Madam, - Allan Solomon (January 7th) tells us that, according to the EU's definition of anti-Semitism, "a key indicator is 'drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis'". In other words, no matter what the Israeli regime does, anyone who compares its actions to those of the Nazis is by definition motivated by hatred of Jews. This is utterly preposterous.
If the Israeli regime engages in activities reminiscent of Nazi atrocities, there is no reason why anyone should feel unable to point out the similarities. Mr Solomon is entitled to argue that such comparisons are invalid, but his cry of anti-Semitism - the equivalent of "playing the race card" - does his cause no favours.
Furthermore, Mr Solomon's attempt to contrast the plight of the Warsaw Jews with that of the Gaza Palestinians is heavily flawed. For example, by asking if the Warsaw Jews had "a charter which called explicitly for the elimination of Germans?", Mr Solomon implies that the Palestinian people have a charter that calls explicitly for the elimination of Israelis. I assume he is referring to the Hamas charter, in which case he fails to acknowledge the distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian people as a whole.
More importantly, the Hamas charter does not call for the elimination of Israelis, it calls for the elimination of the current Israeli regime, just as the current Israeli regime has made clear its intention to eliminate Hamas. By also expressing a desire for Islam, Judaism and Christianity "to co-exist in peace", the Hamas charter makes it quite clear that it is not calling for the elimination of the Israeli/Jewish people.
If Mr Solomon wanted to draw a fair comparison, he should have asked: "Did some Warsaw Jews belong to an organisation that explicitly called for the elimination of the Nazi regime?". The answer to that question is undoubtedly yes, and many - rightly - took up arms against their oppressor to help that become a reality. - Yours, etc,
PAT DIGNAM, Marcus Beach, Queensland, Australia.
Madam, - I find myself in that category which Prof Henry Patterson (January 8th) identifies as "moralising grandstanders". Fintan O'Toole's analysis (Opinion, January 6th) is correct. Nothing, I repeat nothing, justifies forcing little children to pass days clinging to the corpses of their mothers when those who killed those innocent mothers prevent the Red Cross from rescuing them from what any parent, with compassionate imagination, would categorise as the ultimate nightmare for a child.
No well-oiled propaganda machine, no self-righteous defence of "our soldiers' absolute right to defend themselves" can justify the scale of what is being done to innocent children, women and men in ghettoised Gaza. When Israel again transforms itself into Goliath, it forfeits the respect of those who would identify with David. - Yours, etc,
CIARÁN BENSON, Professor of Psychology, UCD, Dublin 4.
Madam, - Hikmat Ajjuri, delegate-general of Palestine in Ireland (Opinion, January 8th), provides a useful historical summary of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, starting from the original UN Resolution 181 of the 1940s.
In all of his 900-word piece, however, Hamas's role in precipitating the current stage of the conflict doesn't get a mention. Is this a new record for ignoring elephants in rooms? - Yours, etc,
CON O'ROURKE, Park Lane, Sandymount, Dublin 4.
Madam, - The shameful and horrific attacks on Gaza, which are so utterly disproportionate, deserve a more meaningful response than mere condemnation. Europeans do not want to supply arms or any military equipment but the European Union has economic power at its disposal which it could usefully employ.
An embargo on, or boycott of, Israeli goods and services could help to concentrate Israeli government minds and remind them of their obligations to their fellow human-beings. That policy was used with some success against the former South Africa. - Yours, etc,
DESMOND O'MALLEY, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.
Madam, - Many of letter-writers have stressed the "disproportionate" use of force by Israel in Gaza. No one ever seems to discuss the disproportionate amount of pure hatred which emanates from many of Israel's neighbours.
Hamas is not alone in wanting Israel wiped off the planet; it just happens to be a little more upfront than others about its aims. In its 1988 charter we can read of its central aim to vanquish the Jews in order to realize Allah's victory. Or, to give a direct quotation, "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it". Despite international pressure, Hamas has refused to alter any of the wording.
By contrast, Articles 2 and 3 of Bunreacht na hÉireann looked to the reintegration of the national territory, but this was aspirational and contained no reference to threats of obliteration. What has to happen for the world to wake up and realise the significance of this charter? Al-Andalus, be warned! - Yours, etc,
SUSAN PHILIPS, Ballinacoola, Glenealy, Co Wicklow.
Madam, - Neal Newman's homely analogy (January 9th) is apt, but incomplete. I suggest that Mr Newman starts at the beginning: You build your house on your neighbour's land. You will not let your neighbour come and go without your permission. You will not permit your neighbour build an extension to his house. He gets mad at you and starts throwing rocks. . .
And that, to me, is the nub of the problem. All Israeli sympathisers see are the Hamas rockets. None of them ever ask why these are people firing rockets in the first place. - Yours, etc,
JACK DOWNEY, Old Cratloe Road, Limerick.
Madam - Barrie Rockman's letter of January 8th encapsulates, albeit inadvertently, why so many people are outraged at the actions of his country's armed forces in the Gaza strip. Mr Rockman is deeply concerned at the way "peace-loving, humanistic, liberal people" display what he sees as hatred for Israel, given that, over many years, they failed to condemn Hamas's rocket attacks on southern Israel. Yet these liberals are vociferous "about the poor civilians that we [ the Israelis] accidentally hurt trying to defend ourselves".
To describe the mechanised killing of many hundreds of Palestinian men, women and children, in a densely populated urban environment, as accidentally hurting people while acting in self-defence takes the discourse of victimhood to a new level of self-serving hypocrisy. Perhaps this is one reason why "peace-loving, humanistic, liberal people" around the world are so angry at Israel's military and its apologists. - Yours, etc,
KEVIN HOWARD, Blackrock, Co Louth.
Madam, - The Israeli Government knows that Hamas will stop attacking Israelis only if it is made to no longer want to attack. But violence, and the threat of further violence will never have this effect on people like Hamas, people who are prepared to perform suicide attacks in pursuit of their objectives.
Israel's current action will serve only to radicalise the people of Gaza, making it all but impossible for a moderate leadership to emerge there. Were moderate leaders to emerge, it is likely that they would find a sympathetic US president in Barack Obama and ultimately a fair, long-term settlement.
It would seem that Israel's attack on Gaza has been orchestrated to avoid this eventuality. It gives me no pleasure to aim an accusation of such cynicism (some might even say evil) at the government of a people whom I have always considered to be hard-working, fair-minded and even heroic, but I can conceive of no other rationale for this war. - Yours, etc,
JIM McGOWAN, Arnott Street, Dublin 8.
Madam, - Many correspondents have criticised the disproportionate response of Israel to the rockets fired by Hamas. Would 900 rockets fired at residential areas of Gaza be an appropriate response? This would have caused many more civilian casualties than the present offensive, which is designed to limit them.
If the United Nations and the international community had acted months ago to stop Hamas firing rockets, we might not have the present conflict.
I hope the UN can act without further delay to prevent more conflict, in particular the spread of violence to neighbouring areas in the Middle East and further afield. - Yours, etc,
MICHAEL O'TOOLE, Rochestown Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
Madam, - For many of us who believe strongly that Israelis and Palestinians have an equal right to live in peace within agreed and secure borders what is happening in Gaza is a source of anger bordering on despair.
I have two questions for those who believe the Israelis have the right, and even the duty, to apply its current military measures against the men, women and children of Gaza:
1. After the present operation comes to an end, will Israel have fewer or more enemies in the world?
2. Are they happy with their answer to question 1? Yours, etc,
TIM JACKSON, Killiney, Co Dublin.