Dear Editor,

For there to be peace between nations and groups, laws and rules must be applied equally to all. They must be blind so they do not see gender, race, religion, social status, or political affiliation. Likewise, laws must be deaf to the voices of those who want them to be selectively applied.

Every person in a democratic country should be subject to the same laws, including laws relating to insider trading or disinformation. In addition, definitions used in any law should be in keeping with the historical and or the generally accepted usage. Take the word anti-Semitism as an example. Typically, it is defined as hatred of Jews. The question is: Why is it only hatred of Jews? Why is the law exclusive, and not inclusive?

The reality is that the indigenous people of Palestine are a Semitic people and should be protected by all anti-Semitic laws based on the principle of equality under the law. Indeed, the Palestinians more than any other Semitic group are in need of legal protection given their struggles for approximately 80 years.

In my opinion, the current anti-Semitic laws seek to protect the strong, and not the weak Palestinians. I hold the view that all lives are precious, and here I am speaking of the lives of Jews, Palestinians, Chinese, Russians, Iranians, etc., and as such, the lives of the Palestinians should have been given legal protection and not excluded from laws dealing with anti-Semitism.

That said, for the past 80 years the world has witnessed the greatest display of anti-Semitism and hatred as evidenced by the treatment of the Palestinians by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). It is my opinion that the events of October 7, 2023 have been used by the IDF to unleash hate and destruction upon unarmed babies, children, women, the elderly, and sick Palestinians in hospital beds. The dropping of hundreds of 2000 lb bombs upon these non-combatants is a clear demonstration of hate, and yet the IDF continues to receive support from some Western countries.

I would even dare to say that nature is kinder and more humane than the IDF, as it does not operate like the IDF. Nature operates using a simple rule, that is: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Note that what the IDF has done to the Palestinians and to a far lesser degree Hamas — their opposing combatants — is nothing close to being equal and opposite. One could say that the events of October 7 were a reaction by Hamas to decades of unjust actions carried out by the IDF, although Hamas’s reaction is far less than equal.

Finally, given the worldwide concern about the environment and climate change, I am surprised that there has not been a global outcry concerning the significant negative environmental impact caused by the IDF’s extensive use of bombs and military aircraft in the conflict.

Hugh Beckford

hugh_beckford@yahoo.com