Readers Write: Revisiting the 1967 Six-Day War

The Island Now

 

 

With interest I read Michael Hubsher’s April 19 opinion regarding BDS being anti-Semitism. My view is that BDS is anti-Zionist with Zionism being a nationalistic rather than religious movement.

My writings are in disagreement with policies that are brutal and non-humanitarian and I hope for something better. I do not foresee the end of the Israeli state. The Palestinian demand for the right of total return cannot be granted. That would be the end of Israel. Due to the half a million settlers in the West Bank, a two-state solution is not workable. A one-state solution with equal rights for both Arabs and Jews supported by Palestinians would be extremely difficult because Jews, having sacrificed to have a homeland, choose to not relinquish control. BDS, internal resistance, and world opinion is a hope for humanitarian endeavor.

Not to diminish democratic aspirations but Israel presently is an apartheid theocracy. It is a colonialist state where Arabs are second- and or third-class citizens depending on where they reside. On July 19, 2018 the right wing-dominated Knesset passed a new national law. Israel was declared as the “Nation State of the Jewish People,” making self-determination the exclusive right of Jews and thus elevating everything Jewish. By juxtaposition the rights of the Palestinians, their history, culture, and language have been further denigrated by Israel.

The history of the indigenous Palestinian inhabitants is denied by Israel and Zionists. Israel, as a small country surrounded by large hostile nations for reasons of security, wishes to increase both its Jewish population and territory. Palestinians are blame free of the Holocaust, yet their homes and land continue to be taken. Settlement construction continues. Resistance is brutally suppressed. Hence the accusation of ethnic cleansing. The recent election contest between Benny Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu only affirms the continuation and portent of greater brutality.

As a footnote, a correction to Hubsher’s sequence of events and the cause of the 1967 War. Per CIA intelligence assessments based on communication interceptions and satellite observation contrary to assurances provided by Israeli officials at the highest levels, it was the Israelis that attacked first.  It was a lie that the Egyptians had fired on settlements and that forces were observed heading toward Israel. In a surprise the Israelis were able to destroy more than 200 Egyptian aircraft on the ground. The unprepared aircraft were parked wing tip to wing tip. With audacity Israel was able to acquire lands that are now occupied.

At a high level it has been said that Israel should not be considered a reliable ally. Israeli intent continues to be to influence U.S. foreign policy to serve its own interests. Since through AIPAC and other organizations unwarranted influence is exerted, this nation must guard against wars and other ventures truly not in its best interests.

James Ansel

Port Washington

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