Mick Hartley

Here’s the original letter in the Times from assorted bishops, published on Saturday:

The murderous violence at the rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem marks another terrible chapter of acute human suffering. Illegal attacks against civilians should be condemned by all sides. The time has come for all parties to recognise that peace cannot be born out of violence.

This week’s report by leading humanitarian organisations exposed the scale of the tragedy in Gaza. This should not be forgotten amidst the grief. Israel must protect its citizens against indiscriminate attacks but it will not achieve this through a deliberate, indiscriminate policy of collective punishment against the population of Gaza.

The failure of both sides to recognise the grievances of the other only sustains the conflict….

Well, you get the picture. It’s all very sad, this “acute human suffering”, but really, what do the Israelis expect if they’re so beastly to the people of Gaza? And there’s a comment below: “To say that “progress must come from the communities at the heart of the dispute” is foolish since it ignores the fact that it is Israel that is the all powerful racially motivated seeker for more lebensraum…”

Lebensraum….nice touch, that phrase, isn’t it?

Anyway, Times letter-writers rise to the occasion today and duly demolish the Right Reverends:

Sir, If the good bishops mean by “collective punishment” (letter, Mar 8) the supposed blockade by Israel of humanitarian supplies to Gaza, they might consider consulting the Israeli Embassy in London which publishes a daily list of the humanitarian aid transported each day into Gaza from Israel. On March 5, for example, 160 trucks, each carrying aid and supplies, crossed into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom, Karni and Sufa crossings. They also detail the composition of each consignment.

If, however, by the above, they mean the attempts by Israel to locate and take out the rocket launchers which Hamas cynically locates near schools, hospitals and densely populated civilian areas with which it has been terrorising Israel’s civilians for the past seven years, they should know that the Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, has sought legal approval to evacuate these high-density civilian areas in the northern strip before taking further military action.

When the bishops say that the only way forward is through “dialogue and engagement”, are they not aware that the Hamas covenant states that “initiatives and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement”?

When Israel unilaterally and unconditionally withdrew from Gaza in 2005 all it asked for in return was to be left alone. The Palestinians interpreted this as weakness and terrorism was their response.

It is clear that Israel should be absolved from blame.

And again:

Sir, Can the world’s collective experience and wisdom suggest how Israel should deal with an enemy that is unwilling to sit down and talk, does not recognise its existence, and is sworn to its destruction and total annihilation?