A couple of days ago, the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Boaz Modai, had a letter published in the Irish Times which disavowed any Israeli plan - motivating its activities in the West Bank - to prevent the emergence of a Palestinian state (Letters, IT, 26/4/12). As is typical of this newspaper, Modai's disingenuous letter was 'balanced' by a 'pro-Palestinian' letter; as it happens, this turned out to be excellent. Here is the link to both pieces:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0426/1224315195337.html
Here also is the letter I submitted to the Irish Times by way of reply:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0426/1224315195337.html
Here also is the letter I submitted to the Irish Times by way of reply:
April 26, 2012
Dear Sir
Boaz Modai (letters IT, 26/4/12), clearly energised by
the 'paralysis' afflicting Palestinians (Michael Jansen, World News,
IT, 24/4/12), can nevertheless only sneer at your correspondent, and at
the opinions of Jeff Halper, co-founder and co-ordinator of the Israeli
Committee Against House Demolitions, and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee,
whom she cites. Israel has no plan to block a Palestinian state in the
West Bank, he says.
What, then, are we to make of the growing settlements,
the roadblocks, the Jews-only roads, the house demolitions, the
evictions, the enclosure of the major :Palestinian population centres by
the security wall, the quasi-ethnic cleansing of the Jordan Valley?
These are just random phenomena, presumably. One then remembers that
Golda Meir once noted that 'all the wars against Israel have nothing to
do with it' - Israel is responsible for nothing.
Mr Modai, and the state he represents, are morally bankrupt.
yours sincerely,
Conor McCarthy
Conor, I just hope that in other fields of life you understand much more than your false understanding of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. You repeat the twisted propaganda against the state of the Jews, that succeeded against all odds and against hundreds of millions of enemies and their supporters (like yourself) to not only survive but to be one of the most successful countries in the world. Yes, jelousy is tough...
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Adam, Tel-Aviv
Hi Adam
DeleteWhat is the 'twisted propaganda' I have repeated? how is your country more 'successful' than most others in the world?
The settlements are growing. They're illegal and always have been. Jews-only roads exist in the West Bank: a moral scandal in themselves. The wall/fence/barrier has been ruled illegal by the International Criminal Court. Israel has tapped into every major aquifer in the West Bank, and uses vastly more of those water resources than Palestinians are allowed to. Your 'successful' country has been in occupation, against the consensus of world opinion, of the Territories, and of the Syrian Golan (which your 'successful' country has also illegally colonised) for 45 years. That's clearly a real 'success' for you to be proud of.
Meanwhile, your society is one of the most militarised in the world - denoting a belligerent aggressive state - and your economy, according to various sources, is about to enter a serious downturn.
All you can do is repeat paranoid rubbish - Oh our critics must be jealous of us, because we are so fine. That's not an argument, Adam.
Best wishes
Conor