Just following a dream

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Israelis wanting an end to the fighting and, return of the hostages still held by Hamas kidnappers, reacted as if they had been struck by an earthquake when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his government will intensify the war in Gaza.

Thousands filled the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities to voice disgust, as protests spread across the world. Millions filled streets in all corners of the globe vociferously voicing contempt for Israel’s strategy, and support for Palestinians. Peace-loving people deplored starvation tactics of the Israeli Defence Force; as ordinary citizens have long figured what’s going on, and those who slither through the corridors of power to their ivory towers in capital cities are now catching up to view the state of Israel as a pariah.

Some devotees of Judaism may claim that support for Palestinians is a form of anti-Semitism, but Jews and Gentiles alike are protesting against the Zionist government and not the religion. Germany is a major weapons supplier, but finally pulled the plug, as have other European arms manufacturers. America financially supported and armed the state of Israel since Day One in 1948, but even President Trump seems flabbergasted and gobsmacked by Mr Netanyahu.

Police forces really are a “thin blue line” stretched to the limit in England, where huge pro-Palestinian protests coincided with others concerning illegal immigration. Across the UK, many thousands of indignant folk protested outside hotels that are funded by the government to house asylum seekers who have crossed the English Channel. Undocumented migrants cannot work while asylum claims are processed, which takes upwards of a year, and presently over 32,000 live in hotels with another 72,000 also accommodated at taxpayers expense. Successive governments have failed miserably to stem the flow, in what looks and sounds like a crazy Monty Python sketch gone tragically wrong.

Crossing the English Channel in a rubber boat is an act of desperation in itself, and many lives have been lost; even more have drowned in the Mediterranean during illegal crossings from Libya to Italy. There are many more hazardous sea routes, and desperate risks taken remind me of my many years working on freighters and tankers, when stowaways were frequently found on board. Those apprehended were almost always young men leaving their home country desperate for a better life abroad; doubtlessly some were escaping criminal situations, but most were probably just following a dream.

BERNIE SMITH

Parksville, BC

Canada