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| The text of this excellent letter appears below |
Flytilla Fails to Take Off -Simon Plosker
It was meant to be a Palestinian PR dream. Over 2,000 activists scheduled to converge on Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport, arriving on planes from around the world as part of a “Welcome to Palestine” flytilla.
Israel had done its homework, however. No-fly lists of potential activists sent to airlines prevented many from even boarding their flights at the point of departure. What could have been a major international incident turned from a flytilla into a floptilla, the lack of action described by The Times of Israel reporting from Ben-Gurion Airport:
But by mid-morning, nothing much was happening. Nothing had been happening for quite some time, reported an Associated Press TV cameraman in the arrivals hall who had replaced another cameraman who had watched nothing happen for most of the night. … There were no fewer than 13 TV cameras and about 30 journalists around the terminal, bored and standing around in clumps.
[An official letter from The State of Israel] was [sent] to pop the activists’ balloons.
The text is below:
Dear activist,
We appreciate your choosing to make Israel the object of your humanitarian concerns.
We know there were many other worthy choices. You could have chosen to protest the Syrian regime’s daily savagery against its own people, which has claimed thousands of lives.
You could have chosen to protest the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent and support of terrorism throughout the world. You could have chosen to protest Hamas rule in Gaza, where terror organizations commit a double war crime by firing rockets at civilians and hiding behind civilians.
But instead you chose to protest against Israel, the Middle East’s sole democracy, where women are equal, the press criticizes the government, human rights organizations can operate freely, religious freedom is protected for all and minorities do not live in fear.
Therefore we suggest to let you solve first the real problems of the region, and then come back and share with us your experience. Have a nice flight.
[HonestReporting.com]
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2 comments:
Great letter! But those points never seem to deter so many that choose to weigh in where they know their protesting won't get them shot or imprisoned; two things likely to happen if they protested any of the other mentioned situations.
Agreed! The letter was great.
While it was technically addressed to the protesters, its true brilliance is that it mocked them on the world stage. And it did so effectively, pointing out their hypocrisy. Bravo Israel!
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