Letter to the Editor

I wrote a letter to the editor of the Times Herald Record to respond to one by Jim Bridges. As it was too long I sent a a shorter version as well. Unfortunately, it was edited down to the extent that it did not convey what I hoped to say. Here's the original letter.

The events last week off the coast of Gaza have stirred up great passions. Jim Bridges wrote to the Editor to express some of his anguish concluding that he can no longer support Israel. Jim is a friend and colleague but the Bible tells us we are to correct a friend, lest he err (Lev. 19:17) so I must gently offer some corrections. Most of what Jim wrote is simply inaccurate but for the sake of brevity let me address some of his statements and perhaps explain why he and all of us must continue to support Israel.

To begin, Jim states that Israel “is a democracy, but for only some of its citizens.” That is simply an outrageous lie. Israel is a democracy for all of its citizens. One could simply ask the democratically elected Arab members of Israel’s parliament.

He states that the accounts of the passengers do not match that of the Israel Defense Forces. That is certainly true. Israel has released video of the soldiers identifying live fire aimed at them. The flotilla passengers deny that. While the mantra of the flotilla was peaceful resistance, numbers of Arab and Muslim leaders around the world have praised the dead as martyrs and have expressed joy at the outcome of the events at sea. Memri.org is a good translation service to find these things. There are now reports that some 50 of the members of the Mavi Marmara were trained in violent resistance. If the majority of the passengers were intent on peaceful protest, those 50 clearly were not. The whole world has seen video of their preparations and the brutal beating of the soldiers as they boarded.

Jim suggests that the Israeli “government rejects any criticism over what has transpired” and that there is “no inward looking.” Alas, there is no truth there. The news media is in an uproar, the populace is screaming back and forth over the wisdom or foolishness of the operation and immediately following the events, the Prime Minister’s office in Israel issued a statement on the “regrettable incident.”

The lives of the average Palestinian is difficult at best. The Gazans live under tough conditions. That is a reality that is surely unacceptable. Alongside that suffering in Gaza is Hamas, a political leadership dedicated through word and deed to assure the destruction of the State of Israel. Hamas has smuggled in weapons to Gaza and has fired over 8000 rockets and mortars on Israeli civilians. The fact that the naval blockade causes suffering is a terrible consequence of having to prevent the very clear and present danger to Israel that exists every day. In a place filled with complexity, here is one simple question. If someone was trying to kill you, what would do to stop it? If you were the Prime Minister of Israel and had rockets falling on your people, what would you do?

Jim bemoans that he cannot support Israel. But who will he support? Terrorists? Hamas? Iran who is actively backing Hamas and who hopes to create a de facto Iranian port on the Mediterranean? I hope and pray that Israel finds new ways in preventing weapons smuggling that avert the possibility of violence and that those who seek to alleviate the plight of the Palestinians will, having nothing to hide, work hand in hand with Israel to ensure supplies are inspected properly and shipped quickly to the people who need it.