Re: Claire Hoy column July 6, 2006

There is no shame in advocating human rights.

The state of Israel has for many years been in defiance of both the United Nations and the Geneva Convention. It is true that some Arabs were slow to accept their land being given away by the British to create the state of Israel, and tried to "push the Israelis into the sea", but Jewish "settlers" constantly attempt to colonize the territories allocated to the Palestinians. While the Israeli government officially disapproves of these settlements, it is quick to take up arms to protect those "invaders. The Israelis have killed many more Palestinian civilians than the other way around.

Our United Church of Canada knows the situation from first hand observation and contact with people on both sides of the conflict. Representatives of that church are a peaceful presence in the Holy Land under the auspices of the World Council of Churches. Don't blame C.U.P.E., Mr. Hoy, it is the South African delegates of that body who first drew the parallel to apartheid, and they should know.

Mr. Hoy uses a number of irrelevant arguments, one of which is that the good fortune of a few justifies the oppression of many. Can someone tell me just how many Palestinian Arabs have seats in the Knesset, anyway?

A broader view of history teaches that there are attendant dangers to such oppression of an ethnic group. Just look at Ireland in the past century, Germany after W.W.I, and aboriginal peoples of Canada. All things considered, it is relatively few Palestinians who turn to violence out of anger and frustration. That, and the democratic election of a party such as Hamas, is what happens when people live their whole lives under violent and oppressive conditions.

I am not an advocate of violence in any form or on any scale. Therefore, it seems to me, that economic pressure in the form of sanctions or divestment is a legitimate tool with which to express criticism. Mr. Hoy implies that