Middle East problems

Press, 12 October 1982, Page 16

Middle East problems

Sir,—Your correspondents teday complain of discrimination ' and lack of rights for Arabs in Israel. It would be interesting to know where your correspondents or their recent ancestors came from. After all, it is not so long ago that only Maoris lived in New Zealand. Some of them do not recognise the Treaty of Waitangi and many complain of discrimination and lack of rights. There is also separate identification of Maoris in census and other forms. Aboriginals say that Australia was originally theirs and that they do not get their, rights. All over the world whole populations have shifted and integrated. Because of wars the refugee problem is enormous all over the world up to the present day. It is the way that Israel continues to be singled out that "Questions the

deeper motives of your recent correspondents—Yours, etc. . (Mrs) BETTY ADAMS. October 8, 1982.

Sir,—B. Crawley (Oct. 3) would logically accuse most New Zealanders of a “bias" against Nazism. In fact, Nazism is judged on its principles and practice. Twentieth-cen-tury Zionism embodies the principle that certain native people have no right to their land, and mass murder has been repeatedly employed to overcome their rejection of that principle. Israel’s “parliamentary democracy” is not unlike South Africa’s — a political system based on the exclusion of most of the native population. Messrs Baruch and Franklin (October 5) do well to raise the spectre of anti-semi-,tism. The Palestinians are of course, Semites, but many of their Zionist persecutors are not. It is therefore unsurprising that crude racial attacks on native Semites have been a feature of Zionist propaganda. German Nazis did not carry out most of the war-time murders of Jews. Like the Israelis in Lebanon, they armed some vicious locals and carefully arranged their opportunity.— Yours, etc., . J. WATSON. October 6. 1982.