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Letters

Wednesday, 7th May 2008

Spectator readers respond to recent articles

Israel and Palestine

Sir: Melanie Phillips (‘Happy 60th birthday, Israel’, 3 May) denies Israel one of its greatest successes over the last 60 years by deliberately ignoring its status as a regional military and economic superpower. The image of Israel as a David to an Arab Goliath is massively outdated. Arab states have long since given up any notion of trying to defeat a US-backed, nuclear-armed Israel, but have offered Israel a full withdrawal for full peace option.

Another blind spot is Phillips’s routine denial of Palestinian identity. This is as idiotic as denying an Israeli identity. Even Israel’s leaders have begrudgingly accepted this. In addition, she continually condones all Israeli actions, effectively justifying everlasting military occupation and colonisation and the collective punishment of an entire civilian population. This continues today with Israel still occupying both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, now little better than open-air prisons with Israeli soldiers as wardens. These wardens have little hesitation in using massive force. So far between January and March this year, the Israeli army has killed 40 children alone in Gaza, three times more than the entire Israel casualty count as a result of Qassam rockets since 2001. Neither is justified, but Israel’s actions are vastly disproportionate and counterproductive.

If Israel is around in 60 years’ time, it will not be by following the sort of warlike anti-Arab policies Phillips advocates but by coming to terms with its neighbours and recognising their legal rights. Peace requires mutual recognition and a final complete end of occupation. This is the only option if both peoples are to have any meaningful future.

Chris Doyle
Director, Council for Arab-British Understanding, London EC4

Sir: I expect you will be deluged with angry letters a result of Melanie Phillips’s excellent 60th birthday card for Israel. As a sane, Anglican, English Conservative I would like to add a few facts, rather than opinions, in her support. To start with, 60 per cent of the British Mandate was given to form Muslim Transjordan (note the original name). Second, Jews who formerly occupied Judaea and Samaria (the West Bank) were driven out by Arab Fedayeen. Third, there never was a Palestinian nation: who was the last King of the independent kingdom of Palestine or the last President of the Palestine Republic?

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Paul

May 8th, 2008 4:22pm

Chris Doyle ends his letter with a paragraph beginning "If Israel is around in 60 years’ time...". Is there any other country for which such speculation would be par for the course?

Simon Icke

May 11th, 2008 5:54pm

NEW Labour is paying the price for completely neglecting the working classes, who are struggling to make ends meet with high taxes, both direct and indirect. It will pay the price at the next General Election.

New Labour have sucked up to the Islington trendy liberal academics' who wouldn't know a working class person if they fell over them. (If they did meet one they would probably feel superior and smug like so many New Labour middle class trendies). They certainly wouldn't know the reality of the struggle these poor families now have to endure. Who now, cannot even afford to fill their car with petrol not to mention pay their gas and electric bill! Meanwhile New Labour cronies continue to feed their fat stomachs in the trough of self-indulgence and arrogance. And continue to listen to the academic liberal rich middle class guardianist writers who have contributed to New Labour's demise.

The bottom line is New Labour has lost touch with its roots and continues to live in its trendy London gold fish bowl' like it has done so for the last 11 years.

So it gets what it deserves

Drummond Gaskarth

May 14th, 2008 1:42pm

re Roger Alton on Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Where might Marco Fu be today emulating O'Sullivan's press conference technique? Certainly not waiting on our Snooker Authorities' hand-wringing.