PAUL BOWLER,
Madam, - In reply to Conor McCarthy's disingenuous remark about Israel invading Palestinian territory in 1948 and 1967 (January 8th), it should be remembered that Israel was attacked first on both occasions. Israel is a legally constituted nation state, the only democratic state in the Middle East. It's most cordial relations happen to be with states it heavily defeated in war, Egypt and Jordan.
Israel's present and often lamentable policy regarding the Palestinians should be set in its correct context. Israel stands alone, surrounded by enemies. Since its inception it has fought against the odds and survived. It has witnessed the witless ineptitude of the UN. It knows that not one peace keeper will ever be sacrificed to protect it's borders. The often vitriolic attacks on Israel emanating from this country always seem to ignore the simple fact that Israel has no one with which it negotiates with in good faith.
If we were to ever sort out our own conflicts then maybe we would be qualified to offer opinions on what is happening in the Middle East. Until then there's the famine and AIDS epidemic in Africa. At least there we could actually do something useful other than condemn what we don't understand. - Yours, etc.,
PAUL BOWLER,
Grosvenor Park,
Dublin 6.