Israel is inspirational

IN THEIR ill-judged views about Israel, Messrs Daitz, Sanders and their hero, Terry Crawford-Browne (Cape Times May 18, headlined “Tactic condemned”), choose to waste their time at checkpoints peering into the West Bank where the brave boys and girls making up the Israeli Defence Force provide a strong deterrent that ensures that killers do not infiltrate into Israel.

When I visit Israel I look in the other direction: I see schools and villages where children are ensured the care that will give them hope and a future in life. I see the power of love to transform lives. I see the Rambam Hospital in Haifa where, when Israel’s enemies decide to destroy lives, the doctors there will continue saving them. The new Bar-Ilan Medical Centre in Safed and the Laniado Hospital in Netanya bring the finest medical treatment to all in need throughout the country. The Wolfson Medical Centre where free, quality, paediatric cardiac care is provided for children from developing countries who suffer from heart disease.

That and much more is what I see in Israel. To Christians, Hindus, Bahai and Muslims, Israel is a source of inspiration.

Surrounded by enemies, Israel can still be a democracy, still have a free press, still have an independent judiciary. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where a Palestinian can stand up on national television and criticise the government and the next day still be a free human being.

Messrs Daitz, Sanders and Crawford-Browne would have us believe that they have the best interests of the Palestinians at heart. Quite the contrary – their actions are far more likely to bring war, poverty and hunger to the West Bank and Gaza.

Only prosperity can lead to mutual acceptance and a durable peace. This can be achieved when Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions activists acknowledge the true interests of the Palestinians above their own narrow political ambitions and shallow priorities.