Parsons has right to write what he wants but readers beware

Dear Editor:

Roger Parsons' letter critical of Len Bennett's excellent defense of America's only reliable friend and ally in the Middle East is riddled with false and misleading information.

For example, in writing "of course, Israel has the right to defend itself. It does not have the right to commit genocide or war crimes against innocent civilians" he falsely implies Israel is committing genocide and war crimes. (Incidentally, Israel doesn't just have the right to defend itself; it has the obligation to defend its citizens against an enemy whose charter actually calls for genocide!)

Parsons should try reading the definition of genocide. He might also try paying attention to John Spencer,  Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point and considered America's leading expert on urban warfare, who after careful study has concluded Israel has gone to greater lengths to protect civilians during warfare than any other army in history.

Parsons refers to "the implementation of the United Nations resolution on the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states," but there was no implementation because while the Jewish leaders accepted the terms, which gave almost all the arable land to the Arabs and left the Jews with land that was mostly desert, the Arabs rejected it and no fewer than five Arab armies invaded Israel immediately after the British left.

He falsely referred to atrocities committed by Jewish terrorists "and the forcible expulsion and permanent exclusion of Arabs from lands that had been theirs for millennia." Not a single Arab would have left had they not started a war against the Jewish state, almost all the Arabs who left did so only because of the violence of the war they started or at the behest of their own leaders, most of the Arabs living there were relative newcomers - many actually immigrating to take advantage of the economic renaissance created by the Zionist pioneers - and it has been Jewish land for millennia before any Arabs arrived. Parsons might try reading the Bible and the Koran.

In terms of accepting a Palestinian Arab state in addition to the existing Arab state of Jordan which comprises nearly 4/5 of historic Palestine, after seeing what happened October 7 after Israel gave the Palestinian Arabs total control over Gaza 18 years before, it would be insanity to accept another Palestinian state before a revolutionary change, a de-Hamasification of Palestinian Arab society.

He complains about Israel "attacking the so-called safe areas," but neglects to point out that Hamas repeatedly sets up bases in those safe areas and launches rockets and other terror attacks from them. As even Parsons implicitly concedes, Israel has the right to defend itself from those attacks, which it obviously can't do without going after the terrorists where they are.

Let me respond to his question about the "fundamental distinction between 'hostages' and the thousands of Palestinians held in 'Administrative Detention', with no charge, no open judicial process and often no notification to their families?"

The former are innocent people taken hostage by barbaric terrorists and generally brutalized in captivity with many even murdered while in captivity, after pulled from their homes by terrorists who were also busy decapitating babies, gang raping women before or after murdering them and then parading their naked or half-naked bodies in front of cheering crowds of "innocent civilians" in Gaza. The latter are terrorists, many of them the perpetrators of the October 7 massacre, being held in conditions the innocent Israelis held hostage in Gaza would be thrilled to have.

In terms of Parsons saying "the IDF claims that around one-third of the Palestinians killed by them are Hamas fighters," that's based on the figures given by Hamas, for which the United Nations - no friend of Israel - a month or two ago determined appeared to be inflated by about a third, while the IDF's count of neutralized terrorists is likely an underestimate given the way Hamas terrorists so often pose as civilians. Thus, it appears about half and likely more than half of the deaths are of Hamas or other terrorists. This is an amazing tribute to the character of the Israeli army, given that, according to the minutes of a session of the United Nations Security Council in May, 2022, in modern warfare nearly 90% of the casualties are generally civilians.

It's unclear what Parsons meant by writing "the IDF claims that around one-third of the Palestinians killed by them are Hamas fighters. That is, effectively, all the adult males." He seems to be implying that all Hamas terrorists are adult males. That is far from the truth. Many women, youths and young children are also Hamas terrorists. At least one Israeli soldier was killed when he compassionately brought a bottle of water to a young boy pleading thirst, but was blown apart when that young boy detonated the suicide vest he was wearing.

Parsons is correct when he writes that a significant number of those killed "were doctors, ambulance drivers, journalists, aid workers ...," but he omits the fact that a significant number of doctors, ambulance drivers, journalists, aid workers, ... moonlight as Hamas terrorists. For example, the manager of the Kamal Adnan Hospital admitted "I was recruited to Hamas in 2010 with the rank of Brigadier General" and that many of those in his staff were also terrorists.

In terms of Parsons closing by writing "The figures are clearly imaginary. The deaths are not," the deaths of Hamas and other terrorists recorded by Israel indeed are not imaginary, but as noted even the United Nations has recognized that the figures provided by Hamas are imaginary.

The bottom line is that Israel is fighting a just and necessary war forced on it by a genocidal terror group and it is doing so in an admirable way. It not only deserves our support, but a decisive Israeli victory, including the permanent eradication of Hamas as a threat and the return of all the hostages kidnapped on October 7, is a vital American interest and will make the world a far safer place.

Sincerely,

Alan Stein

Sent to the Sudbury Star on July 27, 2024