Gaza “falsehoods”
Dear Editors,
Re: “Standing up for Gaza” (Journal, Jan. 13, 2009)
The opinion article by Dana Olwan and Ethan Holtzer contains a number of falsehoods and distortions.
For instance, they claim that Israel violates the Geneva Conventions by targeting civilian areas. This is false. In fact, Israel attacks only military targets and takes the utmost care to avoid putting civilians in harm’s way. This includes actually telephoning and forewarning those whose proximity to a target might endanger them so they have time to leave. The Israeli Defense Forces has also distributed over 800,000 leaflets to Gaza civilians instructing them to stay away from terrorist and weapons storage sites.
Unfortunately, Hamas regularly uses civilians as human shields and uses civilian structures such as homes, schools and mosques to stockpile weapons and launch
attacks. These things are genuine violations of the Geneva Conventions, as are Hamas’s ongoing terrorist attacks on the Israeli population, which includes over 3,200 rockets and mortars fired from Gaza in 2008 alone.
Olwan and Holtzer also claim that the Palestinians have been deprived of “their basic life necessities, including food, water and electricity.” This is false. In fact, Israel facilitated the transfer of around 6,500 tons of aid into Gaza in the first two weeks of operation Cast Lead alone and continues to supply electricity. Unfortunately, Hamas has a tendency to seize aid shipments intended for general distribution and sell it to the highest bidder.
It is interesting that Olwan and Holtzer accuse Fatah of being “collaborationist.” What can they mean by this? That it is not sufficiently dedicated to killing Jews and destroying Israel when compared to Hamas? In the Gaza Strip, Hamas murders those whom it deems to be “collaborators”—including members of Fatah.
Despite the boilerplate that Olwan and Holtzer insert on the need for “dialogue,” the fact remains that Hamas is an Islamic supremacist organization whose stated goal is the destruction of Israel. Generations of Palestinian-Arab children have been and continue to be indoctrinated into a jihadist death cult. If one wants to understand why peace has been impossible to achieve, one need look no further.
Douglas Treilhard
ArtSci ’10
Preemptive response
Dear Editors,
Re: “Standing up for Gaza” (Journal, Jan. 13, 2009)
I’m sure the Journal is receiving a flood of letters pointing out that the article fails to mention that Hamas is an insane organization committed to the extermination of Jews. I would like to point out that this belief does not correspond with the real-world situation in any way, and by publishing any such letters you will add fuel to a misconception whose widespread adoption in this continent enables the killing to continue. In the first five minutes of the attack on Dec. 27, Israel killed as many Palestinians as Hamas killed Israelis in the last five years. Add to that the several minutes that have passed since then, and the growing pileup of dead bodies after the initial attack. I am aware that any publication tries to maintain some veneer of neutrality, and you will be obliged to publish at least one opposing viewpoint, but you must also realize that in a situation such as this, “neutrality” does not mean the propagation of falsehoods. The media can play a very big role in sustaining oppression, and while I understand that the Journal isn’t exactly the most widely distributed paper, as journalists you still have a responsibility to the truth.
Kamal Reilly
ArtSci ’08
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