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Dear editor:
Why is Bruce Ticker still claiming there is “room for legitimate concern over Israel’s use of weapon shipments from the West”? (“Column: A Farewell to Israeli Arms? No Way. What About Iran?” Boulder Jewish News September 5, 2024) Does he dispute the testimony of Major John Spencer, head of Urban Warfare Studies at West Point’s Modern Warfare Institute? Major Spencer has marveled at Israeli efforts at (and success in) minimizing civilian casualties while fighting in densely populated Gaza where Hamas has deliberately eliminated the distinction between civilian areas and military areas. Mosques, hospitals, schools, apartment buildings, and shops all have connections to the extensive network of tunnels that Hamas built, at a cost of $1,000,000,000, while claiming that an Israeli blockade made it impossible for Hamas to develop Gaza’s economy! And, if the British don’t want to take the word of an American expert, perhaps they should listen to the words of one of their own. Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, also agrees that the ratio of civilian deaths to combatant deaths in Gaza is far lower than ratios seen in recent fighting in other parts of the world.
https://www.australianjewishnews.com/kemp-says-gaza-civilian-casualties-historically-low
I do have to agree with Bruce that Iran is strongly involved in financing many of the attacks on Israel. But I would like to remind him that Donald Trump was very successful in preventing Iran from funding its proxy states. No matter who wins the 2024 election, I look forward to the reinstitution of policies that will once again deprive Iran of the ability to finance attacks on Israel. I also hope the elected President will return to efforts to expand membership in the Abraham Accords with an eye to greatly expanding the possibility of Arab states and Israel working together against Iran’s attempt to gain hegemony in the Middle East.
Toby F. Block
Atlanta, Georgia
