Sylvestre Gilloire, from Poitiers (Vienna) : “Exchanges between the Jewish community and defenders of the Palestinian cause are unfortunately almost impossible. However, mutual listening by both parties should make it possible to clear the ground to make the conflict “resolvable”.
“I think it is actually a reasonable attitude when Lenny Cypel, president of the Jewish community of Poitiers, asserts the following position, undoubtedly widely shared: “ At the international level, there should be a state for Palestine, but one that is controlled and not armed. ” Unfortunately, he did not understand that the explicit and justified demand of the Palestinians is to have a country and a state of their own; where they can finally benefit from freedom, outside of any foreign control, and have the exclusive use of their weapons.
“This is what is called “the right of peoples to self-determination”. This cannot be disputed and must therefore give rise to a discussion anywhere, even around a discussion table on the current situation, even under destructive and deadly bombs. »
Historical reminders
Marc Magnam, from Saint-Benoît (Vienna): “In Dialogue of October 10, a reader courageously dares to point out the behavior of Mr. Netanyahu. Because at present, criticizing the behavior of the State of Israel is almost equated with an anti-Semitic act.
“It is obvious that automatically linking “Palestinian” and “terrorist” shows bias. And on the other hand, on our territory, demonstrating behind a Palestinian flag is frowned upon, sometimes prohibited, and would almost be considered a crime on the pretext that we are defending terrorists.
“We need to look back at the history of Palestine to realize that violence is not the prerogative of Muslim groups. Armed formations of radical Jews, on July 22, 1946, destroyed with explosives the south wing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, seat of the secretariat of the British government of Palestine (91 dead, 45 injured, mainly civilians). On September 17, 1948, in Jerusalem, a commando assassinated French Colonel Sérot, head of the UN military observers, and Count Folke Bernadotte, United Nations mediator for Palestine, as they entered Jerusalem. In 1982, Israeli troops invaded Lebanon and reached Beirut where they found their Christian militia allies, “the Phalanges” whose anti-Palestinian sentiments are known.
“These historical reminders invite us to be moderate in our judgment. History also reminds us that if we are here, it is because the UN has failed in its mission since 1948, having failed to enforce the numerous resolutions passed by its members. The international community hypocritically eases its conscience by “ strongly condemning ”, “ calling for the restraint ”, “ showing emotion and indignation ” while delivering weapons and ammunition used without restraint, as evidenced by the degree of destruction and the toll of civilian casualties.
“The events of October 7, 2023, of course vigorously condemnable, are only one of the acts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and unfortunately certainly not the last. Whether the international community continues to support the ongoing action or just watches it. »
Suffering of people
Jackie M., from Loir-et-Cher: « I am even more saddened to see that, throughout the world, no head of state or political leader has, until now, learned lessons from the mistakes made in the past. The scars of history are still there to remind us of them, but they have been swept away over the centuries. So we tirelessly cultivate the same resentments, we relentlessly disseminate the same hatreds, we intrinsically foment the same revenge.
“We all know that terrorist or warlike barbarity is also practiced elsewhere, where people are systematically muzzled, martyred, murdered because they dare to express contrary opinions, because they try to exist, to survive and to express their desire for recognition, because they simply want to live in freedom. All over the world, people are suffering and dying slowly, in the greatest silence and indifference, without anyone being outraged!
“So, I think of the horrible pogrom perpetrated in Israel, but I also think of all the other communities around the world who have been deprived of their freedom of expression and prevented from existing and living, since the night times and for centuries to come…”
Lands and genocide
Bernard P., from Tours (Indre-et-Loire): “The good souls who demand, rightly or wrongly, the restitution to the Arab populations of the Palestinian lands granted by the UN in 1947 to create the State of Israel, should also demand that Turkey return to the Greeks and Armenians Asia Minor and the Caucasus the lands and goods of which they were despoiled in 1923-1924, after the massacre of a million and a half people, a genocide officially recognized by France. It is true that there is, between the two events, around twenty years, the time of forgetting. »
Target terrorists
Tanguy Lechat, from Joué-lès-Tours (Indre-et-Loire): “I agree with the two readers who, last July, refused to use the term “ genocide” to qualify what Israel is doing in the Gaza Strip. There is a war going on and, as in all wars, there are unfortunately collateral casualties. But there is nothing to confirm that what is happening there resembles genocide, in the sense in which this term should be understood. Since the start of the conflict, Israeli authorities have repeatedly repeated that their reprisals were aimed at Hamas terrorists, not Palestinians.
“We can think what we want about the situation in Gaza, we can deplore the fate of the populations, but we cannot say what is not. Finally, it must be remembered that Israel is a sovereign state and, as such, it has the inalienable right to defend itself when attacked. »
