Inconvenient truths about the Middle East

IN RESPONSE to the letter by Saleh Hijazi, “I’m Palestine – my voice matters” in The Star on November 29, I would like to go in to bat for the truth.

First, thank you for your passion to a cause one can only assume is of great conviction to yourself, however, your title “I’m Palestine – my voice matters” is sadly reminiscent Dr Tony Fauci’s “I am Science”, arrogant and wrong.

I am neither Jewish nor Israeli, just a good old South African who tries to be a little more non-partisan, because of our history, in what is a very complicated and volatile issue.

Once again, hatred is proven to wear blinkers and shouts the loudest while carrying knives, missiles and using cars as vehicles of death to get its point across, at the expense of reason, truth and lives.

To liken Palestinian women to one of the most abused groups and lacking in rights and equality because of Israel, is absolute fiction.

Just off the top of my head, some of the countries listed as the worst places for women to live are: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran and South Sudan. Let me add Azerbaijan, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Chad, Somalia and, as they say, “the beat goes on”.

We won’t even get into femicide in South Africa, and on the continent of Africa.

Palestinian leaders impose their own brand of abuse on their own women and girls by their inability to use the money they receive for anything but digging tunnels and procuring arms, which of the 1 200 fired on Israeli civilians in their last attack, 200 landed in Gaza and killed their own women and children.

Please do your research and try to be a responsible adult and not just a parrot. Facts are so inconvenient.