Dear Sir... Readers' Views (24/01/17)
As one of the local organisers of the upcoming Cork conference on Israel (which will take place) I take exception to the headline over one letter in your Saturday edition ‘Conference against Jews not apt for UCC’.
In simple words, that is an accusation of anti-Semitism.* Such an accusation is unwarranted, outrageous and unworthy of publication in your newspaper. It is also at variance with your admirably principled and clear editorial on the same day.
I understand and support people’s right to express dissent. The State of Israel came into being in the most difficult and extraordinary of circumstances following one of the greatest crimes in history – the murder by Nazi Germany and its accomplices of between five and six million Jews during World War II.
There are many who passionately support Israel to the extent of seeing any and every criticism of its actions as motivated by a new anti-Semitism or who claim that criticism of Israel is either unwarranted or disproportionate.
However, ultimately all states must be held accountable to the same standards. Palestinians were expelled in huge numbers when Israel came into being and those who remained were and continue to be classified as second class citizens.
The illegal occupation of Palestinian territory by 600,000 settlers and the daily acts of violence committed within those territories by occupying forces and settlers is a fact. In such circumstances it is entirely appropriate to question the constitution and accountability of Israel, in terms of international law and basic standards of equality and human rights.
The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is further away from a solution than ever. A UN resolution on ongoing illegal settlements, which even the US did not oppose, has been rejected by Israel. The reported imminent appointment of an extremist settler supporter by the Trump administration as US ambassador to Israel can only heighten tensions further.
Wrongs, including crimes against humanity, have been committed by both Palestinian and Israeli sides. Neither can be beyond criticism, even if it is undeniable that the overwhelming majority of victims in this never-ending conflict are Palestinian.
To state the above is in no way to be ‘anti-Semitic’, nor to call for the ‘destruction of the state of Israel’. It is not a ‘hate-fest’; we are calling for an informed reasoned and critical debate of a kind which may contribute to the prospects of a just and lasting peace.
Yet we and our international colleagues (who include a range of Israeli, Palestinian and other speakers) have been met with a highly organised barrage of untruths, misrepresentations and disinformation.
Cork has been a welcoming place for Jews. Indeed, some of those who were forced to leave Limerick in 1904 following attacks incited by the infamous anti-Semite Fr Creagh took refuge here.
I was one of the large crowd which attended the interment in 2003 of one of the city’s best-loved politicians and former mayor, Gerald Goldberg. The city’s small Jewish population has produced such notable figures as writer David Marcus and his brother, film-maker Louis. The accusation of anti-Semitism is grotesque.
This coming weekend, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, captive wild animals will perform at the National Hare Coursing Meeting in Tipperary.
The hares will have been “trained” to act against their instincts and run in a straight line up a field, in preparation for the setting of pairs of greyhounds after them at a specially adapted racecourse in Clonmel.
Hares can be mauled, struck forcibly, or tossed about like rag dolls at coursing events. But even those that seemingly make it through ther escape hatch unscathed may die afterwards from stress-related ailments.
A version of this blood sport was among the entertainments staged in the ancient Roman coliseum for the edification of the Emperor. Opposition to hare coursing is nothing new. No less a person than Saint Augustine of Hippo in the fifth century abhorred it as a devilish activity.
Thomas More included a hare coursing ban in a list of ideal societal reforms proposed in his classic, Utopia. Brendan Behan, in Confessions of an Irish Rebel, recalled having to retire to the whiskey tent at a coursing event to drown out the screams of the hares.
How sad that the gentlest creature in the Irish countryside is still running for its life. Dozens of smaller fixtures throughout the five month season culminate in this weekend’s three-day Roman Circus.
The fans won’t be wearing togas, loin cloths or suits of armour in Clonmel and they won’t arrive at the racecourse in chariots, but they’ll applaud and roar their approval as in times past. And the throng will be oblivious to the plight of animals serving as live bait. Nero would have loved it!
On Thursday, January 19, 2017 disabled people protested outside Leinster House at the 10-year delay by Ireland to ratify the UN convention on Rights for People with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Ireland is the last European Country to ratify a ‘convention of equality’ for disabled people. Ergo, Ireland does not want disabled people to have either rights or equality.
Ireland’s care and support of disabled people must be the worst in Europe. Rights gained were shoddily removed by this Government, never replaced. We are in a worse place than ever before. Poverty level benefits trap many disabled people into lives of misery. Transport pays lip service to full accessibility.
Ill or disabled people do not get the care in the community they need... Ill and elderly people are getting insufficient Personal Assistant (PA) care such that shopping, attending appointments in hospital, undertaking enjoyable end of life activities is just not possible. In fact, ‘enjoyable end of live activity’ is seen as not a need but a luxury. Good mental health is not a consideration.
Care packages offered will wash and dress you (medical model) but won’t bring you out to see a show, visit a friend, or attend a conference (social model). Things that make life worth living are not covered.
Wheelchairs users have been known to be trapped in beds and home for weeks waiting for repairs to broken wheelchairs. Ill, disabled elderly people are left in beds at home that they cannot sleep on.
We have on our books people labelled “serial complainers” and “vexatious” complainants simply because they complained to the HSE about appalling services... [In other cases if patients]
become angry on the phone, in despair or anguish, the telephone is put down and they are accused of being “aggressive”. If the same happens in a health centre, or hospital, the Gardaí are called.
It’s time HIQA investigated community care by the HSE... It’s certainly time the UNCRPD was ratified.
I live in Greater Manchester. I am a long-term campaigner to save RTÉ 252 together with other issues concerning the elderly Irish in my area. You may know that the plan is to axe this broadcast in May 2017.
I know this broadcast can be accessed by internet and Sky TV etc. However, I appeal for the forgotten race of elderly Irish... 70 years and plus. They do not have internet access and never will. They live on a very small British pension (unlike the generous Irish pension). They cannot afford Sky TV or any other.
They need the simple appliance, ie, the radio. I know of housebound people, who rarely have anybody calling, who listen to RTÉ day and night. It is their friend, the voice of home. It allows them many a nostalgic trip to their roots.
The Mass broadcast every Sunday is an absolute boon. They carry the radio from kitchen to sitting-room to bedroom. My heart breaks for them and indeed for myself.
Personally I listen to RTÉ 252 most of the day. It is always on in the background in my kitchen. My visiting family have got used to it and know more about Ireland and events than some of their cousins back in Ireland, as a result. I listen to it in my car... a joy. I approach you in the hope that you would help us to get the message across on behalf of the Irish diaspora.
Victoria White, (Irish Examiner January 19, 2017) raises interesting points when claiming democracy is “under threat from the left”. I would suggest if democracy is “under threat” in Ireland it is from members of establish political parties who fail to act in the interests of the people and prioritises vested interests.
We have seen the elderly take to the streets. The people protested against water charges. The incidents at Jobstown. Evictions. These are warning signals to politicians that the people are unhappy with political decisions.
When people gather to demonstrate there is always a danger of violence. Violence can get out of hand.
I have personal experience of anarchy. I have seen butchered bodies on streets or hanging from telegraph poles. Not pleasant sights and certainly not sights I would want to witness here in Ireland.
In my opinion elected representatives who fail/refuse to represent the people who elected them, present a serious threat to Irish democracy.
I appeal to elected representatives to represent the interests of electorate, thereby avoiding violence on our streets.
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