KARL HENNESSY,
Sir, - Dr Noreen O'Carroll was correct in writing (July 26th) that Israeli society is divided on current government policies. However, it was highly inappropriate for a paid staff member to be so scathing in her attack on the government and prime minister who employ her.
I would trust that Dr O'Carroll was familiar with her choice of employers before accepting her post at the Israeli embassy. Signing the letter in her official capacity as press officer gave the impression that Israeli embassy employees both here and abroad had in some way sanctioned the letter.
Israel deliberately targets persons identified as and confirmed to be active members of organisations responsible for terrorist attacks. This targeting has, tragically, at times resulted in the deaths of innocents. These innocent deaths inevitably lead to a great deal of soul-searching within Israel, and to the establishment of inquiries such as the Kahanne commission which, as Senator Norris pointed out (July 30th,) resulted in Ariel Sharon's removal from the defence portfolio. It also resulted in the dismissal of the military chief of staff and subsequently in the downfall of the Begin-led Government.
Palestinians deliberately target Israelis - any Israeli. It doesn't matter if they are ultra-orthodox Jews who have never served in the army, babies in prams, workers on buses, youths in cafés, students in universities or soldiers in uniform. The target is an Israeli and the aim is the classic aims of terrorism - to instill fear in the general population.
These deaths are greeted with scenes of mass public celebration and street parties among Palestinian civilians. Condemnation of suicide attacks is a rarity among Palestinian leaders and when voiced is usually accompanied by statements placing the overall responsibility at Israel's doorstep.
This is the reason why hawks such as Sharon find themselves at the pinnacle of power. - Yours, etc.,
KARL HENNESSY,
Newbridge,
Co Kildare.
Sir, - Natalie Wynn (July 30th), maintains that the US funds the Palestinian Authority as well as Israel. This is untrue: the US, unlike the European Union, does not fund the PA. It does contribute to non-governmental organisations, and to UN agencies such as UNWRA, and to this extent, money from American taxpayers does find its way to Palestinian communities. But by contrast, the state of Israel is the recipient of the largest single disbursement of American bilateral aid.
Israel receives one third of the entire American aid budget - $3 billion a year - even though its Gross Domestic Product is greater than those of most of its neighbours combined. Since 1992, it has also been receiving $2 billion a year in loan guarantees. Since 1949, the United States has given over $85 billion in aid to Israel, the most generous foreign aid programme in history.
Ms Wynn's comments also ignore the extraordinary nature of American aid to Israel. Israel is one of the most militarised societies in the world, and its army and air force, heavily equipped with American armour, aircraft, missiles, helicopters and other weapons systems, is by far the most powerful in the Middle East.
Ms Wynn wishes to see the Palestinian Authority held accountable for its use of American and European money, but she clearly has no qualms about Israeli use of American money to purchase American weapons which are then used to slaughter Palestinian civilians.
Ms Wynn also refers, disingenuously, to the West Bank and Gaza Strip as "disputed territories". This is a dangerous and deliberate euphemism. If one looks at the text of the crucial UN Security Council Resolution 242, one finds these regions described explicitly as "[the\] territories occupied". To describe them as "disputed" is to allow the possibility of a legitimate Israeli claim to these lands. There is no such claim. - Yours, etc.,
CONOR McCARTHY,
Ireland-Palestine
Solidarity Campaign,
Dame Street,
Dublin 2.