In a letter to the Independent, UKIP FOI Press Officer, Jacob Campbell vehemently refutes false claims about Israel's recent security operations
DEAR SIR, It is with horror that I read that Israel has orchestrated a massive cover-up of its brutality in the Gaza flotilla raid, that the IDF murdered 759 innocent Palestinians in Operation Cast Lead, and that Israeli soldiers used civilians as human shields ('Israel betrays its ideals by whitewashing the military', 24 January). I read these things with horror because none of them is true. The Turkel Commission was a scrupulously thorough investigation into the military's handling of the flotilla incident which was overseen by a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a Canadian QC. Both international observers were fully satisfied with the impartiality of the commission. To all but the most rabidly anti-Zionist demagogue, it is patently clear that responsibility for the 9 Turkish deaths lies solely with those who resisted IDF commandos by attacking them with knives and iron bars. As for the 2008 Gaza War, the number of Palestinian civilians killed was approximately 295 (1 in 4 deaths), despite the best efforts of Hamas to maximise civilian casualties by operating in densely populated areas. This makes Operation Cast Lead one of the most humanely fought conflicts in the history of modern urban warfare. The sheer mendacity of the claim that IDF soldiers used children as human shields does not even warrant a response. How can peace ever be possible when such lies are allowed to masquerade as fact in the pages of British newspapers?
JACOB CAMPBELL, York Press Officer, UKIP Friends of Israel
A good letter but, unfortunately, I fear the last question is rather moot. The British media get away with telling lies about Israel because their behaviour is vindicated by so many. With regards to Israel, it is obvious that a form of hysteria seems to have taken over the Western world, where people absolutely no interest or knowledge in politics still feel they can rant and rave about the Middle-East. Thus, the media is rewarded for tellings lies because that is what so many wish to here (certainly the individuals who make the most noise).
ReplyDeleteOn my blog, I've reprinted a letter which I recently sent to St. Georges West Church in Edinburgh: a church that flaunts its apparently 'inclusive' and 'welcoming' credentials, yet feels justified to hosts talks by extremists and litter the streets with posters based on the most crude anti-Semitism.
With the anti-Israeli lobby, facts simply don't matter, as they have not mattered to any anti-Semite or 'Zionists conspiracy' theorist throughout history.