Conrad Black v. Taki
From Nora Ariel Berger Sir: I am writing to praise Conrad Black for his courage `to tell it like it is' ('Ivly friend Taki has gone too far', 3 March). Those of us living in Israel feel increasingly like Yossarian from Catch-22: are we the only ones able to see things as they really are? How can the world around us have such selective vision?
As Mr Black says, all Israel's Jews have ever wanted is a chance to live in peace on a tiny strip of land. Some would say that it has been clear for 100 years — now it is crystal-clear to all of us — that so long as Islam exists our hope will remain elusive.
The international media are not innocent bystanders in this affair: they have been chipping away at Israel's legitimacy for more than 30 years and fanning the flames of hatred. The media's antagonism has now reached insane proportions. For instance, no matter how Israel fights the terrorists, its behaviour is judged to be unacceptable: if we hurt civilians (whom the terrorists hide behind), then we are evil; if we avoid civilians and surgically strike only those who order or carry out the terror, we are evil; and if we punish the enemy economically (rather than militarily), we are evil. What would the media have us do — climb Masada for a national suicide?
Nora Arid Boger
Jerusalem, Israel
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