Does Israel have faults like ours?

ERIC BLAIR (or George Orwell as we know him best) would enjoy the debates in your letters page.

Every time I see a letter that is anyway critical of Israel I know that, as sure as night follows day, there will be rebuttals the next day.

This rebuttal will portray Israel as being totally innocent of any wrongdoing and will hint that its critics are ill-informed, anti-Semitic or in the pay of Arab fundamentalists.

Basically we’re being told that four legs are good and two legs are bad.

I am Irish, living in a country that enjoys a good reputation on the world stage.

Yet I have to admit that all is not well here. We have grown at such a rate that poor (and corrupt) planning is blighting our lives, while we spend more and more time stuck in traffic.

Our cities are not safe as drunken louts express their Viking ancestry and run berserk in the streets.

But the defenders of Israel never acknowledge any flaws in that country. Surely there are some things wrong in Israel?

Is it the only country in the world where power has not corrupted its politicians?

Do Israelis not pay taxes? Do they have waiting lists for driving tests? If these letters acknowledged some mistakes on Israel’s part, we might have a debate.

Someone who aspires to a united Ireland does not necessarily support republican violence and crime.

Similarly, someone who would like to see a Palestinian homeland may not approve of suicide bombings and kidnappings.

These people should be encouraged to express their concerns and have them dealt with, not summarily dismissed.

Jack Downey

Old Cratloe Road

Caherdavin

Co Limerick