PUTNEY-On May 8, The Commons printed my letter to the editor, "We just want a permanent ceasefire" regarding Israel's war on Gaza. Steven K-Brooks fired back that my position was an "absurdity."
He distorted what I had written.
K-Brooks is correct that I compared how the U.S. labeled both Nelson Mandela and Hamas as terrorists (even though Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for leading South Africa out of apartheid). But I absolutely never gave any "assurance" that Hamas would bring a "peaceful transition" away from war, as K-Brooks alleges, and which he calls "absurd."
To the contrary. I wrote: "It was not that [Palestinian] voters loved Hamas" when they voted against the Palestinian Authority in 2006. I said they voted for Hamas because they were "sick of the corruption of the Palestinian Authority."
I know this because a Palestinian from Gaza on a Fulbright scholarship in the United States told me exactly that. He strongly disagreed with how Hamas governed Gaza.
For those new to "Israel–Palestine," it is nothing if not complicated. There is a lot to catch up on and learn. But K-Brooks is not new to these issues, and there is no excuse for misrepresenting my position. He owes me an apology.
Thomas Kim Hill
Putney
This letter to the editor was submitted to The Commons.
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