The Editor,
Why should we Canadians be concerned about what the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu said to Americans and the Republican Congress, in a speech he delivered on March 3 of this year?
Not long ago our prime minister, Stephen Harper, speaking at the Israeli parliament, the [Knesset,] in the presence of Netanyahu, Harper publicly assured Israel, "through fire and water we will stand with you."
Netanyahu thanked the U.S. for their financial help. He also came to Washington to advise the Obama government and NATO that it should not sign any agreement with Iran that would allow that country to develop nuclear power for any purpose.
Netanyahu noted Iran will always be an enemy of America, because it [Iran] is "intransigently evil."
He stated that once Iran had access to nuclear power, it would soon be armed with ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs that Iran could send to the farthest parts of the world.
This, he said, would ensure a "farewell to arms control."
Ten countries have a stockpile of about 30,000 nuclear weapons, including Israel. Although Israel has never denied or admitted having possession of nuclear weapons, it is universally believed it has 100 to 200 nuclear bombs.
Like Canada, Iran has previously been involved in wars. But the last time that Iran actually invaded a country, it was Kurdistan, and took place in 1946.
Netanyahu told members of the U.S. Congress that Iran was a "dark and murderous regime." It would appear that the word murderous could more aptly be applied to Netanyahu's Israel than to Iran. Lest we forget, on July 8, 2014, Israel's powerful military forces invaded Gaza. The UN reported the killing of about 2,000 Palestinians, of these 1,400 were civilians, including women and children. A hospital, homes and schools, [one was a UN designated school], were bombed or destroyed. A ceasefire proposal was agreed upon on Aug. 26.
When Canada's prime minister was asked to comment on the Israeli attack on Gaza, his solemn reply was, "It was a measured response."
Meanwhile, as it has for more than 50 years, Israel keeps on building Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. Palestinians, including teenage boys who object too forcibly, will spend time in Israeli prisons in northern Israel.
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Leo Kurtenbach
Saskatoon
