Madam, – Well done to Joanna Tuffy TD for her letter (February 4th) explaining why she disagrees with the call by a minority of her colleagues to boycott Israeli goods.
While the economically damaging effects of such a boycott on Irish workers and consumers is a powerful argument against this knee-jerk response to the Middle East conflict, she is right to draw attention to the political implications of such a call, especially for the embryonic peace process begun by US president Barack Obama and secretary of state Hilary Clinton and facilitated by George Mitchell. Boycotting one side in a conflict contributes nothing to a peaceful resolution and, as Ms Tuffy states, “it would be an act of hostility against Israel and its people”.
Those who signed the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign’s anti-Israeli letter and advertisement would have some credibility if they had been even-handed and condemned the aims and methods of Hamas. It is particularly saddening to find a few prominent Labour and trade union people lending their names to such an unfair and one-sided condemnation. We need to hear more voices like that of Joanna Tuffy so that the commitment to fairness and justice of the social democratic movement won’t be smothered by a loud minority who seem determined to demonise the only state in the Middle East that respects workers’ rights and aims to provide a secure home for the Jewish people. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Edwin Bennatan (Opinion, February 9th) suggests that Hamas must be brought to book for the havoc it has sown. His analysis, like most pro-Israeli analysis, completely ignores the real reasons for the continued conflict.
Hamas is a symptom of Israel’s continuing aggression towards the Palestinian people and its stranglehold over them. Deny people justice and they will seek revenge. If Israel is serious about peace, it must offer a viable two-state solution with security and economic guarantees.
It is Israel that should really be brought to book for the havoc it continues to sow. Ethnic cleansing and murder on a grand scale are unacceptable, no matter who perpetrates them or for what reason. The world has heard all the excuses and sympathy for Israel is running out rapidly. – Yours, etc,