Israeli Takes Issue With Namibia Stance

HAVING read your editorial column concerning Gaza, I feel I need to dispute many of your comments.The Hamas charter calls for Israel’s total destruction.

HAVING read your editorial column concerning Gaza, I feel I need to dispute many of your comments.The Hamas charter calls for Israel’s total destruction. They believe that all the Jews in Israel should be killed, and that an Islamic state should be in place, between the river and the sea – the river being the Jordan River, on the east side of Israel and the sea, the Mediterranean, being the west side of Israel. In other words, the whole of Israel. They see no other option. For Israel, to negotiate with Hamas, can only be to negotiate its own suicide.I find it extremely interesting, that the government of Namibia condemns the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, but does not condemn the indiscriminate missile and mortar attacks of Hamas on Israeli civilian communities. Now I live in one of these communities, called Kfar Azza, 2 km from the border with Gaza. For 8 years, we have been under missile, and lately under mortar attacks. In my kibbutz, a good friend was blown apart by a mortar shell, outside his front door, many have been injured and our lives turned into hell. Three years ago, Israel totally withdrew from Gaza, and they had their opportunity ‘ to exercise their right to self determination’Huge amount of aid, money and hope poured into Gaza. There was enormous optimism, that finally, there would be peace and prosperity, and that this would be a good start for a similar path for the Palestinians in the West Bank. What did we get? Missiles, fired at all the civilian population centres around the Gaza Strip. No other responsible government would have waited for 8 years of this carnage and terror, before reacting. A few days before the Israeli incursion, Prime Minister Olmert, appealed to the population of Gaza, to get the Hamas to stop firing missiles into Israel, otherwise, the consequences would be severe. The answer, more missiles.Now, you write about the disproportionate use of force. What would be proportionate in your mind? For every missile fired into Israel, one should be fired into Gaza? If the answer is yes, then, as Gaza is extremely densely populated, each Israeli missile fired indiscriminately into Gaza would kill tens of civilians. Or, for each casualty on our side, should there be a casualty on their side? The duty of our government is to protect its citizens, therefore it is my right that my government should defend me, and that arithmetic should not be a consideration in protecting me.You write about human rights. What about my human rights, and those of my children, being deliberately targeted by Hamas. They have been violated. You write about the brutal murder of civilians. Israel does not send suicide bombers into restaurants in Gaza, Israel does not deliberately kill civilians, but Hamas uses civilians as human shields for their operations. When Israel causes civilian casualties, there are investigations and apologies. When Hamas causes civilian casualties, they hand out candies in the street, as they see this as an achievement.You write about Israel’s assaults on other states. We have never threatened to drive any nation into the sea, as we were promised by Egypt and Syria in 1948. Now, Iran has promised to eradicate Israel. We believe their president, he means it. Our enemies have lost many wars against us, but are still around. We cannot afford to lose even one war, we will disappear. We live in a very rough neighbourhood in the Middle East. To survive, we cannot afford to be the nice guy, but ultimately, the dead guy.A wise man once said, ‘Do not judge another man, till you have walked a mile in his shoes’.Ralph LewinsohnKibbutz Kfar AzzaIsrael