Madam, – Those who seek to justify Israel’s continuing blockade of Gaza claim that it is necessary to prevent Hamas from obtaining materials that it could use to attack Israel. If this is so, then why are goods such as coriander, cumin, and chocolate among those embargoed?
How does creating a situation in which, according to Amnesty International, four out of five Gazans depend on external aid to survive, enhance Israel’s security? Prior to the intense pressure of world opinion generated by Israel’s recent deadly attack on a humanitarian aid convoy, the Israeli Foreign Minister insisted that “there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza strip”.
Now Israel has indicated that it may ease the blockade. This suggests the need for continuing pressure by ordinary citizens, and their governments, to ensure that words are followed by actions and the moral and political conditions set for the negotiation of a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – A “rogue state” is regarded to be a country that 1. Possesses nuclear weapons, 2. Violates international law and 3. Engages in acts of terrorism (defined as using violence against people for political ends). Step forward . . . Israel. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Joe Briscoe (June 9th) draws comparisons to the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the US blockade of Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis, claiming “nobody, except the Soviets, claimed that this was illegal, even though this all occurred in international waters”. This is misleading. The Kennedy administration was fully aware that naval blockades are considered acts of war under international law. As a result, the blockade was officially labelled a “quarantine” and was limited to the import of offensive weapons only.
The Gaza blockade, on the other hand, applies to virtually any material capable of sustaining independent economic activity, as part of the Israeli government’s declared strategy of making living conditions in the Gaza strip intolerable for the population in an effort to undermine the Hamas government – that is, collective punishment. The Israeli action and blockade are therefore most likely illegal under international law. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – If those people who are currently engaged in vitriolic denunciation of Israel for the actions it took to protect itself last week are truly concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people, perhaps they should turn their ire towards the Iranian regime which is using Hamas in Gaza as an ersatz army to attack Israel. The real threat to finding a lasting and profound peace in the Middle East is not the State of Israel but the dangerous and paranoid theocracy of Iran. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The western world recognises Israel’s right to security. Why do we never hear mention of the Palestinians’ right to security? Almost every week Israeli soldiers shoot one or more Palestinians (this week so far it was four) as if they were badgers on a farm. America guarantees Israeli security. Who guarantees Palestinians’ security? Is the point missed that they are not badgers but equally human beings? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I agree with the criticisms made by the Irish Government and many other people last week of Israel’s illegal and violent actions on the high seas.
So any measures needed to bring about the lifting of the Gaza embargo and secure a just and lasting agreement acceptable to reasonable people on both sides should now be on the table, including diplomatic pressure, sanctions, boycotts and divestment, in addition to ongoing action by activists.
There is one issue on which I disagree with some on my own side of the argument – the calls for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. The role of an envoy seems to be widely misunderstood. Diplomats are not responsible for the policies of their governments but represent a vital point of contact between countries, their governments and peoples.
Moreover, the traffic travels in both directions: it is as much their duty to report back on policy, sentiment and opinion in the country of their posting as it is to represent the views of their own government.
It is precisely at times of tension and disagreement that this role is at its most vital. Calling for the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador is counter-productive, when – especially at present – we would wish him to carry back clear messages from Ireland, including both official and public views.
Leaving aside the question of the call for expulsion, activists and governments will rarely agree on all issues, but that’s not necessarily inappropriate. What the Department of Foreign Affairs might have settled for last week might have been less than what campaigners (in my view rightly) sought, ie the right to land humanitarian aid at a port in Gaza.
Nonetheless, the Minister for Foreign Affairs was both correctly trenchant and effective in his statements and actions. Moreover, the flotilla project has brought the attention of the world to bear on Israel’s inhumane and counter-productive policy; even the US has shifted its position, calling the present arrangements “unsustainable”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – As an ordinary Irish citizen (born 1944), I cannot understand the thinking of Israeli people. It is perfectly understandable that they would take steps to limit the importation of arms into Gaza by extreme Islamic elements, to protect their own population – but, on the backs of 1.5 million ordinary people who live in Gaza?
When I hear of the number of children who have died in Gaza since the embargo, I can only conclude that a form of “systematic extermination” is acceptable to the Israeli people. I find this incomprehensible, having grown up shocked and horrified by the excesses and genocide of Hitler.
Surely, this nation of all nations should be more compassionate to the plight of ordinary people who, 60 years later, just happen to be Arabs, not Jews? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – On reading your Letter pages and superb coverage of events in Israel, I considered the following “crazy” scenario. What if the British Prime Minister declared war on the Republic of Ireland and vowed the annihilation of the Irish State? What if loyalist groups showered down rockets on the Republic of Ireland from across the Border? What if loyalist groups sent suicide bombers at will to inflict maximum death on the people of the Republic of Ireland? Although “crazy”, that is normal life for some nations. How would Irish people respond under those conditions? – Yours, etc,