Madam, - If Liam Quaide (August 4th) wants an example of "cartoonish bias" on the Middle East conflict, he should go back to the Vincent Browne column of July 16th to which my letter of July 18th was a reply.
The article in question was an incendiary attack, using words such as "terror" and "savagery", on a small, democratic country, the only one in its neighbourhood, which has had to defend itself every day of its 60-year existence. I merely provided a few examples of where real savagery lies. It is not "ad hominem rhetoric" to describe the tirade as a "toxic hate-emission". One might even, to paraphrase Jesus, love the emitter while hating the emission.
Mr Quaide is sadly misled in regarding the B'Tselem organisation as "objective". Any website that gives the reason for the erection of the security fence as "to prevent the uncontrolled entry of Palestinians into Israel" is being, at the very least, economical with the truth. However, such a body has freedom to avail of Israel's democracy in order to revile the state. If Mr Quaide ever comes across a "human rights information centre" broadcasting or blogging out of one of the surrounding states or from next-door Gaza, he may be in a position to make a fair comparison of the human rights records of Israel and her neighbours. He will need to be quick, though, as such manifestations have lifetimes measured in nano-seconds.
In the meantime, it would be interesting to have his comment on Israel's foolish, in my view agreement - foolish, in my view - to treat in its hospitals 23 Fatah fighters wounded by Hamas in the latest Gaza bloodletting, while allowing another 180 safe passage to the West Bank, where Mr Abbas does not want them. All sides admit that only the presence of the Israeli Defence Forces in the West Bank prevents it from becoming another Hamastan. - Yours, etc,
DERMOT MELEADY, Dublin 3.