Letters to the Editor, August 13th: On Gaza atrocities, Ukraine, small SUVs, and protecting your bike

Irish Times

20 hours ago

Sir, – The cynic in me cannot help but wonder why some people are only now finding the moral courage to speak out against the atrocities in Gaza.
Starvation doesn't happen overnight. Complete siege-like conditions were imposed by Israel on October 9th, 2023, lasting until October 21st, with limited and totally inadequate supplies being allowed in thereafter. From March 2nd this year, a full blockade on everything was again imposed.
It is not too difficult to predict the effects of withholding the essentials of life from an already malnourished and weakened population (whose agricultural land has also been destroyed) for five months.
So why has it taken the evidential photos of skeletal children to evoke a reaction when the facts and logic already spoke for themselves?
READ MORE
Outrage has been expressed at the most recent killing of five Al Jazeera journalists, but their deaths were preceded by over 180 others.
Why has every media report not included the reminder that Palestinian journalists were risking their lives daily in order to tell the world about what Israel refused to let foreign journalists in to see for themselves?
Only now does Germany have scruples about arming Israel. The fact that as far back as November 2024 over 710 babies under one year had been killed in Israeli strikes didn't resonate as grotesque enough a statistic to provoke a crisis of conscience.
For those whom German military aid has been involved in killing and wounding, the gesture is too late.
Footage has been available since October 2023 of the systematic annihilation of the physical structures of the Strip. Is it the recent statistic that 70 per cent are uninhabitable and 25 per cent totally destroyed that affects politicians who now see 'war crime' written in these numbers and try to exculpate themselves by promising to recognise the state of Palestine? As if that will magic infrastructure back into being.
We have all had access to the same knowledge for 22 months but some have chosen to not see and to not speak.
Currently, the avalanche of those wanting to be seen to line up on what is now being perceived as 'the right side' can only be construed as that of people afraid that their shameful silence (or worse, overt support) has been exposed by the headlights of accountability and is a form of complicity in what will surely rank as one of the worst episodes in the history of the modern world. – Yours, etc,
MARY MORAN,
Shannon,
Co Clare.
Sir, – Following the brutal killing of five media workers from Al Jazeera, including the high profile and much loved journalist Anas Al Sharif, the hunting, targeting and assassination of Palestinian journalists by Israel in Gaza has been rightly condemned in the strongest terms around the world.
However, many news outlets have been at pains to report these events accompanied by what appear to be official Israeli government statements or Israeli media quotes, presumably for 'balance'.
Surely, for the sake of accuracy, when such material is quoted by the likes of RTÉ, the BBC, the Guardian and The Irish Times, it should be clearly noted that every single news item, quote and press report coming out of Israel is subject to strict military censorship.
Perhaps they should add that Israel (often cited as the only democracy in the Middle East) ranks at 112 out of 180 in the RSF World Press Freedom Index for 2025 (just below Haiti at 111). I do question whether these news outlets would give the same credence and unquestioning respect to Haiti's official press statements as they do to those emanating from Tel Aviv. – Yours, etc,
TRISH LAVELLE,
Skibbereen
Co Cork.
Sir, – It amazes me that Germany, with its history before 1945, continues to support a country which is committing genocide, killing journalists and denying access to foreign journalists to report the truth in Gaza – while using every opportunity to starve and kill civilians.
I thought that history was a learning process. – Yours, etc,
ALASTAIR WHITE,
Foxrock Manor,
Dublin.
Small SUV supporter
Sir, – On two previous occasions I wrote to you outlining why I now drive a small SUV.
At this stage I have had hip surgery on three occasions but I can honestly say that I can get into and out of the SUV without major pain and discomfort. That is the one reason why I drive this make of car.
Why have you not printed a single letter in praise of the SUV? Balance and all that kind of thing, you know – Yours, etc,
RICHARD ALLEN,
Cummeen,
Sligo.
Sir, – SUVs are frequently referred to as off-road vehicles. In my experience, the only time most of them are off-road is when they are parked on and obstructing the footpath. – Yours, etc,
BEN DUNDON,
Kingswood Heights,
Dublin 24.
Bicycle theft
Sir, – My strategy of temporarily pauperising the appearance of my relatively expensive bicycle by always tying a suitably threadbare plastic bag over the saddle before locking the two-wheeler on public streets seems to work.
Not only have I enjoyed a lifetime of theft-free cycling, but even on the most inclement occasions I manage to arrive home with a bone-dry posterior. – Yours, etc,
KIERAN FLYNN,
Ballinasloe,
Co Galway.
Sir, – I see that William Smith (Letters, August 12th) has built a thief-proof bicycle.
What a great idea – I think I'll steal it. – Yours, etc,
RORY NOONAN,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.
Is this a record?
Sir, – The current thread in the letters page reminds me of a letter decades back when a writer (whose name eludes me) described being in his garden and hearing the sound of Delius's On Hearing the First Cuckoo of Spring, sung by John McCormack, as it was carried on the wind from a location nearby.
He wondered if it was a record? – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL KEEGAN,
Booterstown,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Further to recent correspondence, I once had an Opel car that clocked up nigh on 300,000 miles during its lifespan. Is this a Rekord? – Yours, etc,
PAUL DELANEY,
Dalkey,
Dublin.
A deal for Ukraine
Sir, – Geoffrey Roberts (Letters, August 12th) asserts that the great majority of Ukrainians want peace 'even if it means harsh compromises'.
This is a simplistic interpretation of Ukrainian public opinion. Some polls, like Gallup, ask whether Ukraine should fight the war until victory or negotiate. Faced with these two stark options most Ukrainians do favour negotiation.
The results are not as straightforward when Ukrainians are asked more detailed questions about conditions for a peace agreement.
When asked about how peace should be achieved most Ukrainians are not keen on 'harsh compromises' at all.
Most do not want Ukraine to give up any territory, even if that means the war continues.
A vast majority – 74 per cent – will only accept a peace agreement if Ukraine is allowed to retain its sovereignty and its trajectory towards the EU and Nato. And if Ukraine receives either Western peacekeepers to guarantee against further Russian aggression or is armed to defend itself in the future.
Instead of Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Europe falling in line with the US, as Roberts suggests, perhaps the US should fall in line with Ukrainian popular opinion that wants peace but with guarantees?
Respecting what Ukrainians want would mean taking Ukrainian sovereignty and hopes seriously.
It would mean respecting the victims of Vladimir Putin's war rather than rewarding the aggressor in the war in the vainglorious pursuit of a Nobel Prize.
Such respect is unlikely to come from Putin and Donald Trump given Putin does not believe Ukraine to be a state and Trump's narcissism.
It is vital, therefore, that Europe and Zelenskiy do not give in to any US attempt at imposing a peace. If there is to be a permanent peace Ukraine needs to be a party to the terms of that peace and its people's wishes taken into account.
Ukraine should not a sacrificial lamb to Putin's regime and Trump's ego. – Yours, etc,
NEIL ROBINSON,
Professor of Comparative Politics,
University of Limerick,
Co Limerick.
Sir, – Geoffrey Roberts is naive if he thinks a peace deal between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will save Ukraine from Russian domination.
Putin has no interest in an independent sovereign Ukraine, even one with reduced territory.
He doesn't even believe that Ukrainians are a separate people, only that they are deluded Russians led astray by western propaganda.
Like Neville Chamberlain, Trump will surrender parts of Ukraine to Russia to appease Putin. If Putin is smart, he will wait a few years, rebuilding his strength, and after Trump leaves office, attack and capture the rest of Ukraine.
Europe learned the hard lesson in the 1930s that appeasement doesn't stop wars, it encourages more of it.
As a professor of history, you would think Mr Roberts would know that. – Yours, etc,
JASON FITZHARRIS,
Swords,
Co Dublin.
Cancelling India Day
Sir, – I was very saddened to read about the cancellation of India Day in Dublin this year, on what would have been its 10th anniversary.
More than a missed celebration of culture and inclusion, the event's cancellation is a grim reminder of the growing shadow of racism and online hate in Ireland.
We must confront the roots of recent attacks on innocent Indian people in Ireland with honesty and urgency. What are we allowing to fester in our society that makes such violence against immigrants and their children possible?
India Day may not go ahead this year, but I hope the spirit of the festival can live on.
I will be thinking about the many Indian immigrants who have positively shaped my life over the years, especially the medical professionals who recently tended to my mother in her dying days, and the childcare worker who is a light in my young son's life.
To our Indian community, let us stand together in solidarity and support.
Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine. – Yours, etc,
MÉABH NÍ CHOILEÁIN,
Terenure Road West,
Dublin.
Sir, – It is with a heavy heart I read that India Day, due to have taken place this Sunday in Farmleigh, is now cancelled due a series of unprovoked attacks on Indian nationals in Ireland.
Having worked as a GP for 40 years I can only say that my Indian colleagues make a huge and positive contribution to our health service.
In particular, the Indian nurses working in many of our nursing homes are almost unparalleled in the courtesy, professionalism, dedication, and care they give to our elderly.
Many of their offspring also make huge contributions to diverse areas of Irish society, including to the highest level of government. – Yours, etc,
GARRETT IGOE.
Virginia,
Co Cavan.