.

A Wall

Dear FRONTLINE,

I see a resurgence of scrutinizing Israel by way of these new angles that wet the appetite of the left and the world media as a whole. I don't agree with the extremists methods, but I will always be wary of the arabs true intentions and of the worlds true intentions. These intentions being; to once again disinherit the Jews of their ancestral homeland.
When the Temple is rebuilt it will spell the end of the world, namely the end of your world. THe End Of Days spells the end of lies and half truths, the end of you!!!
There is no need for too many words, for G-d sees and hears all, may the Jews unite and put themselves in His Hands always.

Dror Shmuel
brooklyn , ny

Dear FRONTLINE,

After watching the Frontline program about the Jewish extremist groups;I must say they sound a lot like the Taliban and we know what they did to Afghanistan.

One should always be suspicious of people who claim God's endorsement when land is involved.

James Hall
Liberty, N.Y.