Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

The Minnesota Department of Education is considering the addition of an ethnic studies component to the social studies standards set to be implemented in fall 2026. This addition is causing debate among some Minnesota politicians who claim that "the proposed standards overemphasize the differences between students, which may cause division in the classroom" ("Ethnic studies at center of debate," Nov. 7). As a retired high school instrumental music educator, I strongly disagree with that conclusion. Students in my classroom regularly presented musical heritage projects that highlighted musical traditions from their unique cultural backgrounds. The students soon came to recognize that while they were all Minnesotans, they also represented a beautifully complex tapestry of differences from across the globe.

This exercise in sharing did not cause division. On the contrary, it helped the students appreciate each other's distinctive contributions. We learned a lot about each other, and the exercise drove us closer together, not further apart. Eliminating the fear of the unknown and exploring differences can change our concept of "the other" to one of appreciation and acceptance.

Elizabeth Jackson Kirchhoff, Plymouth

Currently Hamas is spreading the word that 10,000 Gazan citizens have been killed, including thousands of children. Nobody knows how many in that number are Hamas militia fighters. Several countries, including the United States as well as the feeble United Nations, are calling for a cease-fire.

However, some perspective for these numbers is needed. If you Google the countless 21st-century armed and civil wars in the Middle East, you will find that the numbers of civilian deaths are staggering. In Syria, 230,224 civilians, including 30,007 children and 16,319 women, have been killed since 2011. In Ethiopia, there were 600,000 civilian deaths from 2020 to 2022. In Yemen, 150,000 civilians, including 11,000 children, have died since 2015. In the Libyan Civil War, there were 15,000 to 25,000 civilian deaths.

One innocent civilian death in a war, especially a child, is one too many. But I don't remember a huge hue and cry for a cease-fire in the above-mentioned wars. It seems that only Israel is called by the world to lay down its weapons for "humanitarian reasons."

Israel, unlike some countries, takes the greatest care to not harm innocent civilians. And let us remember — it is Hamas that started the conflict for which many now call for the victim, Israel, to cease fire.

Mark D. Luther, Minnetonka

•••

Friends don't let friends drive drunk. Yet, our government is not doing enough to stop the Israeli government and military from driving drunk on revenge as they respond to the hideous Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians. Israeli leaders have been embarrassed by the attack, and they are taking it out on innocent civilians in Gaza. In the process, they are angering people throughout the world, and they are creating the next generation of Hamas among the Palestinians.

The U.S. is complicit in this war. It is our military aid that is being used to attack and kill innocent people in Gaza, thousands of them children. Our country, not just Israel, will experience the anger of most of the world as the death toll in Gaza continues to mount. (As I write this, deaths in Gaza are approaching 10,000.)

President Joe Biden is the only one who can put sufficient pressure on Israel to agree to a cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to flow freely into Gaza. A cease-fire will also allow space to determine what comes next. Unless what comes next includes a just solution for Palestinians, the violence will only continue.

Virgil Mathiowetz, St. Paul

•••

Three years ago, I began wearing a kippah (Jewish head covering). Reflecting on George Floyd's murder, I surmised that if everyone understood that everyone else is different, then our diversity would be unifying rather than separating. Wearing a kippah makes my difference visually apparent. Casting my lot with others who look different, I anticipated antipathy. And that happened. But following Hamas' pogrom, I've also experienced empathy. Not only from friends and neighbors, but also from strangers. In the grocery store. At the hardware store. And last night, at a restaurant, someone saw my kippah and asked if I would forward a cash donation to help Israel. Their support touches me deeply and gives me hope. And, Greg, I've forwarded the $100 to the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, which will direct it to those in need.

Joel A. Mintzer, Golden Valley

•••

The horrific attack on Israeli civilians has rightly brought global condemnation of Hamas and solidarity with Israel reminiscent of global support for the U.S. after the attacks on civilians on Sept. 11, 2001. Sadly, like the U.S., Israel has squandered global support — as did the U.S. after 9/11 — by its own retaliation, killing 10 times the number of people as were originally killed.

We should think not only about those injured or killed and their families; we should also think about the soldiers doing the killing. I'm not talking about post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD results from what is done to the soldiers during their service. I'm talking about moral injury. Moral injury results from what the soldiers themselves do. If they undertake or witness behavior in sharp contrast with their most deeply held moral beliefs, they often suffer moral injury.

Research on war in general and media reports of the current Israel/Gaza war note that between a third and 40% of those injured or killed in this war are children. Of course Israel is not targeting children (it seems Hamas was indifferent on this issue). Nonetheless, with every bomb landing in Gaza, about one-third of the victims are children. Those sending the bombs know this, whether they intend to kill them or not. If we add innocent civilians the number goes from a third to, what, 90%? These are unintended yet predictable and expected consequences of this war.

"The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality." At least that's what James Baldwin thinks, and he's one of very few American moral giants of the past century.

Think not only about those injured or killed in this war or any war; think about what the killing does to the killers. We should expect many cases of moral injury as more and more children and innocent civilians are killed. Adding to the tragedy is that it could be avoided — or at least minimized.

Duane Cady, Shoreview

As someone who grew up in St. Louis Park and fondly remembers its diversity — primarily religious diversity in a community where Jews and gentiles worked to find common ground — I could not be happier for St. Louis Park's citizens and their election of Nadia Mohamed as mayor ("City is first in U.S. to elect Somali mayor," Nov. 8).

Mohamed is not only the first elected Somali mayor in the United States; she is also someone who has grown up in St. Louis Park with a strong commitment to community and appreciation for the struggles of people from all beliefs and walks of life, as exemplified by her carefully cultivated relationships with local rabbis. That Mohamed would be elected by such a strong majority with support from all corners of St. Louis Park, including its Jewish community, says so much about her character and leadership. It also shows the world what is possible. If we are to survive in this ever-polarizing world threatening our own extinction, we must model St. Louis Park and find our common ground.

It may be naive to think Mohamed and St. Louis Park can lead the world with their example. Or it may just be pragmatic to embrace what Thomas Friedman, another St. Louis Park native, refers to as "an enduring confidence that things can turn out well, if people are ready to practice a politics of compromise and pursue an ethic of pluralism."

Louis Smith, Minneapolis