Ship of fools

Israel, the spiritual home of billions, is under fire again this time from Ireland.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) is calling for a boycott and disinvestment campaign against Israel. It claims through a representative that it has the support of 850,000 members. For reasons only known to the ICTU and to some Irish people, Israel has been designated the oppressor of Arabic people, surrounded as they are by 640 million Arabs most of whom are hell bent on Israel’s destruction.

The fact is Israel is a country under siege and under threat of daily violent attacks from Arabs on three of her borders - Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. The reader should check this website for a perspective on how Israel sits geographically and demographically in the world: www.lookisrael.com.

I would also suggest to Irish readers that Israel’s position is very much the same as Ireland’s was for the early part of the last century. Except back then Britain didn’t play the role of a victim as part of their ploy to oppress the Irish. Let me briefly examine the facts as we see them today.

Gaza has two borders, one with Israel and one with Egypt. The border with Israel is closed due to recurrent violent attacks on Israeli civilians by the inhabitants of Gaza in the form of suicide attacks, mortar and rocket fire. Attacks by Israel on Gaza are a RESPONSE to this. Few other countries would have shown the degree of restraint that Israel has shown. To ignore or deny this fact negates any further discussion in the matter.

A cease-fire deal, formalized last week by Gazan representatives, Hamas, agreed to have the Gazans stop attacking Israel. As a result Israel has reopened the border and allows trade and passage of goods between the two areas.This is a reasonable and mutually beneficial agreement.

The Israelis are entitled to the land of Israel because of provenance (they were there 2,000 ago and never left), purchase of the land they own from Arab landowners in the early part of the last century, improvement (you don’t think those farms and orange groves were there before the establishment of Israel do you?), and determination. There is also their G-d given right bestowed upon the chosen people. It is well worth remembering that the Israeli Jews are the same people that Christians believe Jesus belonged to. He was a Jew, as were his parents, his brother James, and the twelve Apostles. All Israeli, all Jews.

There is another border that seems to be conveniently ignored. Gaza has a border with Egypt. Brothers in culture, faith and politics with the people of Gaza, the Egyptians keep the border with Gaza tightly closed. Why? A former German political leader Josef Goebbels once said "“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

The Arab world prefers to keep Gazans bottled up to pressure Israel by constantly telling the world that Israel is responsible for Gaza and the West Bank’s people’s plight. This is the big lie. By doing this Arabs are purposely creating and maintaining generations of people who know only hate, inherited victim-hood and a sense of oppression.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions would well remember that the fuel that drives the Irish economy, now faltering on the edge of recession, is American investment. America is a large across the board supporter of Israel. The US has been historically well invested in the region and is prepared to go to war, if necessary, to defend the country. That support is visible daily in the news and Israel is very much seen one of the closest allies of the U.S. Americans are a generous people as the Irish can attest – Ireland’s standard of living reflects American investment commitments.

That said Americans will not stand by while a group of 20% of the Irish population starts a campaign designed to hurt Israel. Divestiture works both ways. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, through their actions, could lead an unforseen US reaction and their actions could accelerate the rate of economic stagnation in Ireland.

Is the Irish government supporting this call for a boycott? There have been no denials or denunciations from the government which is a worry. In fact the Irish newspapers have been reticent to provide much cover for this very import issue.

Ireland and Israel have many common facets. Both are small countries with relatively small populations – Ireland 4.5 million, Israel 7 million. Both countries have socialist-type governments. Both are young, having gained Independence in the early part of the last century. Both gained their Independence against seemingly insurmountable odds. Men and women are treated as equals in both countries - allowed to vote and sharing positions in industry and government. The Irish and Israelis are a social people and enjoy what the world has to offer. Both have support from the United States and have benefited economically from US investment. Both have transparent societies where the dirty laundry of government is aired publicly.

There are a number of facts about Israel that in the context of this article are worth noting. Israel has been constantly attacked since its inception for no other reason than Arab hatred of Jews. The land of Israel was practically useless before the Jews worked it to the level we find it now. 20% of the Israeli population is Arabic. Some of these Arabs serve in the Israeli Defense Forces, not because they have to but because they want to. I suggest next time you visit Jerusalem you visit the markets in the old city and see how Jewish and Arabic traders sell side by side.

As a final note addressed to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Any people who are attacked may respond accordingly and rightly so as Israel as done. If Israel can live free from attack from Gaza and the West Bank, positive relations will develop quickly. You may have noticed walls on either side of the road on the way from Israel to the West Bank. Those walls are there for your protection, so that you won’t be shot by Arabs – not Israelis - on the hills on either side.

Gazan and West Bank economic and cultural development should be addressed with the Arab countries that supply these enclaves with the munitions of war but deprive them of funding for the basic needs of living including education, health services and an economic infrastructure. Until the recent spate of attacks Arabs had access to medical facilities in Israel. In Lebanon there is no attempt to integrate displaced Arabs into the population. They are instead corralled, in what some would call concentration camps, by their Arab brothers.

Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia all have embassies in Ireland or the UK. Visiting them there would be educational for The Irish Congress of Trade Union and their members on another member-paid “fact finding mission”. Be sure to discuss issues like equal rights for women, education, voting, property ownership, free speech, transparent government with them and write a new report afterward about the responses you get. We’re all ears.

One would hope that these union actions are not camouflaging the emergence of new tentacles of anti-Semitism in the land of Saints and Scholars.

Text of union report: http://www.ictu.ie/press/2008/06/18/congress-report-calls-for-israeli-boycott-campaign/