Sir, - Ironically, Mr Conor McCarthy (October 12th), proves the very point he claims to address, namely that there is indeed an inordinate amount of hostility to Israel in The Irish Times Letters page.
It is sad indeed that your editorial policy is such that a letter of this type, which exudes not only hostility but historical inaccuracy, should be deemed suitable for publication.
Mr McCarthy's letter is along the lines of some of the anti-Israel, and dare I say anti-Semitic, diatribes written regularly by those who are intent on undermining the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their historical homeland.
It would be pointless and demeaning to attempt to reply, point by point, to the outrageous anti-Israel statements made by Mr McCarthy. Suffice it to say that an honest reading of the history of this courageous state, less than half the size of the Republic of Ireland, will reveal to the fair-minded reader the truth about the implacable hatred that has been directed at the state of Israel, from the massacre of the Jews of Hebron in 1929 up to the terror of suicide bombers at the present time.
I appeal to decent people of goodwill to read an honest and impartial history of the struggle of the Jewish people for their legitimate rights in the land of Israel. A good place to start would be The Siege by Conor Cruise O'Brien.
It interesting to note that in the past few days, officers of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority, trying to quell pro-bin Laden disturbances, have found no better way to protect themselves from the murderous wrath of rioters than by shooting into the crowd and killing six of their own. - Yours etc.,
Brian Smith, Montreal, Canada