4 min read
War in Gaza
Much of what Stephen Pollard says is true (A gift to Hamas, Leader May 23rd): political leaders who only criticise Israel’s action in Gaza, undermine Israel and embolden Hamas. But how is one supposed to react to the daily footage of death and destruction? It is perfectly natural-and not antisemitic-to be horrified by the civilian casualties and to question the modus operandi of the IDF. The problem is that Netanyahu comes over as a deeply unsympathetic character, who, like Trump, aggressively refutes all criticism, and only listens to the likes of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich in order to stay in power. The broader question that Israel’s allies should be asking, is why the wealthy Arab states and the American president-who promised to rapidly stop this war-have done so little to end the suffering and propose a serious long-term solution to this terrible conflict?
Stan Labovitch
Windsor
I am Jewish. But were I not, the chances are I would be very anti-Israeli and, due to the tsunami of anti-israeli rhetoric thrown at us daily by our media, probably anti-Semitic.
Sadly, Israel must be held partly responsible for this. They must know its activities reflect upon Jews world-wide. They should be fighting tooth and nail aginst this disgraceful assault upon Jews everywhere by a clearly well-organised and heavily financed Arab propaganda machine.
A couple of examples of Israel's poor responses.
The media would have us believe that Israel is reponsible for the starvation of the Gazan people. Sir, Israel is involved in a war of survial with Hamas who is the governing authority in Gaza. While fighting this terrible war, we are being told that Israel must at the same time supply its bitter enemy with food, water, electricity and medical supplies etc. This is ridiculous. The responsible authority for the welfare of the Gazan people is clearly the goverment of Gaza, namely Hamas. Why isn't the Israeli government instructing its ambassadors around the world to make this point with maximum force?
As to the Gazan civilian deaths, here again Israel is held to be responsible. The truth is that Israel has done something no country at war has ever done in the history of warfare. It has pre-warned the civilian population of its enemy where it intends to bomb in order to give them time to be out of the danger zone. It is the cowardice of Hamas to hide its soldiers behind and underneath the escaping civilians which is the cause of most of the civilian casualities.
Why is Israel not yelling this fact from the housetops?
As a result, we find most of the civlised world in sympathy with Hamas, a criminal violent bunch of thugs and against the only democratic country n the area fighting for the right to live in piece and friendship with its neighbours. I am ashamed that I now know I voted for a government whose leader is accusative of Israel.
Sir, we must fight back at anti-Semitism. But without Israel providing the strongest support it wil be a losing battle.
David Lee
Kingston Upon Thames
Thirty eight years after it retrieved Gaza from illegal Egyptian occupation Israel gifted it to the Palestinian Authority which soon lost it to Hamas.
It is not nice to demand a return of a gift, but given the relentless acts of terror perpetrated by the recipient since, culminating in the massacre of October 7th, Israel has every right to do so .
Germany was punished for its WW2 belligerence through heavy reparations and forfeiture of vast territories; twelve million Germans were expelled or forced to flee as part and parcel of executing justice.
Yet, the British-French-Canadian troika not only fails to draw parallels between Germany and Gaza but seeks to reward the Palestinians with yet another region of their own, in addition to the 78% of Palestine (today’s Jordan) the League of Nations allotted them in 1922.
Seriously and detrimentally affected by Muslim illegal immigration, the troika hopes the sabre-rattling in the direction of Israel might just calm the storms engulfing its own shores.
But on the side of justice and morality the troika is not. Over the 400 years of Ottoman occupation of Palestine (Israel and Jordan combined) its non-Jewish, hybrid and mostly tribal population merely doubled in size, reaching 600,000 in 1918. This fact, however, does not stop the virtue-signalling troika to see in their descendants a “nation” worthy of a large chunk of the Jews’ land… and in a Saracen barbarism a mere “revolt of the oppressed”. Why else would they think them deserving of a state?
Eda Spinka
London NW4
In Sunday’s Observer, Rabbi Wittenberg wrote concerning Gaza“….But substantial quantities of aid must be allowed in. “Neither Jewish nor humanitarian law condones the starvation of non-combatant civilians.”
He is right. But what distresses me even more is that substantial quantities of aid have been entering Gaza, as recorded on the COGAT website, since October 7th, which have barely been reported on or praised by anyone.
It is known that Hamas has been regularly stealing the aid. Stolen aid has been photographed being sold in the Markets. But that has not been significantly reported on. Why wait until now to talk about the application of humanitarian law, or the lack of it. Over 18 months have passed. Why is this time different from all other times says the distressed son ?
Lewis Herlitz
Leigh on Sea
Lineker leaves
With the Liberal and Reform communities now uniting under one banner
would now be the opportune time for them to appoint as their first Israel spokesman
former unemployed football pundit Gary Lineker who I believe would share the recent views of some of their rabbis printed in the Financial Times .
Llewellyn Gaba
Cardiff