MY wife and I recently returned from a trip to Israel, where we learned of the field hospital Israel had set up on the Golan Heights to treat Syrians wounded in the war being waged across Israel's border, and read of the treatment in an Israeli hospital of the granddaughter of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (Letters, 3/12).
At the same time, we heard of the murders of four Israeli civilians by Arabs no doubt inflamed by constant Palestinian anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric and read Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas's statement that not a single Israeli would be allowed to live in a future Palestinian state.
Before launching into vehement, unfounded accusations against Israel, supporters of the BDS, a movement which seeks to make Israel Judenrein, should know from whence the racism is, in fact, emanating in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Merv Morris, East St Kilda, Vic
MARGARET Cassar, John Guy and Abdul Aleem, supporters of the BDS against Israel, deny they are anti-Semitic but are "opposed to the racist policies of the Israeli government".
If they are so concerned about human rights why single out Israel? Why not boycott countries that surround Israel where there is no freedom of speech, religious liberties for all faiths are not protected, education is discouraged for women, honour killings are not treated as murder and homosexuals and other minorities are not protected by the state?
George Fishman, Vaucluse, NSW
THE Palestinian leadership has been largely responsible for stunting development and economic growth within its jurisdiction and for not affording the many freedoms its people richly deserve. The Palestinians deserve a state of their own, but only when their leaders are prepared to take the necessary steps to forge a binding peace agreement with Israel -- an agreement which must include the recognition of the legitimacy of the Jewish state and a pledge to end its insidious campaign of terror.
Joel Feren, Elwood, Vic
THE BDS campaign seeks to discriminate against people not because of what they have done, but because of where they are from.
Furthermore, when there are so many countries with far worse human rights records than even Israel's harshest detractors accuse it of, and yet these countries are ignored by BDS proponents, one has to wonder what other motivation there could be for singling out and discriminating against the sole Jewish state.
George Greenberg, Malvern, Vic
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