IN a letter appearing in the Wednesday edition (October 4), one John Devlin opines about “the plethora of Palestinian flags erected by people who are either ignorant of the Holocaust or are anti-Semitic”. Where to begin?
Why should individuals displaying the Palestinian flag be perceived as such? Is this gentleman completely unaware of the plight of the Palestinian people?
Has he no knowledge of the Palestinian villages razed, the expulsion of Palestinian citizens from their homes to make way for illegal settlements over the years – since July of this year alone, 13 families, that’s 84 people including 44 children, have been forcibly displaced from the village of Masafar Yatta.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has stated: “Over the years, and increasingly since May 2022, the Israeli authorities have imposed movement restrictions, confiscated property, demolished homes, and carried out military trainings in Masafer Yatta.”
Is he completely ignorant of the ongoing campaign waged against Palestinian civilians including children by the Israeli forces – (2014) four young boys, members of the same family, playing football on the beach killed by gunfire from Israeli warships carrying out a blockade of Gaza.
Rouzan Ashraf Abdul Qadir al-Najjar was a Palestinian nurse/paramedic who was killed by the Israeli forces while volunteering as a medic during the 2018 Gaza border protests.
One might (being charitable) assume his conflation of support for Palestinian people’s rights with anti-Semitism as being largely due to his own apparent lack of understanding and ignorance.
His attempt to link it with the Holocaust is however indicative of someone pushing the pro-Israel agenda wherein any criticism of that apartheid state must be discredited by any means possible.
Just to be clear – supporting the struggle of the people of Palestine and showing that support by displaying the Palestinian flag has nothing to do with the Holocaust and is not anti-Semitic.
Réamann Ó hÓgáin
Newry, Co Down
Unity is means to an end for those who identify as Irish in the north
Reading the debate on Irish unity between Brian Feeney and Alex Kane left me with the thought that if I wanted someone to defend me in court, it would be without doubt Brian Feeney.
Irish unity is a means to an end for those who identify as Irish in the north, from a system that from its inception right up to the present day treats them less favourably than their Protestant (unionist) neighbours.
Mr Kane offers a simplistic view of our history when he says that the ‘nation once again’ ambition was always going to trump anything that British unionism could offer.
Try to understand what it is to be oppressed in nearly every walk of life in what you consider your own country and then you might get a better understanding of why we want to be part of new and free Ireland.
You are right in one thing – that unionism cannot be accommodated in a united Ireland – but I’m confident that once our Protestant neighbours have slipped the shackles of imperialist Britain, it will serve as an awakening for them and they will finally realise that they too are Irish and happy.
Sean O’Mordha
London
US military has no need to refuel at Shannon Airport
Since October 2001, well over 3,000,000 armed US soldiers passed through Shannon airport, most of them on their way to and from conflict zones in the Middle East, and more recently supporting the war in Ukraine also. Tens of thousands of aircraft associated with the US military have been refuelled at Shannon airport.
Ireland has no military capabilities that would make any significant difference in such wars, and the US military have no need to refuel at Shannon airport because they have dozens of suitable refuelling stations at Nato airports in Western Europe.
Our Irish governments have been actively supporting wars that have resulted in the deaths of millions of people, especially children. The cost to Irish taxpayers for US military use of Shannon airport is an estimated €100 million due to additional security costs and air traffic control fees, money that should be spent on taking care of our most vulnerable citizens.
Therefore, the only obvious explanation for US military use of Shannon airport is to end Irish neutrality, against the wishes of the majority of Irish citizens.
Under Article 29 of Bunreacht na hÉireann, and as a self-declared neutral state, Ireland should be promoting international peace and not supporting wars. These wars are causing huge damage to the global environment as well as greatly increasing the risk of catastrophic nuclear war.
If justified reparations are ever imposed on the countries that waged or supported these unjustified wars, then Ireland should be levied with a proportion of such punitive reparations. Why is it that no one is questioning the morality of the slaughter of these millions of innocents?
Edward Horgan
Castletroy, Limerick
