Response to local letter writer re: Israel 2-17-2009

17, February 2009                 Response to local letter writer re: Israel

Desmond Tuck’s letter of February 15 claims that Bob Simon’s report on 60 Minutes portrayed a skewed reality of the West Bank and illegal settlements. Glaringly omitted from his letter was any factual information to counter Bob Simon’s excellent report. Tuck, who hails from South Africa, may not be aware that the African Council of Churches and the Reverend Desmond Tutu have excoriated Israel for its war crimes and apartheid policies. Jewish-Israeli author, Susan Nathan, lamented that Israel has “dishonored the holocaust” and Richard Falk, United Nations Special Rapporteur, said that Israel's actions against the besieged Gazans were reminiscent of "the worst kind of international memories of the Warsaw Ghetto." 

Tuck is right condemning grotesque acts of violence targeting civilians. I presume he is referring to the large scale slaughter of civilians in Gaza which has been condemned by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Perhaps Tuck could explain why so many schools, mosques and even the UN building in Gaza were razed to the ground when precise coordinates of these buildings were given to the Israeli Defense Forces? Finally, I would ask Tuck to explain the rationale of deliberately withholding critical supplies of food, medicine and fuel from a starving population of 1.5 million Gazans?