I don’t understand why you question my understanding of the English language, Ivonne. What words or expressions have I misunderstood? Equally, I have no idea why you are ‘enormously’ annoyed. Annoyed about what, exactly? But to answer your question, both Michael Brigo and Richard Carter, by their own admission on the Forum, have attended marches organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Demonstrators at these marches, including last weekend, have regularly chanted ,’From the river to the sea’, an anti-Semitic slogan which advocates the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state. Richard Ainsworth has consistently denied Israel’s right to exist, suggesting that the Jewish inhabitants of Israel are colonial invaders who have stolen the land from the Palestinians. Lastly, many contributors, including Michael and Richard as well as Jane Carter and Gerry Boyce, have consistently called, whether implicitly or explicitly, for a halt to Israel’s campaign without insisting as a pre-condition that Hamas must first return the hostages and lay down their arms. As far as I am concerned, all these individuals, however much they may denounce Hamas’ brutality, are effectively pawns in Hamas’ strategy, which is to maintain their power in Gaza by persuading liberals in the West to put pressure on their governments to withdraw support from Israel. Keir Starmer’s ill-conceived decision to recognise Palestine without demanding anything from the Palestinians in return (e.g. a recognition of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state) shows that Hamas’ strategy has been partly successful. Fortunately President’s Trump’s intervention, insisting that an Israeli ceasefire must be accompanied by the return of the hostages and disarmament by Hamas, has undermined Hamas’ plans. But it remains to be seen whether Hamas will actually give up their weapons. They have already started to return to the areas of Gaza vacated by the Israelis where they are now murdering their political opponents.
Steven Rose ● 4d