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Irish Negativity Toward Israel a "Misplaced Sympathy for Underdog"

[Irish Times] Olivia Kelly - Ireland's negative reaction to the Israeli operation in Gaza appears to be linked to a misplaced sympathy with the underdog, Israeli Education Minister Yuli Tamir, a founder member of the Peace Now movement, has suggested. She told The Irish Times Monday that she was disappointed people were more influenced by "the last picture you've seen on TV" than an in-depth understanding of the conflict. Hamas had failed to protect Palestinians, while Israel had successfully protected its citizens. "The Hamas were targeting our children all the time. We were very cautious - why didn't the Hamas make any effort to protect the children? While smuggling all those weapons and arms, they never thought about also using some materials to protect the children, to fortify places for them so they can hide." The Israeli government regretted civilian deaths, she said. However, Israel had acted with a "lot of restraint and patience" and had endured eight years of bombing of its citizens before it felt compelled to act. "It's not necessarily the case that the weaker party is really fighting a just war. I think this is the case, that the weaker party fights a dirty war and fights it for reasons I think nobody in Ireland would support."
2009-01-23 06:00:00
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