MidlandToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to an article about a protest at Raytheon ELCAN, published Nov. 16.
If the purpose of Simcoe County 4 Palestine is to educate about the situation in the Middle East, I think they can do a better job.
When I asked protesters about the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, a fact filmed by Hamas themselves, the protesters replied that it was “fake news.” Before donning a keffiyeh or chanting slogans, I urge protesters to widen their perspective and gather news from diverse sources: Check out AGPIWorld.com, PragerU or JPost.
Any reasonable person should be horrified by the deaths in Gaza. The majority of people in Israel would like to end this war and live in peace. Unfortunately, the terrorist entity that runs Gaza, Hamas, is driven by its mandate: the destruction of Israel at any cost. If Israel does not fight back, the country will be destroyed.
I beg protesters to consider some facts: Israel was created in 1948 as a home for Jews after six million were killed in the Holocaust. Jews have lived in this area for over 3,000 years and are its indigenous people. There are 50 Muslim countries in the world with over a billion people and only one tiny Jewish state. Since its inception, Israel has fought many wars, instigated by Arab neighbours who wished to destroy them. There is a saying in Israel: If the Arabs lay down their arms, there will be peace. If Israel lays down their arms, there will be no more Israel.
If you truly wish for peace as I pray every day, please learn as much as possible about the history of these conflicts and stand up against terrorist groups like Hamas who promote hatred, hide behind the people of Gaza in schools and hospitals, and fan the flames of war that are killing so many people.
The protest by Simcoe County 4 Palestine clearly shows that we need to learn more. I hope that more people will learn about this tragedy from both sides and understand that terrorists must not win this war.
Linda Smith
Midland
