Mr. Lande’s letter in last week’s Timberjay took issue with mine of the prior week. He points out that Hamas was democratically elected by Gaza Palestinians. In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all Israeli settlements and military personnel from Gaza. A year later, Gazans elected Hamas. Hamas has held no elections since, has imposed authoritarian rule, stolen foreign aid to enrich its leaders, bought weapons of war, and built a massive tunnel system from which civilians are excluded. And Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, continues to steal food and other aid and disrupt deliveries. Many Gazans today shout, “Hamas get out!” For a discussion of Hamas tunnel strategy, visit: https://mwi.westpoint.edu/gazas-underground-hamass-entire-politico-military-strategy-rests-on-its-tunnels/.
Mr. Lande says I am wrong that the IDF is the best in the world in avoiding civilian casualties in war, claims they do horrible things to Palestinians in Gaza, and creates “massive amounts of propaganda” to distract people from their activities. However, he provides no actual evidence to back up his claims. His statement about IDF propaganda puzzles me because I haven’t seen any, and if there is any, you won’t find it in liberal media in the U.S. or the U.K. For example, an analysis of 1,398 articles published by The New York Times during a 7-month period, determined that only 10 percent of articles expressed empathy toward Israel vs. 46 percent (647) empathetic toward Palestinians, and of those, only two blamed Hamas for their suffering. Full report at: https://honestreporting.com/behind-the-headlines-the-data-that-exposes-medias-anti-israel-media-bias/.
I commend Mr. Lande for not relying solely on the U.S. press and seeking Israeli news sources as well. Haaretz, which he mentions, is far left. A better choice would be The Times of Israel, which is liberal and more balanced in its coverage. Anyone seeking to intelligently understand a topic as complex and contentious as the conflicts in the Middle East needs to consult a range of reliable sources to inform their understanding. Mr. Lande tries to do that, and so do I.
Charles Marsden
Ely