Who are the terrorists?

Letters

Editor: I get upset when my member of Parliament obfuscates. I refer to Svend Robinson's latest letter, "A couple of corrections." (Bulletin, Dec. 6)

Robinson refers to the defensive actions of the democratic country of Israel as "state terrorism of the Sharon government." He does know, as well as anyone, that the actions of the "Sharon government" are purely that of a defensive nature, protecting its citizens and rooting out real terrorists. The Israel Defence Forces does not target civilians, though civilians will get hurt if they place themselves or are placed by their handlers in the line of fire.

Conversely, Robinson's pals among the Palestinian Arabs target, principally, children, women and the aged in restaurants, hotels, airplanes, buses and clubs. He seems not to condemn those actions save on occasions in concert with condemning Israel. Nor does he seem to condemn terrorist action in Bali where dozens of peaceful Hindus and Aussies (among others) were killed, or the bombing in Kenya where Kenyans and Israelis were targeted. He avoids mention of Muslim targeting of Hindus and Christians in India and Pakistan; one can recite incidents the world over of Muslims targeting others.

He never refers to real state terrorism by the Arafat government, the governments of Sudan, Iraq, Algeria, Syria and a few others. He never condemns the Hezbollah, for I suppose he follows the Canadian government's lead in saying that the latter provides "social services." Some social services, as CSIS, the RCMP and the rest of us know.

He suggests that there will be "peace in our time" if only the ubiquitous Sharon government would "end the occupation, dismantle the settlements and live in secure, peaceful...." This man is not naive. He is very intelligent and knows full well the history and designs of the Arab peoples of the area. He knows, as do we, that the Arabs of the area have been offered their own country since the mid-1930s and have rejected these overtures repeatedly - as recently as two years ago. To quote the late Abba Eban, "they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." He also knows that if, perchance, his wishes of a Judenrein Judea and Samaria were to happen, it will not be long before the Arabs' serious designs on Israel proper will commence – and then, with a firm base of modern weapons supplied by the rest of the Muslim world, with assistance from the "social services providers" with their Katyushas in the north, the Syrians in the east and the Egyptians in the south.

Svend is an idefatigable worker for the poor and oppressed. Unfortunately, he distinguishes not between those unfortunates who are thus by accident of history and climate and those who have done it to themselves, viz the Arabs of the Palestinian territories whose misguided intifada has hurt themselves immeasurably. They, at least, are waking up to the fact that this ploy has worked more against themselves than against their intended targets, the Israelis. We know the extent of Israeli suffering.

I. Bill Gruenthal
Burnaby

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