Sir, – In his response to Mike Murphy's opinion piece on the "Degradation of Palestinians" (September 23rd), the Israeli Ambassador Ze'ev Boker does his job by repeating at great length the standard talking-points of Israeli government propaganda (September 30th). In essence, and in a familiar tone of aggrieved innocence, Mr Boker claims that everything that has befallen the Palestinians is their own fault.
Mike Murphy can defend himself, and indeed has already done so on RTÉ's Liveline radio programme, where he replied to allegations of bias with the simple words, "I'm afraid it's what I saw."
The Ambassador’s fulminations must be seen in the light of the recent deportation from Israel of four Irish citizens who were accused of no wrongdoing and the passage last May by the Knesset of an unprecedented law barring supporters of the peaceful BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement from the country.
Seeing is believing, and it is clear that Israel seeks to prevent the world from seeing the effects of its ongoing persecution of the occupied and dispossessed Palestinian people. The likes of Mike Murphy (in the wake of, among others, John McColgan and Dervla Murphy) are performing an essential service in exposing this persecution of which European governments are so disgracefully tolerant. – Yours, etc,
RAYMOND DEANE,
Dublin 1.