Letter: Of insincerity and inhumanity
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: I am appalled by the apparent inability of many of my fellow Jews to express unqualified condemnation of Israel's callous and inhuman behaviour in expelling 415 Palestinians from their own illegally occupied country. Although Rabbi David J Goldberg (23 December) deplores what he calls Israel's 'over-reaction' to 'the murder of Nissim Toledano', he attempts to justify this by writing that 'Israel has been repeatedly attacked by guerrillas and terrorists' without mentioning the underlying reason for such attacks nor the daily killing of Palestinians by Israeli troops, such as the murder in cold blood of a 10-year-old girl by an Israeli soldier reported in today's Independent.
Rabbi Goldberg praises Israel for taking 'strictest precautions to avoid civilian casualties' in a raid on Beirut airport in 1968, which was a 'reprisal' against an attack by 'two terrorists' who 'had travelled on Lebanese passports', but what about Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and its bombing raids, which killed 33,000 and injured 49,000 people, 84 per cent of whom were civilians?
An 'Israeli commando squad' is lauded for avoiding 'civilian casualties' when 'three top PLO officials were gunned down' in Beirut in 1973 (not 1974, Rabbi Goldberg), but there is no mention of the seven bystanders who were also killed, one of whom was Clara Morelli, an elderly Italian neighbour, and another Um Yusef, who, with her husband, was murdered in front of their children. Incidentally, the 'commandos' carried British passports.
Yours faithfully,
MARION WOOLFSON
Painswick,
Gloucestershire
24 December
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments