Lee Mortimer Letter to the Herald-Sun

Special treatment for Israel
February 04, 2008

Special treatment for Israel

Far from an "Anti-Israel bias," as William Millard contends in his letter of Jan. 28,
the American government and news media routinely acquiesce when Israel violently
represses Palestinians with little regard for whether civilians are also killed.

The firing of Palestinian rockets into Israeli towns can never be justified. But Israel
has itself to blame when the people it brutalizes resort to desperate counter-violence.
How can anyone claim that blockading of basic life necessities into Gaza is not collective
punishment against a civilian population?

Israel's withdrawal from Gaza had nothing to do with peacemaking. Israel decided that
Gaza was no longer worth colonizing and turned its attention to solidifying settlements
in the West Bank territories.

Gaza was to serve as a containment area to wall off nearly half the Palestinian population.

The cause of ongoing Israeli-Palestinian violence has never changed, and Israel carries the
stain of having established their state on land taken from other people. Until that fact is
recognized and a just resolution is reached, there will be deep hostility against our country
because we make it all possible.

Lee Mortimer
Durham
February 4, 2008