Stop de-legitimising Israel and politicising your journal
BMJ 2009; 338 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b1075 (Published 17 March 2009) Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1075
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I would be pleased to respond to Mohammed Javid's request for
justification, but must first note that he did not address any of the
"why's" I suggested that an interested reader might ask.
He questions the Israeli incursion into Gaza and the resulting
destruction. It is clear that not one person need have died in Gaza; not
one more building destroyed, if the 10,000 rockets and mortars launched at
Israeli civilians over the last 8 years which killed, maimed, and
traumatized thousands of Israeli civilians, and which were the reason for
the Israeli and Egyptian embargo of Gaza, had stopped. In the end, what
else could the government of Israel do to protect its population?
He speaks of Palestinian land being taken over forcibly in 1948, and
subsequent "ethnic cleansing." Leaving aside, for the moment, that there
never in history having existed a Palestinian state, "Palestinian land"
may be a misnomer, the undeniable facts are that a Jewish state, with its
capital in Jerusalem existed for a thousand years; was re-established
legally and morally by the U.N. in 1947; was attacked immediately by 5
Arab armies and the "Palestinians"; repelled the attacks and survived.
There is no doubt that some Israeli actions taken in that war, as in any
war, including Gaza recently, were shameful. Those however, were the
exception, not the rule. War is Hell.
While Dr. Javid did not mention the war of extermination launched by
Egypt, Syria, and Jordan against Israel in 1967, which again is the "Why?"
of the "occupation" against which he rails, he does invoke non-existent
U.N. resolutions allegedly demanding that Israel return to its 1967
borders. The ceasefire lines of 1967 were established in 1948, and never
recognized as borders by any Arab state. In the wake of Israel's victory
in 1967, U.N.S.C. Resolutions 242 and 338 required Israel to return (some)
Arab land, in the context of mutual recognition, and a peace agreement, a
stipulation which the Arabs immediately rejected in August 1967, in
Khartoum.
We could go on. Again, each side has its narrative. Continuously
repeating it, blindly rejecting the legitimate needs of the other side,
will not bring peace any closer, nor improve the lives and health of Arabs
or Israelis. With the support of most people of goodwill, and the
overwhelming majority of world Jewry, Israel will do what it must to
survive as an independent, democratic, Jewish state in a sliver of its
ancient homeland. Certainly, errors and injustices have occurred. While
steps must, and are being taken to minimize and avoid those in the future,
holding Israel to a standard above that required of any other state,
including Britain, or America, is a much greater injustice, with potential
calamitous consequences.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
I feel I must respond to William Bilek's comments.His assertion that
my comments represent unregulated, non-evidence based opinion is totally
false and unjustifiable.
Israeli human rights violations and blatant targeting of innocent
women, children and the elderly have been verified by independent
observers, including journalists, the UN, and medical personnel from UK
and elsewhere who are in Gaza providing humanitarian aid and asistance.Can
he provide me with any justification for the total destruction of the
Gazan infrastructure?
Palestinian land was taken over forcibly at the time of
the proclamation of Israel which was followed by ethnic cleansing and
expulsion of the Arabs on a massive scale and to this day the Arabs are
denied the return of their lawful land and property.In Jerusalem the
Palestinian are denied permission to build property on their land which is
forcibly taken over and handed over to the Jews as continuation of the
ethnic cleansing policy
Israel continues to ignore UN resolutions to hand over Arab lands and
return to the pre-1967 borders and has annexed large areas of Palestine.
There will be no resolution to this conflict until Israeli
suppression of the rights of Palestinians and occupation of Palestine
continues to be state policy.
The West is actively colluding to support Israeli non-humanitarian
policies with only a feeble response to the recent conflict.The Western
media has deliberately failed to highlight the suffering, on a massive
scale, of the Palestinians for fear of evoking the wrath of the public.
The BBC, in a shameful move, which is to be condemned in the strongest
terms, refused outright to air an appeal for fund-raising for the
Palestinian people.The only solution to the Israeli systemic state terror
is to bring it into the open and to the attention of the public.It is the
duty of all of us, including the BMJ, to highlight the tragedy and push
the Wetern politicians into action,which should iclude the cessation of
the arming of the Israeli war machine.
Had the Public in Europe,and UK in particular, seen the massive
unjustified destruction of the infrastructure and the public transport and
the suffering of the civilians the citizens of the West would have ensured
that the so-called Western "leaders" responded in the manner which is
consistent with the best humanitarian traditions and values
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Dr. Javid's comments exemplify the futility of opening emotional
topics to unregulated, non-evidence based opinion in a scientific journal.
A discerning reader might approach Dr. Javid's comments, as well as those
of others, with the recurrent question, "Why?"
Israel has been at war since its re-establishment in 1948. Why? After
60 years, Palestinian refugee camps still abound in the Arab world. Why?
Gaza and the West Bank were "occupied" in 1967. Why? The health care
statistics for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank soared from 1967 to
1990, only to fall again thereafter. Why? After living in a spirit of
harmony and co-existence with Palestinians from 1967 to 1987, Israel then
found it necessary to establish roadblocks, build a wall, and restrict
Palestinian freedoms. Why? Gaza is currently blockaded by Egypt and
Israel. Why? Israeli forces entered Gaza last December. Why? Israel is the
only country whose existence continues to be challenged daily, both
politically and militarily. Why? In its fight for survival, Israel is
supposed to be held to a higher standard than even Britain or the U.S.
Why?
The BMJ calls for full exposure of competing interests from its
contributors. Why not also insist on full exposure of facts, as well?
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
The BMJ is undoubtedly correct in bringing the Palestinian
humanitarian crisis to the attention of its readers and the public. The media is heavily biased in favour of Israel and the
public is totally unaware of the ground realities in Palestine.
The narrow strip of land comprising Gaza is fully blockaded by the
Israelis and arrival of humanitarian aid and the resources necessary for
daily living are strictly controlled by the Israeli authorities.The Gazan
infrastrucure has been totally destroyed and civilians including women and
children have been ruthlessly targeted during the recent
conflict.
I am fully in favour of equal rights for the Jews and their right to
co-exist in peace and tranquillity with their neighbours.I believe in the
unity of humanity.We are all descended from our forefather Prophet
Adam(peace be upon him) and we are all entitled to full human rights as
enshrined in the holy scriptures and the Geneva convention.
Health is intimately linked to social and economic
welfare.Deprivation is strongly linked with poor health and targeting
civilians,medical practitioners and ambulance transport is
to be strongly condemned.
Maintaining silence in the face of the Israeli atrocities equates
with condoning such actions.The BMJ and the media must bring the plight of
the Palestinian people to the attention of the world as vested interests
are investing all their energies in suppressing the israeli brutalities
whilst only willing to condemn non-Israeli conflicts.Yes,they should
condemn non-Israeli aggression and violation of human rights but should at
the same time condemn Israel equally forcefully.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
What is religion?
Notwithstanding all of its respectful liturgy and doxology, religion is, in part,
frustration and anger with the Creator, who gave us enough intelligence to
understand life’s dilemmas, but not enough intelligence to do anything about
it.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests