I was disheartened reading Heilpern’s article (Echo, July 3). I understand his confusion when stating ‘… an antisemite one moment, and then just a self-hating Jew the next’. Perhaps he is both. As it isn’t racist to criticise any government it’s not antisemitic to criticise Israel’s, but it certainly is antisemitic to be anti-Zionist.
So, what does it mean to be a Zionist? It means the belief in the right of Israel to exist as the homeland of the Jewish people. Zionism does not necessitate blindly supporting the Israeli government, their policies, or aligning with a particular position on the current Israel-Hamas war. Heilpern, on the other hand, states his position when he writes, ‘To chant “from the river to the sea”, even if it means that the Jewish state be dismantled, is not antisemitic’. Seriously, I would laugh if it didn’t make me want to cry.
Israel is the only country in the world whose right to exist is continually called into question – despite the similar post-colonial founding of countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iran. ‘Zionist’ is not a dirty word, you can be a Zionist and want the war to end, lasting peace, and all peoples to live in harmony and safety. Don’t let Heilpern convince you otherwise.
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. 
