John Scrivener, Main Arm
Roslyn Goodchild’s letter accused me of wanting to ‘annihilate the state of Israel’. The accusation is offensive and untrue. The editor’s decision to facilitate this sort of defamatory attack is regrettable.
It’s clear from what I’ve written that I’m concerned about the plight of the innocent victims of Israeli war crimes and human rights abuses, concerns that are shared by the international community, as evidenced by numerous UN Security Council resolutions.
It’s the policies and actions of the Israeli government and its military forces that make problems for Israel, not the voices that condemn those actions and policies.
I have nothing against the people of Israel, who are obviously also innocent victims of the violence and tension that afflict their region.
Indeed, I’d like to see an equitable solution that respects the rights and dignity of all the people in that region, irrespective of their race, religion, or nationality. But that won’t happen until the institutions ultimately responsible for the conflict, namely the governments of Israel and the US, stop defying international law and allow truth and justice to prevail.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
