Dear Mr Singer,

I would like to commend you on your persistence in pushing the pro-Israel/Zionist stance in the face of continuous opposition. However, I think, given the vehemence of said opposition, I would have thought it prudent to try to understand why there is so much opposition and to realize that they are entitled to their POV just as you are entitled to yours.

The constant barrage of abuse that opens fire as soon as any articles or threads are posted regarding the volatile situation in Israel, Palestine and the Middle East, is indicative of why there will never be a solution to this problem.

In light of that, and to satisfy my own curiosity about Zionist, or at the very least right-wing political thinking (which I am trying very hard to understand), I have some questions which I believe (and hope) you may be able to answer. Most of these pertain to what I perceive as double standards; perhaps you can enlighten me. Any links are provided to inform other OLO members and deliver background context to the questions. I apologise in advance as these questions will run over several posts.

1. What do you believe to be Israel’s intent regarding its Arab population, in particular, the “perceived demographic threat” to a Jewish State and inflammatory remarks by Netanyahu? Without casting current Israeli government thinking in the same light as Hitler’s terrible regime, in what ways does the cleansing of Israeli territory from perceived Arab threat differ from Hitler’s nightmare of a pure Aryan nation?

See link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_citizens_of_Israel
http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/content/israeli-palestinian-conflict-101

2. Why are Palestinians deprived of water rights in the West Bank, on land which ostensibly is theirs? Is water - a continuing problem in this very arid region – and access to the most arable land in the Jordan Valley, the primary reasons for continued Israeli occupation and expansion into the West Bank?

Link: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/the-real-cost-of-israel-s-occupation-of-the-palestinians-1.395839

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/07/20127259518330800.html

3. How do you justify a) your previous arguments that UN rulings regarding the occupation of Palestinian territories have no basis in law, and that Israel is within its rights to ignore any such rulings and defy international pressure to cease all settlements in the West Bank, and b) Israel’s plea with Ban not to attend the NAM summit, thus giving credence to Tehran, with Netanyahu’s proposed visit to the UN in September to ostensibly seek UN support for its cause against Iran? Is this not evidence of double standards and hypocrisy on the part of Israel, to defy the UN when it suits, but seek support also when it suits?

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=283276

4a) Is Israel’s push to attack Iranian nuclear facilities an historical echo of the 1981 bombing of Iraqi nuclear facilities, claiming that Iraq was developing nuclear weapons – a claim that many later believed to be unfounded (much like the WMD claim by the US of Iraq in 2003)?

Do you believe Israel has the strength and commitment to attack Iran without US first strike, given that the US seems increasingly unlikely to do so?

Should Israel be more concerned about international condemnation following such an attack (as per 1981 attack on Iraq), given that the international community is less sympathetic to Israel than it was 30 years ago and it is unlikely that Israel will escape virtually scot-free, as it did 30 years ago?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Opera

(Cont ...)

4b) In light of the above, why is it deemed permissible for Israel, who is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Agreement, to have nuclear weapons on the basis of self preservation, yet Iran (who is a signatory and has repeatedly claimed it does not seek to produce any such weapons) and who is also possibly the second most reviled nation in the Middle East after Israel, will never (under international agreement) be allowed to have such weapons? Is this not an instance of hypocrisy? Please note that admission to developing nuclear weapons grade uranium was inadvertently admitted to by an Israeli soldier who led the 1981 attack:
“In 2010, squad leader Ze'ev Raz said of the operation: "There was no doubt in the mind of the decision makers that we couldn't take a chance. We knew that the Iraqis could do exactly what we did in Dimona” (Israel’s nuclear facility).

While there is no excuse for the anti-Israel sentiments being expressed by Tehran, do you believe that Netanyahu and Barak are making a mistake by not recognizing them as merely attempts to incite an attack and inflame an already volatile situation?

4c) Why does Israel, the US and the UN insist that Iran is “intent” on creating nuclear weapons when the US’ most senior military officer, Martin Dempsey stated in London yesterday that “he did not know Iran's nuclear intentions, as intelligence did not reveal intentions.” Does this admittance negate Israeli/US rhetoric?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/30/israeli-attack-iran-not-stop-nuclear

(Another question – completely unrelated – is why a top ranking military officer heading the US delegation to the Paralympic Games?? Anyone??)

5) I do not know how much you know about the World Zionist Organisation, but you may be able solve a query I have about their website, which I visited out of curiosity this morning. The site is quite helpful and for those of us who do not speak, read or write Hebrew, it obligingly provides an English link – except to the section entitled “Settlement Division” where, inexplicably, it reverts to Hebrew.

http://www.wzo.org.il/index.php?language=eng

Now it may be argued that settlement in Israel is not the business of non-Jews or Hebrew speaking people, and therefore if we can’t read it, we clearly have no right to know what it says, but it made me more than a little curious about such an exclusionary tactic; and if Israel and its Zionist movement has nothing to hide, then why hide information about settlements in Israel from non-Hebrew speaking people? Of course, I could ask one of my Jewish friends to translate it for me, but really I’m not that fussed. Just curious, and perhaps thought you might be able to shed some light on the situation.

6) Finally, do you believe statements by Dr Dahlia Wasfi (of Jewish and Iraqi descent) that the intent of Israel (in particular the Zionist movement) is to ‘divide and conquer’ its Arab neighbours?

Do you believe her statements about Israeli influence in American politics, namely during the Bush administration and the Iraq Invasion?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPbedvHm3ic