Madam, – It is truly extraordinary that a man as humane and intelligent as Fintan O’Toole can persist in his outlandish and offensive parallel of Israel with the Nazis (Opinion, June 8th), a parallel usually beloved of the most extreme anti-Zionists. Among the specific features of his parallel is the Nazi notion of Lebensraum. But since 1982, Israel has actually withdrawn from the Sinai, south Lebanon, Gaza, and most of the West Bank. It occupied these areas as buffer zones against its neighbours, all of whom were, at one stage, at war with it and sworn to its destruction – a fact not mentioned in Mr O’Toole’s piece.
Nor does he mention that Israel now has, as neighbours, Hezbollah and Hamas, again sworn to its destruction, and armed by Iran whose president is trying to acquire nuclear weapons and has repeatedly expressed his wish to “wipe Israel off the map”. Surely these are the reasons for the unfortunate situation that Israel and the Palestinians are in, rather than some exaggerated and tasteless comparison with the genocidal Nazis? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Fintan O’Toole’s thesis seems to boil down to a couple of arguments exemplified by the following comments: “Europe, as a whole, decided to assuage its guilt in the cheapest possible way – by meeting the Jewish need for a sanctuary at someone else’s expense” and “Or it (Europe) can face up to the second imperative of the Holocaust – the one that says ‘never again’.”
The first comment amounts to an existential questioning of the legitimacy of the Israeli state.
The second one equates the Israeli activities in defence of its territory with the activities of the Nazis in the extermination of Jews – ie, the subtext is that unless they are stopped, the Israelis will exterminate the Palestinians.
Both of these statements are reprehensible and amount to an apologia for anti-Israeli activities including terrorism and propaganda.
The legitimacy of the Israeli state is a matter of fact accepted by most countries around the world – but notably rejected by many states which are generally regarded as Islamic. The degree to which Israel is recognised seems to inversely correlate with the degree to which those states subscribe to fundamentalist Islam.
The accusation of “genocide” is a recurring theme of those arguing against the existence of Israel. The irony is that most of those who accuse Israel of genocide are happy to ignore the stated genocidal aspirations of Hamas, whose charter calls for the murder of Jews and the obliteration of the state of Israel.
One can only wonder how Mr O’Toole can reconcile the obviously genuine social and humanitarian conscience displayed in his reaction to the Shoah documentary, with the apparent callousness with which he can contemplate the destruction of Israel, which would certainly result if Israel were to lower its defences. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – “We in Ireland have no right to ask the Israelis to commit suicide”, states Joe Briscoe (June 9th). Surely he knows the numbers?
Israel has controlled all of the land between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean for 43 years. Israel in its wisdom has decided to plant half a million settlers in the West Bank. Slightly less than half of the people living in Israel/rump Palestine are Jews. The rest are stateless Palestinians with restricted civil rights.
There is only one way to perpetuate a system where the average income of Israeli Jews is in excess of €20,000 per annum and the average income of stateless Palestinians with restricted civil rights is less than €2,000 per annum. It is called apartheid. Israel is moving towards this heinous goal with determination and appears to be heedless to calls of reason.
Ultimately the international community will be unable to trade with a state which calls itself Jewish but has lost all links to traditional Jewish values and instead outdoes the Jim Crow experience of the United States in the first half of the last century. It is thus Israel which has embarked upon the path of national suicide. Iran is a mere distraction. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Frank O Neill (June 4th) was happy to see Hassidic Jews in London protesting at the actions of “their government”. This is incorrect and dangerous. They were protesting the actions of the government of Israel, not that of the UK. The Jewish diaspora is no more responsible for the Israeli government than the Irish diaspora is for the Irish Government. I have no reason to think that those protesters photographed were anything but British citizens, no matter their dress. Viewing European Jews as domestic aliens does not have a peaceful history. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Brian Smith’s assertion (June 5th) that “food is plentiful in Gaza” will come as news to the Palestinians.
Much of the population suffers daily food shortages. Many people eat one meal a day or even every second day. This information has been widely circulated in the media and by the UN. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – In the 1930s, when Jews were trying to flee Germany and other parts of Europe to safety, the world shut its doors to them and ignored their plight, including Ireland. Today, the very same countries criticise Israel mercilessly for defending itself against a similar threat. This time the Jews have the means to defend themselves, but that defence is always questioned. The attacks from fundamentalist Islam wish to do exactly the same as the Nazis. Up to now the same European countries have been giving fundamentalist Islam a free pass.
If we remember history, what happens to the Jews is the litmus test as to what happens to the rest of the world later. The Jews were chosen for a reason. Wake up Ireland, wake up Europe, wake up the world. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – With all this talk about an Israeli boycott, why must we always look for a lead? Just don’t buy Israeli goods. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I find it interesting the level of criticism and attention attributed to the remarks made by White House correspondent Helen Thomas, criticism that has resulted in her resignation. If only such critics in the US felt as strongly about violent attacks carried out by the Israeli Defence Forces on civilians as they do about inappropriate verbal attacks made against Israel by ageing journalists. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Having seen the letter from Micheál Higgins (June 9th) I can only say it is truly a dark day for truth when he refers to the Israeli treatment of the people of Gaza as genocide. To further demonstrate how far out of kilter is his moral compass, he declares his support for Hamas. As Martin Luther King said “For the person who hates the true becomes false and the false becomes true”.
Criticism is one thing, but Mr Higgins’s letter is symptomatic of the ugly and hysterical nature of the criticism aimed at Israel in recent weeks.
The Orwellian use of language, the lack of any effort to see Israel’s viewpoint, and the absolving of Hamas, a recognised terrorist organisation, dedicated to a medieval political and religious ideology, of any responsibility for the situation is shockingly one-sided and, in many cases, downright sinister. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Israel’s guiding philosophy in relation to Gaza is clear: “It all started when they hit us back.” – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It is truly sad and to a great degree disgusting listening to both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Each side argues that it has justice and truth on its side and uses the taking of human life by the other side as a justification for its righteousness.
While both sides are truly suffering and have suffered far too much over the past 60 years, surely it is time for the extremists on both sides to say “enough” and sit down and talk.
One day they will – the question is how many more Israeli and Palestinian lives must be lost before both sides are prepared to end the rhetoric of violence and revenge? – Yours, etc,