Madam, – I suppose you have to admire the sheer neck of the usual suspects who call for Ireland to vote against Israel joining the OECD (May 6th), because, they claim, Israel has failed to “demonstrate a commitment to pluralist democracy based on the rule of law and the respect of human rights”.
But by any measurement, Israel meets the requirements to join the OECD. Why is it only Israel that is held to a higher standard compared to other countries? Why is it not right for Israel to join the OECD, but it’s OK for the US and UK, even though they are part of an illegal war that has so far killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians? How come it’s OK for countries, such as the Netherlands, to be a member even though their soldiers have been charged with rape on UN missions and it’s OK for countries which continue to do business with China or Zimbabwe and Burma, and in the process prop up regimes with human record abuse levels that even the pro-Palestinian group should be horrified by. Or is it only the opportunity to write a letter to attack a majority Jewish state that moves them to action?
Perhaps they are jealous that Israel is the only democratic state with a fully functioning market economy and civil society, in that region. Is it jealousy that this majority Jewish state (much like Ireland was built as a majority Catholic state – and maybe Ireland shouldn’t be in the OECD as our record on corruption and equality isn’t exactly glowing), which apparently restricts the human rights of others, offers its citizens, including those who are gay, disabled or non-religious, human rights protection that those in neighbouring countries can only dream of.
Why is it those who call on Israel to abandon land never seem to explain why Israel has a presence there in the first place? Or does it not matter when Arab countries invade Israel? I wonder would they be writing letters to demand Arab countries withdraw from occupied Israel if it was the Arabs, rather than Israel, who won the Six-Day war. Those who sign such letters do a grave injustice to Palestinian people. Because, even if Israel never existed, or ceased to exist as they wish, the lives of Palestinians would not improve. They would simply be citizens of yet another corrupt repressed country, in a region full of corrupt repressive regimes. Except they’d be receiving aid from the EU, intended for schools and hospitals, but diverted to buy guns and Mercedes cars – because you can be sure if Israel wasn’t there for people in that region to hate, they’d find someone else. – Yours, etc,