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Israel is not for everyone

IF GIRAFFES had brass necks they couldn’t match James Marlow’s who wrote a defence of Israel’s dispossession of Palestinians (March 30). Israel gave the Palestinians the West Bank he writes, in an astonishing mangling of truth.

Mr Marlow follows the usual path of denial, and evasion. For him the well documented terrorist ethnic cleansing of 1948, which drove Palestinians from their homes, is unworthy of comment. Let’s look at Mr Marlow’s claims.

The “Arabs rejected the UN partition plan.” The UN partition recommendation was to give over half the land to the Zionist settlers. At the time Arabs owned 85 per cent of the land while Jews owned seven per cent.

It is simply ludicrous to claim rejection of such theft was a missed opportunity. The new state was then, in the words of Zionist historian Benny Morris: “Founded on brute force, repression and fear, collaboration and treachery, beatings and torture chambers and daily intimidation, humiliation and manipulation, along with stealing of valuable land and resources.”

Ben-Gurion had written: “After we become a strong force, as the result of the creation of a state, we shall abolish partition and expand to the whole of Palestine.”

“Why have Palestinians rejected their independent state…” Mr Marlow asks. Before 1988, and then formally, the PLO accepted the international consensus on a two state solution. Israel completely rejected this.

“Palestinian Arabs in the Israeli army.” Israel links access to many benefits and rights to military service. One study found volunteers saying that it is a way to overcome the institutional discrimination they face as members of the Palestinian minority. And one shot 13 bullets into a13-year-old girl in Gaza in 2004.

“Arabs use the supreme court.” One son of Palestinian victims of a Supreme Court judgement said Israeli courts “behave as a partner with Israeli authorities and settlers,” and “enable them to take possession of as many [Palestinian] houses as possible.”

It is a joke to pretend a few cases outweigh the appalling record of the Israeli Supreme Court.

“Jewish people have been in the land for almost 4,000 years.” This has no relevance. In any case the historic peoples of Canaan followed a number of religious practices. Even the Old Testament stories report on continual mixing of “Israelites” with others, a practice that God reportedly felt obliged to repeatedly punish.

“Palestinians vote and are in the Knesset.” The institutional minority status means those MKs have no power to prevent the continuing theft of land and discrimination against Palestinians.

Israel is a self-proclaimed Jewish state, not a state for the inhabitants of Israel. When in 2015 Palestinian MKs called for Israel to be taken before the International Criminal Court for its crimes in Gaza it was important but demonstrated they have no power.

Mr Marlow’s “say no to hate” conclusion” would be better directed at Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu whose defence minister called Peace Now a virus.

PETER SMITH

Woodside Avenue

Swindon Mechanics’ needs care

WE READ (SA 31/03/2017) that our North Swindon MP wants the developers of the former Railway Workshops area north of the railway line to take over and “develop” what is left of the former GWR workshops on the south side of the line. What sort of free enterprise Conservatism is that? Those buildings are being put to very good use already by a host of small independent businesses are they not? Isn’t that what the Tories used to claim they were all about? Maybe not, considering what the Chancellor tried to do to small businesses in his recent Budget, so perhaps we should now conclude that little people trying to make good are no longer wanted in the Tory camp.

Mr Tomlinson would do better to target his ill-thought through development suggestions a little further from the railway line and come up with a proposal to save and restore that infamous festering Swindon eyesore the former Mechanics’ Institute building, a structure of true historical usage and architectural worth, as compared with the buildings on the other side of Sheppard Street and London Street, where only the outer walls remain to remind anyone of their former purpose.

T G FLINDERS

Swindon

Question for council

AS A Covingham resident of 33 years I must admit I love the area. The recent work on Covingham Drive has been well done. A pathway and bicycle track, that has yet to be painted. I have walked it recently with my little Westie.

May I ask a simple question of the Swindon council Grand Poo Baas and accomplices in context of spending my money, as well as that of all hard working council taxpayers?

What about the potholes adjacent to this new venture on Covingham Drive? Not to mention the state of the footpath.

Perhaps I am missing something in this common sense diagnosis.

If you had a leaking tap in your bathroom, that needed a new washer would you buy a new bathroom suite? Of course you wouldn’t.

Why then do Swindon Council not work on that basic financial agenda?Not one of them are paying for their financial misdemeanours - we all are.

BILL WILLIAMS

Merlin Way

Covingham

Swindon

Let me have puzzles

WOULD it be possible to use the centre pages each day for the puzzle page plus some of the bigger adverts that are in the paper every day so that me and probably more like me would not have to wait for the “other halves” to finish digesting every single word in the paper before being able to enjoy the bit we like?

I do read the paper as well but my favourite bit is the puzzle page. MARGARET HAYES

Shrivenham Road

South Marston