Sir, – For two years, the vast majority of Irish people have watched the destruction of Gaza and the relentless persecution of the Palestinian people with a mixture of horror and helplessness. We have despaired as our leaders chose to look away and our voices of condemnation were lost in the complicit silence of the West.
We have silently watched the indiscriminate killing of civilians, the destruction of homes, schools and hospitals, the starvation of a population and the targeting of those trying to heal the wounded and report the truth.
The forthcoming Nations League fixtures against Israel are an opportunity for us to be heard.
On the question of playing these fixtures, none of us – players, management, officials, supporters or casual followers – can hide behind the decisions of governments or football authorities. The question is personal and it is simple: are we willing to participate in the normalisation of these actions, or are we not?
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If we are, then let the games proceed and let us stop pretending to be outraged.
If we are not, then the fact that the Government has chosen its course is beside the point. Yes, for some this decision may come at a significant personal cost. But morality is not measured in euros, and conscience is not something we outsource to politicians. – Yours, etc,
DES MAY,
Ballinrobe,
Co Mayo.
Sir, – It is one of the pleasures of your paper that sometimes one letter will supply material for another on a different topic. Thus, when, in a letter on the possibility of a soccer game between Ireland and Israel, I read (May 29th) that “sport and politics should not be mixed” – a sentiment with which the letter writer thankfully did not agree – he had still done enough to make me recall that the notion of sport and politics having no interaction is one of the stupidest remarks ever to have been made.
So, I submit that as a contender the most aggravating remarks one never wishes to hear. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN COSGROVE,
Cornelscourt,
Dublin 18.
