Madam, -Yoav Sivan, of Israel's Meretz party, emphasises "dialogue" (Opinion & Analysis, March 6th) - yet during his 10-day visit to Ireland he made no effort to meet any of those whose positions he caricatures.
He writes that "boycotts of Israeli universities overlook the fact that academics have been at the forefront of the Middle East peace process". If by "academics" he means, for example, Ilan Pappe and Tanya Reinhart, these dissidents support boycott, divestment and sanctions against the Israeli state.
He attacks the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) for its campaigns against retailers of Israeli-cut blood diamonds and Keter plastic furniture. He concedes that "tax revenues from . . . lucrative Israeli diamonds potentially contribute to the budget for arms and weaponry", but points out that "so do revenues collected from any other Israeli company". Exactly - and Keter is just one of several such companies which the IPSC encourages Irish consumers to boycott.
Turning to culture, he claims that "the proposed cultural boycott is an even bigger affront to our efforts for peace", art being "a means of dialogue" and a critique of society. Yet he must be aware of an article by Yuval Ben-Ami in the newspaper Ha'aretz (September 21st, 2005) elucidating the Israeli foreign ministry's plan to invest more money in culture, because "Hasbara [ propaganda] isn't working". Culture, therefore, is to be exploited by the state in order to present an image of Israel's "normality".
For this reason, the IPSC seeks to target only those writers and artists who act as representatives of the Israeli rogue state. We have brought to Ireland many Israeli academics, artists, and peace activists who refuse to act as mouthpieces for state propaganda.
Those who most loudly advocate (selective) dialogue rarely if ever show up to engage with these courageous people.
Mr Sivan claims that boycott campaigns "weaken. . . the peace camp position in Israel". The problem is that Israel boasts two peace camps: a phoney official one represented by the likes of Meretz, eager to preserve a mildly adjusted version of the status quo, and a genuine but marginalised one which encourages the isolation of the Israeli state until it complies with international law, or until Western governments take their responsibilities seriously and impose the kind of sanctions previously imposed on South Africa. - Yours, etc,
RAYMOND DEANE,
Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign,
Dame Street,
Dublin 2.