Re World misses the point as Israel does battle alone, April 8.

I am Israeli and Canadian. I came to Canada in 1986. My family is from Haifa. We lived in Neve Shanan, the neighbourhood that was recently bombed. It is only random good fortune that no one I love was hurt. I am afraid for my family and friends, and for my homeland that I love very much.

However, I am not just afraid for our physical safety. I am also afraid of who we are becoming. I was born before the occupation and grew up at a time when Israelis thought of ourselves as a light unto the nations.

I was taught that we were a moral people who believed in the ethical use of weapons.

These values were confronted when I was a soldier stationed in Gaza. My unit was ordered to carry out random searches in homes in the refugee camps. Much like the soldiers shown on Israeli TV two weeks ago, our job was to search houses, forcing our way into families' homes at random. We terrified them.

One day while in the market in Gaza, my commanding officer wanted a watermelon but he did not want to bargain for it. His hand went down on his Uzi and the price went down. At 17, an age when most Canadian children are still in school, I had to find enough courage to refuse to serve in the occupied territories.

The suicide bombings are terrible. But we need to remember that people who have hope, who have work, who have futures for their families and who have dignity are less likely to blow themselves up. For my family to be safe, there must be peace. There cannot be peace without an end to the occupation. For my family and friends to have any chance of being safe, the occupation must end.

Two other Israeli Canadians considered signing this letter with me but were afraid for their families because of the hate messages and death threats I have received for publicly denouncing the Israeli government's continued occupation and military aggression against the Palestinians. But we need to be able to think beyond our fear.

I ask Canadian Jews to remember that Ariel Sharon's government includes people who supported the murder of Yitzhak Rabin. This government is not committed to peace and has not made Israel safer for Jews. So I ask you to consider that the people we love will not be safe unless there is peace and that cannot happen so long as young Palestinians see no hope for their future.

If you really want those you love to be safe, please call on the Israeli government to end the occupation.

Sarah Shartal

Toronto