Why no outrage over attacks on Israeli civilians?

FINTAN LANE of Anti-War Ireland (Irish Examiner letters, August 21) urges Irish people to “continue to raise their voices against such a callous disregard for human life” regarding Israeli actions in the Middle East conflict.

However, when it comes to the callous and deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians by Hezbollah and their Iranian and Syrian-backed sponsors, both Mr Lane and the Irish anti-war movement’s voice remains deafeningly silent.

The current conflict was started when a terrorist organisation, operating without opposition on a supposedly sovereign state’s soil, deliberately kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. While there may be some justification for arguments that the Israeli reaction may have been too severe, there seems to be little focus on why they had to engage in such action in the first place.

Israel is surrounded by hostile nations, one of which has openly called for it to be wiped off the face of the earth and, coincidentally, is also one of the financial and military backers of Hezbollah which has continually launched attacks on Israel since its withdrawal from southern Lebanon a few years ago.

What has happened to the Lebanese civilian population was undoubtedly a tragedy, but blame must not be laid solely at the door of Israel.

The Lebanese government allowed Hezbollah to operate from its soil (and had made no attempt to disarm them in the years following Israel’s withdrawal).

Hezbollah has deliberately prevented Lebanese civilians from leaving certain villages before firing missiles from civilian bunkers and hospitals using the non-combatants sheltering inside as human shields.

In addition, two other sovereign nations, Iran and Syria, continue to support this terrorist organisation in its indiscriminate attacks on Israeli cities.

Yet in spite of all this, Mr Lane and the anti-war movement in Ireland never condemn these actions by Hezbollah, Iran and Syria. They do not organise protest marches across Ireland in support of the Israeli civilians killed by missiles; they do not hold rallies calling for the release of the two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah; they do not, it seems, even recognise Israel’s right to self-defence.

Perhaps Mr Lane should reconsider renaming his organisation the Irish Anti-Israel Movement, or maybe he could just recognise that other countries and terrorist organisations shoulder most of the blame for the current conflict.

Gene Cahill

14 Woodfield

Curra Woods

Riverstick

Co Cork