A Check on Reality Needed

{Comments on letter attached below sent to Today newspaper}


I refer to letter titled 'A Distortion of Reality' published in your paper on Aug 25.

The writer was 'surpised' to read what was reported in your paper the day before and went on to challenge your reporter to 'find one starving Palestinian or even one close to starving' and claimed that the article was a distortion of actual events.

He proceeded to paint a wholely positive picture of the Israelis and did the opposite with the Palestinians whom he claimed have a 'traditional habit of blaming Israel for all difficulties', and challenged them to 'take fate in their own hands'.

What a neat ‘good guy versus terrible guy’ picture of reality indeed, political or historical context notwithstanding.

As we cannot resolve which of these are distortions of reality without the benefit of history, I can only suggest that your readers do their own check of reality starting with the history of the making of Israel from around the time of the Balfour Declaration, and see how 'fate was taken into the hands' of certain people (some may claim perhaps 'under-handedly').

100 years of history may not be ideal but I personally found it quite sufficient to understand this particular 'reality'.



A Distortion of Reality
Stop blaming Israel for all Palestinian problems, says ambassador-designate

Letter from ilan ben-dovAmbassador-designate
Embassy of Israel, Singapore

I was surprised to read the report in your newspaper, "Palestinians starve as Israelis get cash" (Aug 24).

To begin with, I would like to suggest that if the writer, Mr Sanjay Suri, is to find one "starving Palestinian" or even a person who is close to starving, I would be very much interested to know about him.

The presentation of the Jewish settlers as ones who get "comfortable compensations" is also a misrepresentation of reality.

Nothing is comfortable for people who are being forced to leave their homes after 30 years. And this, without respect to the political context.

The whole attempt in this article to describe reality as if Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip creates a problem for the Palestinians is again a distortion of the actual events.

I would like, with your permission, to mention the following:

The disengagement plan is an initiative of the Israeli government whose aim is to stop the political stalemate in the region and to reduce violence and friction between the Israelis and Palestinians.

But beyond this, Israel has initiated the disengagement plan because it does not wish to rule over the Palestinians.

Until the end of this year, there will be no Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip.

It is now time for the Palestinians to take their own fate in their hands and to assume responsibility for the future of their children.

The traditional habit of blaming Israel for all difficulties, as was done by Mr Suri, instead of challenging them, will lead us nowhere.

Therefore, to describe current reality with words like those in your headline, "Palestinians starve as Israelis get cash", is, unfortunately, far away from describing current events in the region.