Madam, – The Letters page of The Irish Times is an intriguing place for the ambassadors of Israel and Iran to continue the proxy war between their respective nations. The Israeli ambassador’s letter (March 18th) says that “as the Irish people know . . . conflict resolution can only ever happen when the two sides behave like adults”.
As an Irish person, I’d like to helpfully suggest that another important part of conflict resolution is identifying what you have in common with your adversary rather than what sets you apart.
So what do Israel and Iran have in common? Well, both states violate countless UN resolutions, fight bloody wars with their neighbours and commit human rights violations against the people whose welfare they are legally responsible for. Now, with all that in common, can both parties not sit down and talk face to face, or, even better, start living up to their responsibilities in their own respective states? – Yours, etc,