THE WITNESS
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Refer: “Like apartheid but worse”, 24 April:
The article by Julia Denny-Dimitrou based on an interview with Hildegard Lenz, is an example of not only bad, but irresponsible journalism.
While sporting credentials which, to the uninitiated, would appear to elevate Lenz’s status as a reliable source of information vis-à-vis Israel/Palestine, her affiliation to the World Council of Churches through the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme inPalestine, in fact, robs her of credibility. In short, the WCC is no friend ofIsraeland its historical condemnation of the Jewish State is well documented.
Giving Lenz the benefit of the doubt and assuming that during her 3 month stay with a Palestinian family inEast Jerusalemshe did encounter people who provided the anecdotes she mentions, there is no attempt by Denny-Dimitrou to verify a single one. Each claim by Lenz is simply accepted at face value. Single incidents are presented as if they represent official Israeli policy.
Her tales of Jewish settlers occupying the homes of Palestinians overnight; Jewish males parading in these homes naked in order to embarrass the former occupants and Israeli settlers deliberately opening sewers to allow raw sewage to run down steps used by Palestinian school children and teachers – “every morning and afternoon”, are not only far-fetched, to say the least, but unverifiable after extensive searches on the internet.
Lenz ignores evidence of Israeli justice, like the case heard only last week by the Israeli Supreme Court which found in favour of a Palestinian family whose home was illegally occupied by Israelis.
As for Palestinians being forced to carry identity cards, it should be kept in mind that all Israeli citizens, both Jewish and Arab carry ID by law. Those subject to Palestinian authority carry ID issued by the Palestinian Authority, notIsrael.
It is hard to accept that during her three month visit Lenz never came across a single act of Palestinian abuses against Israelis which necessitate the various checkpoints, roadblocks and other security methods to which she scathingly refers.
The problem with this article, like others before it, is that single isolated incidents are presented, creating the impression that the latter brutalizes Palestinians as a matter of course. Immediately, the accusation of “apartheid” is leveled againstIsraelindicating that such acts are official policy. This is nothing but false propaganda and should be seen as such.
Media Team Israel 