Palestinians not so wretched

The campaign of vilification against Israel goes on in the pages of the Mirror [“Stateless in Gaza,” June 27]. Despite the one-sided anti-Israel comments of a group of so-called “social justice activists,” the Palestinians are not as wretched as reported.

According to an article in the Jewish Times, from 1967 to 1986 Palestinian life expectancy rose from 48 years to 62, infant mortality declined from 90 per 1,000 babies to 45, universities increased from zero to five, those with nine or more years of education increased from 19 to 38 per cent, electricity in homes went from 18 to 88 per cent and running water in homes went from 14 to 51 per cent. This is only up to 1986. I can only assume that since then the situation has improved.

Despite the opinion of activist Aaron Maté, what Israel does militarily is most definitely in self-defence. Despite his comment that the “Palestinians he met were opposed to the cycle of violence,” a recent public opinion poll indicates that 68 per cent of Palestinians support suicide bombing and 51 per cent want to destroy Israel. Furthermore, there are no “atrocities committed by the Israeli army.” The real atrocities are the mass murder attacks on Israelis by Palestinian fanatics. Somehow, this escapes the attention of these “social justice activists.”

-Barry Merson

Support Israel

In keeping with the Mirror’s policy of evenhandedness and fair reporting, I would like to point out to Mr. Samer Elatrash [Letters, July 4] that in 1948, 800,000 Jews were expelled from Arab countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Their assets and property were confiscated and the only place they were given refuge was in Israel. Also, when Muslims were attacked in Bosnia and Kosovo, not one Arab country lifted a finger to help them, only the West came to their aid and defence. Stop the finger pointing and pointless terrorism and help your own positively.

-Benjamin Shara

Still more
organic griping
Oh la-dee-da, Noemi Lopinto, asparagus tips look like penises. How long did it take you to think that one up [“Adventures in Asparagus,” June 6]? Your article is exactly the type of clever-clever cynical crap that gives papers like the Mirror such a bad name for shallow, pointless journalism. And congratulations to the Mirror. By printing this dirge you’ve managed to offend a lot of genuinely sound people who really deserve better.

The thing that really bothered me about the article is how insulting it is to the hosts of WWOOF volunteers, namely the farmers. These people take complete strangers into their homes, provide transport and social activities, give them the more interesting jobs (WWOOFers don’t do the menial, boring stuff) and take the time out of their busy working days to explain what they do and why. Then they explain the job again and work through the mistakes. There are plenty of times when it would be a lot easier if they just did it themselves.

In short, these hosts are-by the very nature of what they do-open, very hardworking and very trusting. And I’m sure that the two hosts so carelessly mocked in this article feel that this trust has been sorely abused. We are presently staying with those two people, Daniel Bigras and Danielle Turpin, at their farm, and these folks are really lovely.

I’ve WWOOFed on a dozen farms in three different countries and I’ve always enjoyed it, but I’ve never been as well looked after as here. We’ve come with our two young and demanding kids, and Daniel and Danielle have really gone out of their way to make us welcome. The work is fun and the place is beautiful.

So Noemi, welcome to reality. Country life isn’t all fluffy tennis. The flies bite everyone, toilet arrangements may be a bit more rustic and ice cream doesn’t grow wild.

Maybe you should stick to insulting people with thicker skins whose livelihood doesn’t rely on the reputations you so flippantly damage. Your average chemical agro-business man isn’t going to invite you into his home, look after your kids and cook your dinner while you do a little work on his million-acre estate. By the way, he’s the one driving the SUV and poisoning your kids with pesticide residues.

-Peter Lawley, Shropshire, U.K.