Letter from Larry Shapiro, Calgary to The New Republic, January 16, 2026 in response to an article suggesting the Marwan Barghouti, an imprisoned terrorist is the key to peace

Re: PEACE TRAIN

Trump's Path to a (Real) Nobel: Press Israel to Free Marwan Barghouti, A rare interview with Fadwa Barghouti, whose imprisoned husband represents the best hope for peace on the Palestinian side, by Jo-Ann Mort, Jan. 26, 2026, New Republic

Feb. 16, 2026

Dear Editor,

Not one Palestinian official has ever called out for peace with the Jewish state. Not one, and if they did, they would not last a week on the street as Yasser Arafat told Bill Clinton explaining why he walked away from the peace deal he negotiated with Yitzhak Rabin.

Palestinians, shamed by their losses to Israel refer to Israel as the 'occupation', and are preoccupied with eliminating Israel not creating conditions leading to peace.

This is exemplified by the Palestinian Authority's Martyr's Fund that pays monthly cash bonuses to families of incarcerated or dead Palestinians who have attempted to kill, or actually killed Israelis, the higher the body counts, the higher the payments.

Marwan Barghouti is responsible for more Israeli deaths than any other living person so naturally he is a hero of the Palestinians struggle, and the Palestinian want him out of jail to lead them to victory over the Yahud.

Contrarily, Israel has offered 5 separate land for peace deals to the Palestinians who rejected all five without a single serious counteroffer. Anybody who takes the time to read Palestinian statements in Arabic understands that the Palestinians will never agree to accept a Jewish state.

It is world class cynicism for the New Republic to identify the most successful Palestinian murderer as the key to peace.

Larry Shapiro, Calgary, Alberta