THE Israeli ambassador, Mr Zvi Gabay, said last night he was "extremely unhappy" with media, treatment of the situation in Lebanon. He was particularly upset by the publication of a reader's letter in yesterday's Irish Times equating the Israeli military with the forces of Nazi Germany.
"I don't think that anybody would accept that type of criticism, equating us with the Nazis." He found the letter "very, very abhorrent" but the decision to publish it was a matter for the editor, he could not tell him what to do.
Asked about the possibility of a reply to the letter he said: "I don't want to engage in a battle with somebody like that, I think it is useless even to start to argue with him. We have to concentrate on the main issue. We would like first of all to achieve peace. We would like that the Katusha missiles would be stopped.
The embassy itself had received a letter from a person who said he and his friends were having a Mass said for Adolf Hitler and they would pray during the Mass for somebody to take Hitler's place to "finish the job".
Mr Gabay was launching a novel, Songs on the Death of Children, by the Israeli born Irish writer Ronit Lentin. Published by Poolbeg, it is the story of a journalist from Dublin who travels to Israel to report on the Palestinian uprising, the Intifada.
Ms Kate Cruise O'Brien of Poolbeg congratulated the ambassador on agreeing to launch, the book, even though it criticised Israel's response to the Intifada.