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Follow Us on TwitterDuncan Shipley-Smith (NSW) writes to SMH re BDS 12Jul11 July 12, 2011
Dear Editor,
I have noticed an increasingly strident tone in the press of late. The likes of Lapkin (ABC Drum) and Henderson of the SMH are rattling the old and rusting anti-Semitism sabre and tilting Quixotically at the morality of legitimate protest against Israel’s crimes.
I suggested to Fiona McGill in a previous letter that Selinger-Morris’s recent piece avoided the fundamental issue – If the worlds only Jewish state continues to behave in an illegal, immoral and unethical way then antagonistic sentiments directed at Jews are a natural consequence of the actions of that state.
It seems alright for journalists to ignore the collective punishment of Gazans and West Bankers but the collective punishment of Jews is not kosher, and any criticism of Israel brings up the unwelcome and inappropriate spectre of Nazism. Criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic. It’s validity is based on sound legal precedent i.e. the international criminality of the Jewish state, and its exploitation and suppression of the Palestinian people.
More importantly, a clear comparative analysis of the BDS movement, its principles and South african precedent would be welcome and, at the very least, an objective look at the rise in anti-Jewish sentiment as a consequence of unlawful actions by Israel.
It is time the SMH abandoned 19th century racist terminology and acknowledged the rights of the Palestinian Semites who struggle in the face of daily oppression from a violent and racist entity: Israel.
Thank You.
