“I read John Munro’s letter regards the Gaza conflict and most of it I agree with whole heartedly, war in most cases is pointless, started by people who generally have self – interest at heart and not that of their own people, innocents invariably get killed and injured, people are displaced sometimes for generations but wars have been around for a thousand years for differing reasons and will continue as long as we allow fanatics to thrive.
When I look at Israel I see a small country of some 22,145 sq km , that’s about a 7th of the size of the South Island of New Zealand.
Surrounded & bordered by Arab countries Egypt, Jordan Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, in the back ground Iran & Iraq mostly far superior in size and population.
If you were an Israeli and as a Jew had been persecuted for a thousand years and subjected to genocide by the Nazis perhaps you would have an inherent desire to protect your small country and population from a section of the world who hates you to the core.
I believe Israel as small as it just wants to be left alone to prosper but the hatred of generations between the Muslim majority and a small country not willing to go back to being nearly exterminated gives them extreme resolve.
It intrigues me that we have groups such as our friends in the Martinborough Square who quite rightly decry the Gaza war but don’t decry Hamas who started it, Hamas who are known to kill their own people who step out of line, deprive their own people of free International aid so they can sell on the goods for profit, Hamas who use their own people as human shields by building bunkers under hospitals and schools and finally the Hamas leadership who live in luxury and safety in high rise apartments in Qatar as their foot soldiers do their killing.
We have Catholics hating Protestants in Northern Ireland, a Myanmar military junta ethnic cleansing their own people in Myanmar, Sunni Muslims rivalling Shia Muslims around the Arab world, Communist China ethnically cleansing the Uyghurs, Russia attempting to ethnically cleanse Ukraine and it goes on and on to name a few beds of hatred.
I would have more respect for our Martinborough Square friends if they were not so selective and acknowledged both sides wrong doings as they wave their flags, plus protesting other more significant conflicts such as the Russia & Ukraine war which has more potential to create a 3rd world war and the destruction of our own paradise.
