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Home , Gary Becker, Igor Tamm, Michael Stuart Brown

Rapid responses to “Palestine: the assault on health and other war ” [15 October-15 November 2004]

Most rapid responses to the article were published on receipt and can be found at: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/329/7471/924

This file contains responses received within a month of the article’s publication that were not published at the time, for various reasons.

Identifying details have been removed from each message, which are separated by asterixes. Any additional editing is indicated by [square brackets].

** Date submitted: 15 Oct 2004 19:25

------"The truth is shocking" ------

The truth is shocking and Israel, the media, and even our natural temptation is to respond in the following ways:

1. That is such a terrible ongoing tragedy I guess there will never be peace so Israel's illegal Occupation of Palestinian land is an acceptable solution.

2. The violence will never stop, these people will always fight, and so illegal Occupation is an acceptable solution.

3. Surely the Arabs are to blame so demand they do something and until then, illegal Occupation is an acceptable solution.

4. The solution to this tragedy is so elusive we will never figure it out, so illegal Occupation is an acceptable solution.

5. Any person who speaks out against this must hate and/or Israel and therefore must be a bigot or racist so we should not listen to them, and illegal Occupation is an acceptable solution.

Folks, the Palestinians are surrounded by Israel, its soldiers and the illegal wall they are quickly building. Their food, water, clothing, electricity, safety, humanity, freedom, and dignity are ALL completely in the hands of the Israelis. Remind me who is in control of the situation Mr. Loren. The solution is simple despite what extremists Zionists would have you believe. It is simple, really. Here I’ll show you, repeat after me: “Get out.” Israel needs to get out of the occupied territories and take its illegal “settlements” with it. They need to go back to the UN mandated 1967 boundaries. Allow the Palestinians to control their own natural resources, govern themselves, police themselves and heal!

Suicide bombings are wrong. Genocide is wrong. Allowing another Nazi Germany holocaust to occur by Israel against Palestinians should shock us all into demanding it STOP! It is the greatest irony of our day that the people that were targeted and killed en masse in Nazi Germany are today committing the same types of crimes against the Arabs. That is the truth. There is no mincing it; there is no media homogenization of the facts, that is what is happening. Don't accept the canned responses that Mr. Loren and others want us to accept. It breeds the debilitating mentality that only allows the Israeli's to continue the genocide that will meet their end goal: to eliminate Palestine completely while the rest of the world debates how to respond!

The truth is shocking. It is hard to believe that the solution is that simple and that we have allowed ourselves to be barraged by the Zionist cover-up for so long. Resist the urge to ignore the simple solution. Resist the urge to debate how to execute the permanent pull-out. Resist the urge to do anything but stop the genocide and demand a full a permanent pull-out NOW.

Competing : None declared

*** Date submitted: 18 Oct 2004 18:52

------"Factually incorrect" ------

This 'article' is not only obscenely biased but factually incorrect.

"The Israeli army, with utter impunity, has killed more unarmed Palestinian civilians since September 2000 than the number of people who died on September 11, 2001."

While it is true that around 3000 Palestinians have died since September 2000, it is completely untrue that they have all been 'unarmed civilians'. Indeed, the figures show that around 50-55% of Palestinian dead are 'armed combatants' and only around 45-50% are 'unarmed civilians'. (This compares to an Israeli rate of 80% of casualties being 'unarmed civilians'.)

So, even if we understood half of Palestinian casualties to be 'unarmed civilians', this leaves us with a figure of around 1,500 (certainly not close to 2,000).

The acknowledged number of dead from the September 11 atrocities is over 3,000.

Since when has 1,500 exceeded 3,000?

Competing interests: None declared

**

Date submitted: 18 Oct 2004 22:20 ------"Re:'Palestine: The assault on health and other war crimes.'" ------Dear Sirs, By the use of inadequate research, sweeping statements and misuse of statistics you present an over-simplified and disgracefully biased view of this 'Palestinian' engineered tragedy. Despite years of 'Intifada' (uprising) the battle being fought is for international opinion, and not a homeland for Arabs in Israel. I share Dr Summerfield's concern for Israel's indigenous Arab population; it is tragic that by gross mismanagement of funds intended for humanitarian aid, the 'Palestinian' leadership shows such disregard for the welfare of its own people. Deaths are the symptom but the disease is terrorism. The Institute for Counter-Terrorism publishes authoritative, verified data with informed analysis and interpretation: anecdotal submissions will simply not do for the BMJ. Similarly, the BMJ should not be the forum for ill-informed bias to be peddled in the guise of medical review. Do what you set out to, BMJ, and do it well. Do otherwise and you will discard credibility and earn disgust.

Competing interests: None declared **

Date submitted: 18 Oct 2004 01:38 ------" WHEN SCIENCE IS BIASIED" ------

AS A PHYSICIAN, I KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF EVALUATING FACTS; AND NOT PLACING MY PERSONNEL FEELING FIRST AND ADJUSTING THE FACTS TO MATCH THEM.

THE ARTICLE ABOUT MEDICINE IN PALESTINE IS INACCURATE AND NOT BASED ON FACTS. EXAMPLES: 1.THE MAJORITY OF THE CAUSALITIES WERE ARMED TERRORIST AND COMBANTANT—BUT YOU LIST THEM AS ALL UNARMED 2. THE FACT THAT SOME CHILDREN SUFFERED OR DIED FROM CHEST AND HEAD WOUNDS IS A SHAME--BUT THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT SOLDIERS WERE AUTHORIZED TO DO SO. AND WERE THE CHILDREN THAT WE SEE ON THE NEWS THROWING ROCK, MOLOTOV COCKTAILS AND OTHER OBJECTS AT SOLIDIERS? 3. THERE WAS NO MENTION OF THE ISRAELI CHILDREN BLOWN TO PIECES WHILE THEY ATE PIZZA, KILLED FROM ROCKETS LANDING ON THEM OR SHOT IN THEIR BEDS. AND NO MENTION THAT THE KILLING OF ISRAELIS HAS BEEN DONE WITH IMPUNITY FROM THE PALESTIAN GOVERNMENT OR PRESS.

DR. SUMMERFIELD HAS THE RIGHT TO HIS OPINION, BUT ON THE OP-ED PAGES AND NOT IN AN HONOURED MEDICAL JOURNAL.

THANK YOU Competing interests: None declared

**

Date submitted: 18 Oct 2004 02:02 ------"?" ------

In the world of the blind, the one eyed man is king

1st Why is a respected medical journal publishing political nonsense?

2nd Why doesn't Derek send his personal views to people of the same intelligence as himself (who care not for fact nor balance)?

3rd If someone attacks you and your do you stand by and wait, for the police, for example to help? Thought not. So why is Israel expected to wait for the highly effective UN (G-d help them) to stand tall?

I have no political views, or care to read of any, that warrant a mention in the BMJ. Please sort this out.

Competing interests: Common Sense

**

Date submitted: 18 Oct 2004 03:16 ------" Reality and Responsibility" ------In reading the diatribe by Dr. Summerfield regarding "Palestine," I realized that for a journal of objective science this suggests that your publication is neither. The figures quoted regarding the loss of life are a gross exaggeration when compared to the loss of life on Sept 11. The lack of balance is also almost to the degree of humour if it was not truly such a horror. The fact that the terrorists specifically target the civilian population and like the cowards that they are, they then hide among their own civilian population demonstrate what they are, repugnant excuses for humans. The fact that their children are encouraged to participate in becoming suicide victims or human shields and that Dr. Summerfield seems to accept this, to me appears to support that Dr. Summerfield is himself guilty of racism in the worse manner. He clearly feels that these people are not good enough for any reasonable form of freedom and self determination and should only serve as cannon fodder for their terrorist brethren.

The publication of such racism is unworthy of any publication, especially one such as yours with a formerly great international following.

Competing interests: None declared

**

Date submitted: 18 Oct 2004 03:29 ------" Why concentrate on Middle East politics?" ------The editorial body of the BMJ should call now for manuscripts of political nature from other areas of conflicts in the rest of the world. Why single out only Israel ?It stinks and the odour reminds us of the anti-Semitism which is still rampant in not so Great Britain .

Competing interests: None declared

**** Date submitted: 19 Oct 2004 12:28 ------"Jacob's abduction to Heaven " ------"Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood The Lord, and He said, "I Am the Lord, The God of your father Abraham and The God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I Am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land." (Genesis 28:10-15)

A space elevator is essentially a long cable extending from our planet's surface into space with its centre of mass at geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), 35,786 km in altitude. Electromagnetic vehicles travelling along the cable could serve as a mass transportation system for moving people, payloads, and power between Earth and space....During a speech he once gave, someone in the audience asked Arthur C. Clarke when the space elevator would become a reality. He answered, 'Probably about 50 years after everybody quits laughing"(1).

Jung's out-of-body experience raises the possibility that the technology capable of achieving the same effect without the need for a cable might have been in existence for some time...even perhaps since Inca times.

"In the Peruvian desert, about 200 miles south of Lima, there lies a plain between the Inca and Nasca valleys. Across this plain, in an area measuring 37 miles long and 1 mile wide, is an assortment of perfectly straight lines, many running parallel, others intersecting, forming a grand geometric form. In and around the lines there are also trapezoidal zones, strange symbols, and pictures of birds and beasts all etched on a giant scale that can only be appreciated from the sky"(Google).

As the shapes are too big to be identified from the ground the question archaeologists have asked is how were they constructed? Erich Von Daniken has proposed that they might have been constructed by aliens from the vantage of their shape ships (2). This would seem most unlikely. Might rather the ancients have had the ability to teleport people into a position of vantage in the sky to oversee such a construction? If so in what form? Bosonic as evidently in my late father's out-of-body experience or fermionic? Jung's description of the blue earth from space in his out-of-body experience years before Yuri Gagarin's first flight into space on April 21, 1961, when its blueness when seen from space was first appreciated, raises the possibility that it might have been a bosonic form of astral projection (3). Had it been fermionic he would have popped at that altitude.

Astral projection is the idea that one can, with practice, “project” one’s consciousness, soul, or spirit, outside of the body while in a sleeping state. Some accounts of astral projection and indeed out-of- body experiences tell of a silver cord attached to the sleeping body that if broken prevents the "spirit" from returning to the body. Some believe that there might even be a Biblical reference to it (Ecclesiastes 12:6) but it is a very enigmatic one:

"…before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern."

The more likely interpretation of astral projection is that is an entirely bosonic phenomenon, devoid of a fermionic silver cord, one possibly evocable when a person is in a state of relaxation induced either by sleep or by Dr Mack's hypnotic suggestion. The state might correspond with a phase between the alpha and theta phases of sleep. As the hypothetical bosonic phase of existence is timeless, it should in theory be possible to travel either backwards or forwards in time whilst in this phase of existence. This is the aconscious state in which mediums appear to place themselves in attempting to communicate with the past or the future. Gypsies might have discovered a way of achieving the same objective in the conscious state by using a crystal ball capable of transforming the bosonic signals they might receive into visual images that ca be seen in their ball as on a television screen.

"Dr Mack's embrace of hypnotism to draw out stories of alien abduction drew fire from those who cautioned that "recovered memories" were unreliable. They warned that, for example, in the Satanic abuse cases that were sweeping the nation, innocent people were being imprisoned because hypnosis and suggestive interview techniques often created fabricated memories(4).

As in theory every bosonic particle in existence would have encoded in it the history of the entire universe [Eddington's it from bit] there is a theoretical basis for these concerns. The possibility of receiving signals that have originated from more than one fermionic form in different ages would seem in theory to be real. The same concerns should apply to any information derived from bosonic signals received during age regression under hypnosis. There may indeed be truth in the information but it could be contaminated with extraneous information.

So what of Jacob's stairway to heaven? This might have been the first of a succession of attempts to build it. "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower [Babel]that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." What then of possibility of achieving the same objective by astral projection or even inducing it in a third party by abducting and projecting to a distant location their bosonic "spirits" whilst in a relaxed state possibly between the alpha and theta phases of sleep? The NASA solution to Jacob's dream is a space elevator. But that might be intended to conceal the truth just as it has been said that the Enigma machine might have concealed the truth about espionage methods used at Bletchley in WWII. That is no laughing matter.

1. The Audacious Space Elevator.science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast07sep_1.htm

2. Chariots of the Gods: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past, by Erich Von Daniken

3. Susan Blackmore Consciousness: An Introduction Oxford University Press 2003

4. Jeanne Lenzer John E Mack BMJ 2004; 329: 920

Competing interests: None declared

**

Date submitted: 19 Oct 2004 22:36 ------" Noble facts" ------Subject: Nobel facts

The following are true facts and verified statistics:

The Global Islamic population is approximately 1,200,000,000, or about 20% of the world population.

They received the following Nobel Prizes:

Literature: 1988 - Najib Mahfooz.

Peace: 1978 - Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat 1994 - Yaser Arafat

Physics: 1990 - 1999 - Ahmed Zewail

Medicine: 1960 - Peter Brian Medawar 1998 - Ferid Mourad

The Global Jewish population is approximately 14,000,000 or about 0.02% of the world’s population.

They received the following Nobel Prizes:

Literature: 1910 - Paul Heyse 1927 - Henri Bergson 1958 - 1966 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon 1966 - Nelly Sachs 1976 - Saul Bellow 1978 - Isaac Bashevis Singer 1981 - Elias Canetti 1987 - Joseph Brodsky 1991 - Nadine Gordimer World

Peace: 1911 - Alfred Fried 1911 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser 1968 - Rene Cassin 1973 - Henry Kissinger 1978 - Menachem Begin 1986 - Elie Wiesel 1994 - Shimon Peres 1994 - Yitzhak Rabin

Physics: 1905 - Adolph Von Baeyer 1906 - Henri Moissan 1910 - Otto Wallach 1915 - Richard Willstaetter 1918 - Fritz Haber 1943 - George Charles de Hevesy 1961 - 1962 - Max Ferdinand Perutz 1972 - William Howard Stein 1977 - Ilya Prigogine 1979 - Herbert Charle s Brown 1980 - 1980 - Walter Gilbert 1981 - 1982 - Aaron Klug 1985 - Albert A. Hauptman 1985 - 1986 - Dudley R. Herschbach 1988 - Robert Huber 1989 - Sidney Altman 1992 - Rudolph Marcus 2000 - Alan J. Heeger

Economics: 1970 - Paul Anthony Samuelson 1971 - 1972 - Kenneth Joseph Arrow 1975 - 1976 -! 1978 - Herbert A. Simon 1980 - Lawrence Robert Klein 1985 - 1987 - Robert M. Solow 1990 - 1990 - 1992 - 1993 -

Medicine: 1908 - Elie Metchnikoff 1908 - Paul Erlich 1914 - Robert Barany 1922 - Otto Meyerhof 1930 - 1931 - Otto Warburg 1936 - 1944 - 1944 - 1945 - Ernst Boris Chain 1946 - 1950 - Tadeus Reichstein 1952 - Selman Abraham Waksman 1953 - 1953 - Fritz Albert Lipmann 1958 - 1959 - 1964 - Konrad Bloch 1965 - Francois Jacob 1965 - Andre Lwoff 1967 - 1968 - Marshall W. Nirenberg 1969 - 1970 - 1970 - Sir 1972 - Gerald Maurice Edelman 1975 - 1976 - Baruch S. Blumberg 1977 - Roselyn Sussman Yalow 1978 - 1980 - 1984 - Cesar Milstein 1985 - 1985 - Joseph L. Goldstein 1986 - Stanley Cohen [& Rita Levi-Montalcini] 1988 - Gertrude Elion 1989 - Harold Varmus 1991 - 1991 - 1993 - Richard J. Roberts 1993 - Phillip Sharp 1994 - Alfred Gilman 1995 - Edward B. Lewis

Physics: 1907 - Albert Abraham Michelson 1908 - 1921 - 1922 - 1925 - 1925 - Gustav Hertz 1943 - Gustav Stern 1944 - Isidor Issac Rabi 1952 - 1954 - 1958 - Igor Tamm 1959 - Emilio Segre 1960 - Donald A. Glaser 1961 - 1962 - Lev Davidovich Landau 1965 - Richard Phillips Feynman 1965 - 1969 - Murray Gell-Mann 1971 - 1973 - Brian David Josephson 1975 - Benjamin Mottleson 1976 - 1978 - 1978 - Peter L Kapitza 1979 - Stephen Weinberg 1979 - Sheldon Glashow 1988 - Leon Lederman 1988 - 1988 - 1990 - Jerome Friedman 1995 - Martin Perl

The Jews are not demonstrating with their dead on the streets, yelling and chanting and asking for revenge, the Jews are not promoting brain washing the children in military training camps, teaching them how to blow themselves up and cause maximum deaths of Jews and other non Muslims.

The Jews don't highjack planes, nor kill athletes at the Olympics, the Jews don't traffic slaves, nor have leaders calling for Jihad and death to all the Infidels.

The Jews don't have the economical strength of the Petroleum, nor the possibilities to force the world's media to see "their side" of the question.

Perhaps if the world's Muslims could invest more in normal education and less in blaming the Jews for all their problems, we could all live in a better world.

Competing interests: None declared

** Date submitted: 20 Oct 2004 13:59 ------"Lies" ------

The reponse by some that this 'article' is 'unbiased' and 'justified' is utterly laughable. I'm not going to bother tackling the hideously biased assertions, misleading statistics and words that look like they came directly from a Hamas spokesman. These have been dealt with.

I wish to point out the actual LIES in this 'article'. Lies which would have been picked up by any sort of editorial examination.

"The Israeli army, with utter impunity, has killed more unarmed Palestinian civilians since September 2000 than the number of people who died on September 11, 2001" - LIE

Over 3,000 dead on Soptember 11th. As the majority of Palestinians killed by Israel are armed combatants and terrorists (compared to over 80% of Israeli casualties being civilians), the number of 'unarmed Palestinian civilians' killed is far, far less than 3,000.

"Clearly, soldiers are routinely authorised to shoot to kill children in situations of minimal or no threat." - LIE

What benefit would this have for Israel? This sort of action would merely give the anti-Israel lobby even more ammunition (not that they ever need justification for their claims), and provide no benefit at all for Israel. Why does Israel develop non-lethal weapons (as documented in today's Telegraph) if it's objective is just to kill?

So, if Dr Summerfield has to resort to downright lying to make his point, surely questions must be raised about the validity of any single claim he makes.

(Oh and about the UN, what should we expect from an organisation driven by a 56-member block who are ready to condemn Israel for anything at any opportunity. An organisation which has countries like China, Syria, Cuba and Zimbabwe on its Human Rights committee. An organisation which had Iran and Iraq as the scheduled chairs of the Conference on Disarmament for the middle of last year. An organisation that gives equal voice and vote to tyrannical dictatorships as to democratic nations.)

Dr Summerfield is a shameful example of bias in the professional establishment of the UK and Europe as a whole. The BMJ should be ashamed for even considering publishing this 'article'.

A full apology would be a good start.

Competing interests: None declared

** Date submitted: 20 Oct 2004: 18:44 ------"Re: Let Them Drink Bile . . ." ------

Well done, Professor Joseph Chikelue Obi.

Once again you have effortlessly coined yet another formidable phrase for posterity to endlessly attempt to decipher.

"Let them drink bile" really hits the nail on the head from which ever angle one chooses to look at it.

I sincerely wish that everyone was as forthright as you are.

Stand back Mary Antoinette , here comes Obi.

Competing interests: Jewish

**

------Date submitted: 20 Oct 2004 23:33 ------"ARTICLE ON PALESTINE" ------

I WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE BMJ FOR THEIR COURAGE IN e PUBLISHING THE SUMMERFIELD ARTICLE ON PALESTINE.BRAVO TO YOU AND TO THE AUTHOR. THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT!

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 20 Oct 2004 05:05

------"Te truth will make the wolves howl." ------

An interesting article which in a way made the wolves around the world howl in unision.

The truth, when slapped right into one's face is very painful.Insticntively the human defence mechanism goes into action, hence the responses Summerfield got from other readers.

The attitude that whatever the Israeli govt did or will do is ALWAYs correct is puzzling to one's mind. But what can we expect from the racist Israelittes/Jews. For them they are always right and whatever they do to fulfill the Zionist agenda is justified even to destroy a whole nation.

Don't be suprise ,in a 100 years time their motto will be: ONLY THE JEWS ARE FIT TO LIVE ON THIS PLANET!!

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 20 Oct 2004 07:01

------"Palestine Assault...." ------

Sir, David Summerfield is to be applauded for his work in highlighting the cruel assault being perpetrated on the health and well-being of the Palestinian people. That I have to say he and you at the BMJ were 'brave' to publish such a piece, speaks volumes for the stranglehold on victimhood that the zionist lobby seeks for itself. The cruel death of the little girl, Iman, who was cold- bloodedly riddled with bullets after her death is but a symptom of a society where many of its members have completely lost touch with their humanity - surprising and shocking given the history that they have. I regret to say this but some zionists have become the Nazis of our year and it is only because they share European/ American origins that they are allowed to flout international that non-white regimes and countries have faced sanctions and invasions for.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 13:04 ------"The Simple Truth" ------

I must admit that as a medical student I was surprised to read the article by Derek Summerfield entitled "Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes".

Even though I am a Christian who has Palestinian roots, I feel that the one-sided argument perpetuates the myth that Arabs and Arab supporters have extreme and narrow views. I am sure many will agree that most Arabs all around the world have proved themselves to be educated, informed, and hard working citizens who are not as "twisted" as many would like to believe.

There is no doubt that violence has been occurring from both sides. Having said this, I think many have missed the simple truth. Palestine is being occupied by Israel. Israelis occupy Palestinian land, and they have justified this on the basis of their religion, that this is their "promised land". My question, therefore, is that how can any modern society, being America or otherwise, condone the forcing of one peoples' religion over another? How can anyone claim, or prove, that the Torah is more accurate and justified than the Quaraan? How else can this occupation be justified?

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 13:20 ------"Re: Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes" ------

Dear BMJ Reader I think this article is part of the against this innocent lifes who get killed either directly or indirestly by the Israeli army.

I don't think I am going to add more to what has been published by the media from the continuing assult done by this terrorist goverment before after the events of 11th Sept., to tell the truth I think that the crimes commited by this goverment is one of the trigger factors to this events that we all suffer from. Thanks

Competing interests: the article is part of the crime against the Palastinians civilians

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 13:25 ------"Justice for all humanbiengs" ------

We are now leaving in the 21st cetury and evry human live should be the same whatever your race. Unforunatley, the Isralies have not learnd from thier past history. If they claim they were perscuted and tortured by the Nazies in the past. What they are doing now is far worse for the Palastines. The world has gon carzey. We were took to an illegal war in Iraq and made more peopole to die and suffer, when the attention and effort should be direcred to resovle the middle east conflict. This becouse the life of a palastinian cost nothing. So what we need just justuce and equality for every body. The UN should stand firmly on this issue. Enough is enough. I condratulate Derek Summerfield on his article and courage. Every body should know that crtizing Israil for wrong doing dose not mean anti semitic. By the way notb onlly Juish are semitic the Arab as well.

Thanks

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 16:02 ------"Isreali crimes" ------

I think that it is the courage of the BMJ to publish such an article about can be thought to be the buried truth. some readers think that the article is anti-semit, which is really funny. you, the Isrealis must understand that if an operation happened in any city, the civilized and God's most elected poeple (as you say) must not respond in the everyday barbaric activities.

one day, it will backfire. you will end up in groups of crimminals.

the article is realistic and supported by evidnnce and logistic facts which means that it must be published. it meets all the requiremnts of any logical research work. if the article was about the number of killed isreali people you would have tried to send it to the sun...

anyway, every one in the world knows who are the isrealis and how they think and it is matter of time before the wheel turns upside down.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 17:14 ------"BMJ gets lots of publicity about this article, detrimental to its reputation" ------

The isses regarding the appropriate using of space in a medical journal, and of spouting one's political opinion (one that could not possibly be confused by verified facts ..) have been dealt with ad nauseam. What might be of to those readers who prefer to deal with facts, figures and statistics: an article that is actually researched, properly footnoted, and refutes the opinion of the quack who wrote the article point-by-point.

P> British Medical Journal Engaging In Malpractice by Beth Goodtree Oct 20, '04 is published on: http://israelnn.com/article.php3?id=4311

[original response copied the article verbatim]

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 18:16 ------"THE USE OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN" ------

November 2000 Executive Summary / Creating Martyrs for the Media / "Improved" Palestinian Tactics / Incitement by Arafat and his Palestinian Authority / Negating the Raison D'etre of the Peace Process / The Parents' Motivations / Identifying Child Abuse and Possessing the Courage to Speak Out / Israeli Restraint: The IDF Rules of Engagement / International : Efforts to Protect Children from the Dangers of Armed Conflict / Conclusion and Outlook

[What looks like the full 27 page report was copied in the original response. It can be found at: http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp441.htm]

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 18:24 ------"Narcissism by any other name" ------

The "Honest Reporting" reaction to the BMJ article about Israeli inhumanity toward Palestinians is typical of the Narcissist viewpoint of the majority, victimhood ideology characteristic of Israelis. In the Narcissist perspective, anything Israel does is noble and good, while anything anyone else does, especially if they are Palestinians, is based on bigotry, hate, racism, and the like. "Honest Reporting" is honestly ethnocentric in its defense of Israel's Narcissistic master race ideology. To take any of the pro-Israel criticism seriously is to treat it as the work of normal people. Narcissists are anything but normal. The BMJ should publish some research on Narcissism as a national Israeli illness. Others have made the claim, but without adequate statistical basis. Perhaps Israelis are not Narcissistic, just vicious and mean as the BMJ article duly demonstrates.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 18:10 ------"Mr. Summerfield's article" ------

I note that Mr. Summerfield's polemic has received the approbation of a racist individual such as [edited] who [edited].

That speaks volumes of the kind of individuals who support Mr. Summerfield's vile diatribe.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 20:13 ------"Was it wise?" ------

As someone who has no dog in this particular fight – being neither a Muslim nor a Jew – but who has observed some of the same intercommunal violence elsewhere, I would like to make two comments. In conflicts of this type there are always “men behaving badly” on both sides. Pointing out the flaws of one side to the exclusion of the other is never of benefit, and is invariably an action with mischievous rather than benign intent. Secondly, there are already many other forums for one sided political critiques. Indeed the author of the article in question has already successfully exploited two of them for essentially the same piece published in the BMJ.

Reading the article and the anguished comments that have followed, one can only wonder what the BMJ wants to be when it grows up. A serious medical journal, or a glorified political blog? Perhaps the answer will be revealed when a professional editor is once again at the helm.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 23:52 ------"History" ------

Your response to the Israel/Palestine problem, reminds me of what took place in WWI when the Muslins sided with the Kaiser against the Allies. Then in WWll when again the muslinss favored Hitler and Nazi Germany. Of course they were not the only ones. Many Britains and French, including your Royalty thought Hitler was great and would have sided with him. Only after 50,000,000 dead & his defeat, didsome of you finally realize, maybe he was bad and Churchill was right. Now you have a repeat , this time by Muslin terrorists who without any thought at all, not only kill innocent people, but hide behind their own people while attempting to kill others. When others shoot back, in defense of them selves, you yell at the defenders, "you are killing innocent people". You should be yelling at the attackers who use their people as shields. I asume you also condemed the British airforce that bombed and killed "innocent German men, woman and children" in the cities they had to bomb, so Hitler could be defeated. Perhaps you should examine their beliefs and actions before you let your shortsightedness blind you. Remember the Muslins have a saying, "The Saturday worshipers today, the Sunday ones tomorrow". Wake up before you find yourself alone. with them comming for you and your family. The Christians in Indonesia, in the Sudan and in the Phillipines were not being killed because they are Jews or support Israel. The woman who accidently crossed in front of some Muslins while they were praylng, and was badly beaten up was not Jewish. I could go on with reports of their perversion and distortion of the truth, but with people like you, who wear the blinders they supply you with, you will continue with what you choose to believe, until they one day their action effects you personally. Perhaps, as a doctor you should go to Israel and remove the nails and ball berings from the babies, women and innocents, blown up on busses & restaurants, before you let your personal hate compltely blind you. I must also assume that you believe the IRA is completely right when they set off their bombs to kill civillians in London and other British Cities. if you have not realised it, they and the Muslin terrorists have worked closely together.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 00:41 Rapid Response ID: bmj_el;80392 ------"The Truth" ------

The article was totally unbiased and protrayed nothing but the truth. I would like to express my sincerest respect and appreciation to the author for his courage and open mindedness.

Medical Student

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 21 Oct 2004 02:29 ------"Salutes to Derek" ------

Derek Summerfield ,Well done for showing courage no one dares to. Most media moguls are under "their" control and will not say a thing which is critical to Israel. Someone said why middle eastern politics. Because we dip our nose in thier affairs. I think you will have earned that nasty title called anti semite. But dont worry about it.It does not work like it used to. The Elders of Zion will make sure to defend Israels barbaric policy everytime some one will try to criticise. They are teaching us History (only those chapters which are appropriate).The document called The Protocol.....is gradually being implimented

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 22 Oct 2004 11:17

------"Quis est deus?" ------

"Why should Mr Sharon, the hammer of the Palestinians and the man who not long ago called the Gaza settlement of Netzarim as dear to him as Tel Aviv, now want to lead Israel out of the strip? .. The answer from the Palestinians is that this is a ruse, a bit of sand to throw in the eyes of the world while Israel tightens its hold on the larger West Bank, which has been colonised not by a mere 7,000 settlers but by some 200,000 (not counting a similar number of Israelis who live in new suburbs in the formerly Jordanian areas of Jerusalem)...The answer from Mr Sharon is different. Leaving Gaza, his spokesmen insist, is consistent with the international “road map” of April 2003, under which, prodded by George Bush, Israel signed on to the idea of an independent and viable Palestinian state "(1).

"FOR over three decades, Seymour Hersh has been a pain in the neck to American presidents and he is proving no less of one to George Bush. .His latest book is a blend of articles from the New Yorker since the September 11th attacks along with new material. It makes disturbing reading. Mr Hersh portrays an administration whose top officials are not just duplicitous—a charge which can be laid against plenty of their predecessors—but gravely incompetent, blind to facts they dislike, determined to ignore advice they do not wish to hear and lamentably ignorant about large chunks of the world....there is something puzzling, even terrifying, about Mr Bush. When he denies, or just ignores, a fact, is he lying, or does he simply say whatever he finds convenient, and then come to believe it? Mr Hersh asks the question, but he cannot answer it"(2).

Perhaps the amswer is God.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower [of Babel in what became Babylon theruins of whic were discivred in thelate nineteenth century near Bagdad in today's Iraq], which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech" (3).

"But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest: and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (4).

"Muhammad received his first revelation in 610, on the mountain of Hira outside Mecca. ..Muhammad received the first fraction of the Holy Koran from the angel Gabriel" (5).

"As founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, popularly known as the Mormons, Joseph Smith stands as one of the most charismatic and influential religious figures in American history... Smith's first direct divine revelation came at age fourteen, on the Smith family farm [in Vermont, Howard Dean's state]. .. Later visions instructed Smith to translate a history of ancient inhabitants of North America written on tablets of gold stored in a nearby hillside. The translations were published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon"(6).

The assassination of Kennedy and Martin Luther King and attempts against Reagan and the Pope have similar parallels. The acts of madmen imposing God's will? If so quis est deus?

1. Israel and Palestine. Leaving Gaza, maybe, and to an uncertain fate. Oct 21st 2004 | CAIRO, RAMALLAH AND TEL AVIV From The Economist print edition

2. Investigative journalism. J'accuse. Oct 21st 2004 From The Economist print edition

3. The UnMuseum - The Tower of Bable. www.unmuseum.org/babel.htm

4. Paul's Conversion on the Road to Damascus Excerpted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible www.beliefnet.com/story/142/story_14252_1.html

5. Muhammad. i-cias.com/e.o/muhammad.htm

6. PBS - THE WEST - Joseph Smith. PBS - THE WEST - Joseph Smith

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 22 Oct 2004 12:06 ------"Cry for the Palestinians" ------

The horrific plight of the Palestinian collectivity is my obsession, and I cry for them every day.

I can boast of no university degree(s) of learning; my dream of becoming a psychiatrist like Dr. Summerfield fell prey to reality very quickly in my early adulthood. Through my mother, a lifelong Quaker (American Friend), however, I grew up steeped in the ideals of social justice and activism; the Jewish people were held up to me as paragons of those qualities. The record of their terrible trials in the 1930s- 40s, plus their leadership in the civil-rights movement of the 1960s, confirmed to me their specialness (I might even say chosenness). Leon Uris' "Exodus" was and remains a book of formative importance to my teen- age period. I've "been there and done that."

Then, in due course, I joined the US Army and was assigned, 40 years ago, to a Defense Department school in Monterey, California, for a year's study of the Arabic language, history, and culture...and my life was changed inevitably and irreversibly, for I experienced the other, dark, face of Jewishness. Zionism, as emplaced and practiced in Israel's dangerously volatile mix of theocracy/military oligarchy, is a scourge. From being the ultimate victim, Israel and its people have become the ultimate victimizer. The Palestinians have been the victim since (to pick just one discrete point of reference) the grossly unfair UN Partition Plan of 1947. To my increasing horror (from afar -- I am so comfortable in the "paradise" that is Hawaii...), Israel's demonstrated unwillingness to be satisfied with its initial 54 percent, or its aggrandized 78 percent, and now its lust--not a new lust: read the first few pages of Avi Shlaim's The Iron Wall--for ALL of Eretz Israel is at once the mindset of religious zealotry (fundamentalism, as we see that phenomenon in American Christian Zionism and radical Islam) and secular ploys of playing the victim (forever), milking the American cow for every possible drop from the capacious udder, and utter ruthless temerity in military and geopolitical realms.

And the Palestinians suffer. How they suffer: pursued, hounded, pestered, tormented...just for being there, in the way. By Israel's myriad depredations (among them illegal military occupation, illegal settlements/settlers practicing violent terrorism, the illegal Apartheid Wall, theft of precious water resources and land, hundreds [750-plus] of strangling checkpoints impeding any chance of a sane life, untold harassment, oppression, humiliation, assassination [two more just today, Oct. 21, '04], wholesale imprisonment by "administrative detention," home demolitions, agricultural decimation, indiscriminate destruction of infrastructure, experiments with toxic "crowd control" gasses [WMD], physical, medical, and psychological state terrorism, disruption of education, interruption of religious rhythms [both Christian and Muslim], societal dismantlement et al -- the list is unending, the sins pernicious and pervasive, the impunity expected and automatic), one can only conclude that Zionist Israel, under the command of General Sharon, is hell- bent on the extermination of the Palestinians from their historical homeland. There is a word: genocide....

Cry for the Palestinians...one must cry for the occupied, oppressed, tortured, thirsty, at-grave-health-risk, desperate Palestinians.

And one must speak to the last spark of soul that I pray remains in the Israeli/Jewish collectivity. OH ISRAEL, I CRY OUT TO YOU: END THE MILITARY OCCUPATION OF 22-PERCENT PALESTINE (KEEP, IN PEACE, THE OTHER 78 PERCENT--BUT NO MORE). SEEK PEACE AND JUSTICE FOR ALL OF GOD'S CHILDREN RESIDING IN HIS HOLY LAND. REVIEW EX. 23:9; EZ. 22:7...AND REPENT. MY GOD, ISRAEL: PLEASE READ AND ACCEPT IN GOOD FAITH AND APPLY THE BEIRUT/SAUDI/PRINCE ABDULLAH PEACE PLAN OF MARCH, 2002, WHEREBY THE UNANIMOUS MEMBERSHIP OF THE ARAB LEAGUE, INCLUDING PALESTINE, OFFERED TO YOU A JUST PEACE, FULL DIPLOMATIC AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS...AS EMBODIED, INTER ALIA, IN UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTION 242. GROW BEYOND YOUR UNSEEMLY PERPETUATION OF AND INSISTENCE ON VICTIMHOOD. FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, ISRAEL: STOP PARSING SENTENCES AND WORDS AND LATCHING ONTO EVERY RED-HERRING DIVERSIONARY TACTIC...STOP, IN THE NAME OF PEACE AND JUSTICE FOR ALL CHILDREN, WOMEN, AND MEN OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE.

Kudos to Dr. Summerfield for his needed, searing expose of just one aspect--an aspect auguring pain and trouble for Palestine, Israel, and the region for yet more decades of unrest and no peace--of the descent of Zionist Israel into the abyss of inhumanity.

Kudos to BMJ.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 22 Oct 2004 14:42 ------"Arabs are also Semitic people" ------

I must say after reading the artical and then the responses. can i just point out that most of the suffering being caused by both sides does not balance out if you pay any attention to history which i'm sure many would like to forget (or erase) through propaganda. Isreal was formed by the gun and taken away from the arabs. i would like to engourge more articals like this and i'm sure the same old line would be mentioned "This is antisemticim" will Arabs are also semitic people if youd care to find out. and i find it even more strange when you talk about isreal being the motherland when most jewish people dont even live in isreal. lastly the perdon is on isreal for it is the own boosting about its democracy and its living standards and human right standards.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 22 Oct 2004 15:45 ------"The moment of truth " ------

I would like to congratulate the auther for his courage in bringing out the truth in the occupied territories of palestine .I am amazed by the barrage of unobjective responses from some .I do not blame them ,for they were brought up to believe that israel is the promised land of the jews .I have lived a long time of my life in the middle east ,come from a liberal secular background that believes in god and the holy books ,yet astonshied by the fundamentalist views of some when it comes to israel .if i am going to summarize more than 100 years of the arab israeli conflict it is a sad story of conspiracy,hippocracy,genocide and deceipt on a scale that has never happened elswhere .jews enjoyed a prosperous life in nearly all arab countries .At the height of islamic civilization they were treated as first class citizens and they occupied the most prominent positions politically and economically .They were not subjected to genocide or torture .over the last 500 years and more they were systemically persecuted by christian europe across the board ,culminated in natzi hitler's crimes agaianst them as well as millions more of other groups.with the turn of the century there were few thousand jews living in palestine under british mandate ,encourged by the balfur declaration immigration from europe to palestine started and gained more support as the west wanted to say sorry following the hitler crimes .The palestinians the inhabitants of the land for thousands of years were forced out of their land and property in a systematic genocide in the name of the old testimont.That was the momemt that saw the defeat of the civilized world in the face of religeous fundamentalism.That was the moment that saw the return of fundamentalist muslim ideas as a natural self defence.In modern times the palestinians tried everything to regain their identity ,they tried peacful demonstrations for decades ,they tried more engaging less violent methods during the children stone intifada yet those children were shot at and killed ,they were tortured in the most brutal of ways ,(just to remind the public of the images of 4 israeli soldiers holding a palestinian teanage boy and breaking his left arm then right arm,aired on the bbc).conferences ,decades of negotians did not seem to bring about any result .At the very best what was on offer were isolated pockets of land with no sea or air space with no hope of economic viability.Then came the thery well planned visit to the holy alaqssa mosque by sharon ,an expert in arab affairs ,the descendent of one of the early settlers,who knows well ,what it means for to enter the holy mosque with thousands of his soldiers. knowing exactly what he was doing the new violent intifada started when his soldiers opened fire on the unarmed angry audience in the mosque killing a large no of them .I for one do not believe that suicide bombings are going to bring a solution,nor do i condone those.However i am not a palestinian and have not been exposed to the long sustained injustice that they have endured .The very sad thing about the whole tragedy is that there is a solution.It is the creation of a secular arab israeli state ,a trully democratic state,that respects all traditions and religions.In fact that was the original vision of the PLO ,yet adamantly refused by israel.To conclude before you judge the palestinians remember Edward Saeed (palestinian christian professor of english literature at columbia uni)expression of a nation,s agony,how would you feel when your farm ,your house is taken away to build settlements for 3 million plus russian jews immimgrated to israel over the last 15 years?they are not there for religous reasons .They are there for a better life in a western economy ,subsidised by the whole world .The solution is in hand if israel was a trully democratic state with voting rigths for all. The solution is in hand if israel is replaced by one palestinian israeli civil state with strong ties to the large arab muslim world .But would it ever happen ?is it in interest of the west?

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 22 Oct 2004 17:03 ------"Bravo for Dr. DS and for BMJ!" ------

The scores of very predictable, boilerplate slanders here against the author and journal are pathetic rather than effective. These extremists apparently still believe that Israel's formal disinformation strategy of denial, coverup, victimization and slander will work. They don't. Increasingly --- by means of simple 'truth- telling' as in this journal article --- the horrific, intentional campaign of abuse and destruction inflicted by Israel is being 'un- covered-up'. As a direct result Israel is and will continue to be condemned as a barbaric 'banana republic' --- a pariah.

Competing interests: None declared

** ------Date submitted: 22 Oct 2004 22:13 ------"Good and new for BMJ ," ------

It is really good to see that BMJ is concerned in health problems that Plastinian face every day as a part of their hard life .

Ofcourse alot of angry responds may come from people who are away of the problem and trying to justify these war crimes committed by the Israeli army against Palestinian women and children .

Israeli government is in violation of over 121 united nation resolutions condemning Israeli abuse of Palestinian human rights and asking of immediate withdrawal of the occupying terrorists from Palestinian land.

I would thank the auther for his serious article and congratulate BMJ for supporting the truth .

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 22 Oct 2004 20:08 Rapid Response ID: bmj_el;80795

------"Good article ,want to know the truth ,open those sites" ------

[edited: 6 URLs were listed]

open those site and you will c the shooking facts

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 22 Oct 2004 00:19 ------"statements from mars" ------

i would like to congratulate the doctor on his excellent article. moreover, the BMJ should be applauded for having the guts to put this kind of stuff out. people are so scared of criticising the state of israel for fear of being labelled anti semetic. which if i may add is absolute nonsense. a country that flaunts international law and has total and absolute disregard for human rights cannot be defended. i dont know what planet some of these comments have come from. you people must have been so brain washed by the media's continual lies and myths. maybe its a case of if you keep repeating a lie it eventually becomes reality. like the good old one of israel the democracy. the term is in itself contradictory. any basic research will show you that. anyway, nice to see some truth spoken for once. well done again.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 22 Oct 2004 01:17 ------"Thank you " ------

Dr. Summerfield,

I would just like to sincerely thank you for having the courage to report the reality of the current situation in Palestine. Few people have witnessed the horror first hand, and yet have the audacity to criticize and insult your integrity. Your actions come at a time when little can be said about the truth, without such reports being called anti-Israel and even worse, anti-Semetic. At the risk of seeming careless, I refuse to respond to the horrific claims made by those who are opposed to the publication of your article. I truly believe that anyone curious enough to investigate the Israel/Palestine conflict and the disaster that has resulted, will discover the truth based not only on facts and comparison data, but also by testament of individuals, goverments and human rights groups worldwide. This is far from a balanced conflict. The systematic murder and suffering of the Palestinian civilian population is the reality and it is unconscionable that anyone attempt to justify these crimes.

Though the loss of life resulting from suicide attacks is equally tragic, it is the harsh reality that Palestinians are being killed on a daily basis, and this goes without condemnation. Since September of 2000, four times more Palestinian civilians have been killed than Israeli, and in fact, the number of Palestinian children killed is equal to the number of Israelis killed in total, about 1,000 on each end. (these figures come from the US Congressional Research ). Aside from death, the conditions in which the majority of the Palestinain population is living is unimaginable. They are in desperate need of healthcare, food and, with the continuous demolition of homes, many are in need of shelter.

Again, I would like to thank you Dr. Summerfield and the BMJ for recognizing the plight and suffering of the Palestinians, as they so desperately need support from the international community. Unfortunately, the truth about the conflict is so often suppressed and overpowered by Pro -Israel propaganda. It is comforting therefore to see that there are still those who are not blinded and instead are good-hearted and brave enough to fight back. Thank you again.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 22 Oct 2004 03:14 ------"I am shocked at these responses" ------

I would first of all like to thank the BMJ and Dr. Summerfield for having the guts to print the rarely heard victims side of this conflict.

Don't even begin to tell me how Israel has suffered in this conflict. I deplore the death of innocent people as much as any humane person but the way Palestinians have suffered at the hands of the Israeli government would make Adolf Hitler feel sick.

The same country that boasts the Holocaust museum and shouts anti- semitism at the first response to criticism contains - you guessed it - CONCENTRATION CAMPS (another great British invention). I don't need to go into details of what happens there, just read "They Dare to Speak Out".

So don't tell me this was biased. One sided or dare I say it "Anti- Semitic" (ignoring the fact Arabs are also Semites).

The fact that an entire army of Pro-Israeli BMJ readers have posted their disgust at this article has made me lose confidence in the medical profession. I am horrified that you can go about your day to day business, having taken the Hypocratic Oath, siding with rapists, torturers and terrorists. With one hand you give out your lansoprazole, with the other you hand out bullets.

So this is what the medical profession is made up of? A swarm of two faced, backstabbing, lying, snivelling, hypocritical, war mongering weasels. I can see now how it bread Harold Shipman.

You can all rot in hell.

Competing interests: I prefer truth over lies

**

------Date submitted: 22 Oct 2004 07:19 ------"Brave report" ------

Dear Author and publisher, Please allow me to thank you for your braveness. You received many letters opposing your view and stating it shameful of half true. Don’t worry this happens every time when you say any thing against Israel. Since 90% of the media of the world is either owned by the supporters of Israel or are controlled by the Americans who’s congress house is controlled by the followers of Israel. And when another channels such as Al-Jazeerah or Al- Manar or journalists tries to expose the things that are happing in the Iraq or Palestine, they are continually being fought by the Americans. I sympathy with every one who disagreed with you, either he is effected by the biased media in his country (and he need to read more and watch the photos in the internet about Palestine and judge himself), or he is one of those who blindly supports the Israelis and being of those killers.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 23 Oct 2004 12:22 ------"In the beginning was the word..." ------

Madam: If one is able to remain cool and keep himself/herself above the political ping-pong scene, it can be seen that some part of the IT cognoscenti world is clearly moving into a different direction by the grace of the silent Internet revolution. The BMJ and its editors are again at the forefront of scientific revolution endorsing an already present status quo in the cyberworld. The BMJ has released from its cage on a truly global cyberscene the sacred bird called freedom of speech. Indeed, in the beginning was the logos (as the greek translation says)- unless a bitter and ironic Lord would want to repeat the biblical Tower of Babel disaster...

Competing interests: information is power

* ------Date submitted: 23 Oct 2004 13:25 ------"The truth is always prevailed!" ------

Alhamdulillah (ALL praise be to Allah- LORDS of the WORLD). It is with Allah's will that make the heart of the respected Dr.Summerfield to bravery disclose such a medical atrocities happening in the Israelis/Palestinians territory. And beyond any doubt, it is also with Allah's will that make BMJ as the interactive medium to publish the very fine article.

I am wondering how many of us aware that we, all humankind, whether we are white, black, asean, caucasian, from south or north of the world,leaving in igloo or atlantis..all of us originate from the one and only person i.e ADAM. As such, we are all siblings whether we like it or not!

"O mankind!Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a SINGLE SOUL and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward Allah in Whom ye claim (your rights) of one another, and toward the wombs (that bare you), Lo! Allah hath been a Watcher over you." (Quran: Surah An- Nisa, Verse 1)

As a consequence, please respect your dear brothers and sisters.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 23 Oct 2004 15:08 ------"The real terrorists of our time-Israel-" ------

I would like to applaud the bravery of Dr. Summerfield for writing this article and for BMJ for finally publishing something that showed the reality of what Israel is doing to Palestinian people. As for the good name of BMJ, it can only add to your reputation of being one of few who can see and publish truth when they see it.

The Palestinian people have suffered under the hands of Israel long enough and its time their voices were heard by us all. It is time we stopped listening to the black propaganda of the Israelis and hear the screaming truth of bystanders and children being murdered for no reason other than the fact that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is also time that we as a nation of civilised people did something about real terrorists of out time and saved the people of Palestine. They have suffered long enough!

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 23 Oct 2004 16:58 ------"Dr. Summerfield's brave expose" ------

Dr. Summerfield's factual, well-documented account of the systematic, relentless, comprehensive and appalling Israeli government attacks on the Palestinian people is a courageous and long overdue expose. The death of a Palestinian, or for that matter, of an Iraqi or Rwandan or Timorese or Colombian does not matter as much as that of an Israeli, American or European. The racism that accompanies much of the world's cruel oppressions and conflicts is obvious to anyone who watches, hears or reads the global mass media dominated by the West. Clearly the humanitarian catastrophe in the illegally occupied territories of Palestine has been deliberately set in motion by an Israeli apartheid that is even more hateful and oppressive than the worst excesses of the white racist governments of South Africa. But the West will not hear of it.

A wealthy and powerful Israeli lobby makes sure that any criticism, or even mere mention, of the wanton and indiscriminate Israeli attacks on Palestinian people, on their essential resources, , schools, workshops, farms and even ambulances, is immediately labelled "anti- Semitic". Thus invoking images of the holocaust. The person who dares to utter such truth risks being called a "Nazi-lover", thereby undermining the facts and marginalizing Palestinian suffering. This tactic relegates any further discussion of Israel's inhuman acts against impoverished and beleaguered Palestinians. For nothing can beat the stigma of being labeled "anti-Semitic", or the ostracism and sanctions that are bound to follow. Such methods are being used increasingly by desperate pro-Israeli lobbies in the West because polls indicate that an increasing number of conscientious people are seeing through the Israeli smokescreen that turns reality upside down and claims all its horrific violence against Palestinians to be part of the global war against terrorism. The reality is that a highly militarized and racist Israeli society considers itself immune from the purview of international law or conventions and disdains any respect for the human rights of Palestinians.

Israel has been cleansing Palestine of its indigenous population since its creation. This is the real slow-motion genocide in the region that the courageous Dr. Summerfield has exposed.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 23 Oct 2004 19:03

------"Israel's right to defend herself" ------

The jewish people have one small country that eqautes to the size of Wales. Less than 1% of the arab world. And yes, it pisses them off. The articles in response to Mr Summerfield congratulating him on his baseless facts pay tribute to that.

Israel is defending itself against terrorist groups such as islamic Jihad, Hamas and Hizbollah (funded by many within the arab world) whose ultimate aims are the destruction and annhialation of the israeli (jewish) people.

I repeat the word DEFENDING. Not attacking, defending. Now, hyperthetically should Wales be harbouring terrorists with the same aims against the British people, we would all expect the British government to maybe build a fence / wall to stop the deaths of innocent British women and children going about their daily lives by being blown up on their stagecoach bus on the way to school / work. We would all equally expect the british government to defend its people by targeting the masterminds behind such attrocities.

How do you deal with organisations with these ultimate aims - do you pull the wall down, remove the border crossings and jump up and down togther when they embrace each other with hugs while they detonate their suicide belts?! - I think not.

And you have the cheek to condemn Israel for defending her people with baseless facts.

I am not naive to underestimate the suffering caused to the Palestinian people. I have spent a year in the region. I personally blame the minority of palestinians whose terrorist actions cause so much pain to the majority. In addition, i am deeply saddened by the news of all those killed through this conflict within the region, regardeless of religion or faith - unlike Mr Summerfield appears to be.

But at this time, when a minority of palestinian people are indoctrinated by sick mindless terrorist organisations to go and kill non- combatants, civilians, women and children - then no, i do not and never will apologise for Israels right to defend herself.

Competing interests: Israels right of existence and defending herself.

**

------Date submitted: 23 Oct 2004 19:55 ------"The Truth hurts the Zionists only" ------

This was an excellent article and a daring effort by Dr. Summerfield. It is very hard for the people to know the truth when the media specially the American media and a large part of British press are dominated by the Zionists who make every possible effort to hide the Israeli crimes against the palestinians. Very few people like Dr. Summerfield dare to speak the truth. Every word of this article is true. In fact the crimes committed by Israel against palestinians are more that these. The critics of this article have accussed Palestinians of being suicide bombers but they do not want to accept that these suicide attacks are a result of extreme mental depression of the palestinians caused by Israel.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 23 Oct 2004 20:00 ------"This is political. The BMJ is a medical journal" ------

The report is one-sided. The BMJ appears to be over stated in doing this, as it is a medical journal. The report says nothing of the bombings in Israel's cafes, etc.

I'm not suggesting Israel is right, but neither are the Palestinians. Things are wrong here, and it appears more political than medical. It requires a political fix, not a medical fix.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 23 Oct 2004 20:38 ------"Zionists! do what ever you can" ------

I have now read the responses to this article. We can very clearly see that most of the people (if not all) who were irritated by this article are the zionists (as indicated clearly by their jewish names). I challenge the zionists that do what ever they can do but they will not be hide the Israeli crimes.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 23 Oct 2004 04:25 ------"Applaud the Truth" ------

Congratulations to Summerfield for speaking the truth on the plight of a people whose suffering doesn't reach the eyes of the world. Terrorism has many faces - not just Muslim. Israeli terrorists have been veiled, and it takes courageous people like Summerfield to reveal them.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 09:15 ------"Where was Israel before 1948?" ------It is sad when one has to defend common sense. The main issue is who is responsible for this conflict? Please take out a map of the Middle East, but make sure it is an old map (prior to 1940s). You won’t see State of Israel, you will see Palestine. So this means that Israel came into existence in 1948, when so called British mandate over Palestine came to an end.

What and who was there in that piece of land prior to 1948. The Zionist propaganda will have you believe that this was an empty land or at best a land with very few Arab Bedouins. A lush green empty land in the middle of the desert. An empty land in the middle of the old world, the cradle of old civilizations, the birth place of Jesus Christ. Does that not defy common sense and human intelligence?

If this land was so empty so where the millions of Palestinense came from with 1.5 million in Israel and over 4 million in exile, who were brutally forced out of there homeland during the early years of the Zionist regime

How would you feel if someone comes and forces you out of your home (if you lucky enough not to be massacred under the pretence of “governing state security”)? Then he builds a “settlement” in place of your home.

Israel brutality and disrespect for human life is obvious. However, it has been protected by the strong Zionist lobby controlling the main Media (especially in the United States).

I will leave with another statistic, United States used it’s Veto power over 35 times to protect Israel against security council resolutions. Make the common sense your judge, why Israel needed American protection from the world’s viewpoint 35 times?

Competing interests: Human

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 10:57 ------"Origins of Middle Eastern Terror" ------

The Jewish state was created by terrorists. Many of its founding fathers are the murderous gangsters of the Stern and Irgun gangs. It was part and parcel of their policy to terrorize the Palestinian civilian population who were mostly unarmed farmers,and including women and children, in their pursuit of a Jewish state in Palestine. International peacekeepers / mediators were assassinated.The first ever civilian plane hijacking was carried out by the Israeli government itself in the late 1950's, when they hijacked a Syrian passenger plane to exchange its passengers and crew for some Israeli soldiers who were held by the Syrians at the time.It is hardly surprising that the Palestinians now are using the same tactics against their occupiers!

There are many moderate and liberal Jews in Israel and in the international Jewish community who acknowledge the wrongs committed by the Zionist movement against the Palestinians. They work tirelessly to try and right some of the awful wrongs on the ground. Unfortunately, they remain an ineffective minority, and are unable to reach out and bridge the awful divide between Arab and Jew.

I am not Palestinian. I am a secular, Western educated Egyptian. But Palestine remains of enormous historical, cultural, religious and emotional importance to me personally as an Arab and a Muslim. I can never accept, or have normal relations with, the Jewish state in its current form.If the Israelis want to live in peace and prosper in the region, they will have to work with the Palestinians and their Arab neighbours to find solutions acceptable to all concerned. As they are occupiers, and as they are overwhelmingly superior militarily, the onus is on them to make substantial concessions first. I personally believe that only then, will they earn the trust of the millions of moderate Arabs like myself who genuinely want peaceful coexistence. AND, only then will the Palestinians have something to live for rather than to die for.

Most importantly, I believe that the awful rise of distorted, extremist Islam, is fuelled to a great extent by the injustice, brutality and humiliation of the Israeli occupation - watch the last testimonies of some of the 9/11 terrorists on video. This distorted interpretation of a beautiful faith and tradition is destroying my beloved Egypt. The tolerant and secular Egypt that I grew up in, in the 60's and 70's is disappearing and it is heart breaking for me to watch.

I strongly believe that Israel cannot survive longterm the seeds of intense anger and hatred it is sowing today. It is in their own interests and in the interests of all their Arab neighbours, to compromise and coexist. It is common interests that has brought the 30 countries of the expanding European Union together. Countries that are ethnically and culturally diverse. Countries that have fought bitterly against each other for centuries, now work together to better the lives of their peoples. I believe we can do the same.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 12:54 ------"Your article is the whole truth, nothing but the truth!" ------

It is about time that the world wakes up to these facts highlighted in your article. How many more Palestinian lives are to be lost before we take action and stop these murders? No peace-loving person - Muslim, Jew, Christian or whatever - can sleep with peace while this massacre and state terrorism is going on. I am ashamed to be a British taxpayer as my tax is being used by British governments (New Labour or old Tories) to directly or indirectly support Israel's terrorism against innocent Paestinians.

We must do the same to Israel as we did to get rid of apartheid South Africa - boycott Israel and its supporters on every front.

Each individual action - however small - counts.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 12:56 ------"MAN OF PIECE." ------

I would like to congratulate and thank Dr.Summerfild for his article.and I congratulate the BMJ for it’s courage in publishing it while the world is burying it’s head in the sand and shamefully keeping quiet while all the world know the truth. People are full of fear of being labeled Anti Semitic.

Israelis claim they want piece, What Dr Summerfield wrote shows that piece is a shot in the dark as long as Israel continues its brutal policies and the US keeps turning a blind eye to Israel ignoring 120 UN resolutions against it, and as long as the US uses the infamous VITO. Not only that, but surprisingly Sharon gets labeled as a MAN OF PIECE.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 14:10 ------"Violating Your Own Rules" ------

Your article, "Palestine: The Assault on Health and War Crimes", violates your own rules on "rapid responders" and presumably those that BMJ has for its writers of major articles. You should be ashamed of publishing anti-semitic tracts masquerading as "public health", scientific treatises.

The context for the new wall and for Israel's actions, as any BMJ reader should know, is to prevent their own destruction by Palestinians and Arabs and Muslims in general whose historically proven aim is to rid their region of all Jews. Every nation has the right, indeed the obligation, to provide for their own self-defense.

Arab nations in the region outnumber Jewish Israelis in population over 200 million to about 5 mil.; and, according to Arabs themselves, the Arabs have remained behind most nations of the world, not because of Israel, but rather due to their own backward values and leadership.

Don't join the rest of Western Europe in the easy targeting of Israel and Jews for all their problems. Britain should know better.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 14:58 [is not there already] ------"Definitions" ------

Those like myself who have said that Summerfield is anti-Semitic have of course been attacked by his supporters: for the record most of are not blind dollowesr of Israeli policy but do object to blatant racism disguised as political criticism Their case might a little stronger if they had actually bothered to say that blowing up Israelis in buses might be some slight infringement of their "human rights", regrettably a term now much abused by the apologists of terrorism. But then last year at the time of the Istanbul synagogue bombings a columnist in a so-called newspaper rebuked the Chief Rabbi for daring to suggest that this was a symptom of international anti-Semitism. Clearly for many in this country murdering Jews is not worthy of comment and in any case is "understandable". One might sadly conclude that a 21st century Auschwitz would have no difficulty in staff recruitment.

Competing interests: None declared **

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 16:06 ------"It hurts to hear the truth" ------

It is not surprising to see the huge reaction to this article. The pro-Israel camp did not like hearing the truth coming out. Well this is another truth for their liking: Israel never existed before 1948 but was created by the British government against every International law even then. They handed that land to some Zionist commanders so they create what is now called Israel. That part of the world was and will remain Palestine. Thank you BMJ.

Competing interests: None declared **

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 16:24 ------"An enlightened world should not tolerate the abuses of raw power politics" ------

Thank you so much for writing and publishing this even though you knew very well that the well-organized Pavlovian pro-Zionist bloc would spout the usual paternalistic vitriol and try to pass Israel off as the victim, even though Israel has the largest military arsenal in the Middle East and the most powerful nation on earth as its faithful big brother.

Occupation is the driving force for these conflicts. It is brutal and it is illegal. The world must stand up against such blatant violations of human rights and dignity in order to save the bodies and minds of Palestinians and the souls of Americans and Israelis who are poisoned by nationalistic and fundamentalist religious propaganda. In a globalized world, we are all culpable for such abuses. The facts speak for themselves, and we have no excuse not to act.

The Palestinian issue recently took center stage at the European Social Forum. Palestinians and Israelis shared the stage in an inspiring display of popular civil awareness and action:

http://www.rmf.net/kattan10192004.html

It is clear, in light of public statements by Sharon's bureau chief Dov Weisglass, that Sharon's 'Gaza Disengagement Plan' hopes to accomplish "the freezing of the peace process." Weisglass stated, as published in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.com, that "effectively the whole package called a Palestinian state has been removed indefinitely from our agenda."

It seems that Sharon's plan is to stall for time so he can finish building the Annexation Barrier, which will destroy the possibility of a viable Palestinian state and any prospects for peace in the region. We must impose external pressures on the Israeli government (not targeted at the Israeli or Jewish people, of course, many of whom don't support the current Israeli government), through sanctions and other means, to level the balance of power in Israel/Palestine. It is high time to bring the two sides to the table as equal negotiating partners and bring about a fair, if painful, solution that respects human rights and international laws. We must act, and pressure our governments to act.

A couple of notes: Some people like to make the distinction between the "Wall" part of the Annexation Barrier, which is a 30-foot solid concrete barrier like the one that surrounds 40,000 Palestinian civilians in the town of Qalqiliya, and the "Fence" part, which is merely a 150-foot -wide 'military zone,' blasted and bulldozed, hemmed in by six-foot piles of razor wire complete with army access roads, trenches, and a 20- foot- high electrified fence which, if you approach it without Israeli permission, entails a serious risk of summary execution. Both types of Barrier are built entirely within Palestinian land. In one village where I lived last year, the Barrier annexes 13 square kilometers of prime farmland, picnic spots, and olive groves, the lifeblood of the town. I consider the distinction between "Wall" and "Fence" a very transparent bit of obfuscation and a laughably irrelevant PR move. Walls are walls, and theft is theft. Whether I'm denied access to education, medical care, my livelihood, my friends and family, and my land via concrete walls or armored Hummers and razor wire, I'm still denied. That's the point.

As for the Dershowitz book, The Case for Israel -- there are cases to be made for Israel, but this [edited] is not one of them. Among other things, he tries to pin the blame for the fact that there have been more Palestinian deaths than Israeli on incompetent Palestinian doctors. He often cites opinions when he needs to cite facts, and sometimes he even cites himself--adds a footnote that points to something he has said previously. Silly.

Anyway, if you are truly, deeply interested in these conflicts, please visit the West Bank or Gaza. If you don't believe anything else, hopefully you will believe your eyes!

Competing interests: I want my friends in Israel and Palestine to be safe, secure, and happy.

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 17:48 ------"Thank You!" ------

Thank you to Dr Summerfield for writing this article and making the medical community aware of this side of the story of the israeli/palestinian conflict which has not been told and thank you to BMJ for publishing it.

Competing interests: committment to fundamental human rights for every single individual

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 19:46 ------"At last!" ------

At last, someone has had the courage to break the obscene silence on what the IDF - supposedly 'the most moral army in the world' (hollow laugh)- has been doing for the past four years under the orders of a man who [edited]

Condemnation of Israel's disgusting (and illegal) policies in the illegally occupied territories has been long in coming - and is still outstanding on the part of our weak, amoral government, and of our mainstream media, especially of the BBC.

Since October 2001, I have personally sent several hundred e- mails to the BBC complaining about their failure to report fairly and adequately on the situation. This year, the Glasgow n Media Group published the result of its 2-year long study of ALL ITV and BBC news reporting on the conflict. There was unequivocal evidence of gross pro-Israel bias and a virtually total absence of information on the history of Israel's progressive theft of Palestinian land.

The double-standards of governments and media are nowhere more in evidence than in relation to Israel and Palestine. The power of the Israeli-Jewish lobby, both here and in the US, and the cowardice which makes politicians and media complicit in the 3000+ Palestinian deaths - and the blatant Israeli strategy of annexing yet more land while pretending that the proposed 'disengagement' in Gaza is part of a supposed 'peace process'- makes one feel sick.

It is now time for action - nothing less than a concerted economic boycott and the naming and shaming of Israel as a sick, racist country which is - as last year's poll confirmed - seen as the greatest threat to peace in the world.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 19:47 ------"Truth hurts!" ------

My sincere and whole hearted congratulations to Derek for his courage to come out with the truth. U may see how this article is being bombarded by the pro-Israelis. After all truth is bitter and hurts, and will always be attacked. This article may sound one-sided, but it still is the Truth. Nevertheless, Truth cannot be extinguished with an open mouth and cannot be blind folded for too long! The Truth will prevail in the end, for falsehood is bound to perish. I congratulate Derek for his effort to sound the truth to the best of his ability, and the BMJ editor and the group for the courage to publish and stand by the Truth. May The Almighty guide us all to the Truth.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 19:56 ------"Congratulations." ------

For having the Courage to print this Article.REVIEWS: Derek Summerfield Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes It takes Objectivity and great courage.God bless you.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 21:10

------"An Incentive Article" ------

Thank you to Derrick Summerfield for highligting the true state of the Palestinian people, who's hope and dignity have been stripped away. i totally endorse your article and congratulate you for your bravery. keep up the good work! (as a first year med student your article has actually been an incentive for me to sign up to the BMJ!)

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 21:33 ------"you did a great jop for mearcy...." ------

At least somebody hear the palastenian voic in US....

Be sure that you did the right for those children and women.

Please countinue in this felid and let world see and look after what is hapening thier......

Derek ,you look far . So, be like this...

Competing interests: family medicine

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 21:59 ------"Rejecting all U.N resolutions ?WHY" ------

perhaps Israel is the only state which has rejected all resolutions to free the palestinian land since its existence.I need to congragulate the author who at last but not least has the courage to speak truth in this corrupted world

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 22:01 ------"a wisper of reality " ------

Nothing hurts more than finding someone who does not accept the reality in this new world. No references are required for this article, as Dr Summerfield mentioned some little statistics and facts that are easy to find but to those who want to.

I appreciate the author and the BMJ to publish such a critical article that minority of people would do. Only because lots of people like to make a good face in front of strong people even if they are bad.

Competing interests: None declared

** Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 23:54 ------"Re: The other side of the Palastinian tragedy" ------

Well, what about a new Israeli leadership. I have no problem with changing the arab one. BUT. Do you REALLY think Sharon and his team, to say it politely, are the best leadership for Israel?!

Suicide bombings are acts of despair, conducted almost by individuals. I do not condone them, but if you try to look at it objectively, you will find it's the only way of REPLYING to... What do you call it? The Israeli military operations? I am not the only one to call them a STATE TERRORISM!!!

You say that ' Finally, there has been no evidence that Israeli soldiers have been trained to shoot directly at innocent children.'. Very funny indeed, when the whole world is witnessing, silently alas, the cold blooded killings of

Palestinian kids, at school, FOR EXAMPLE.. Do you need any more EVIDENCE when Israli soldiers PROTESTED the other day against their officer emtying his rifle bullets in the DEAD body of a little girl on her way to school.. They REPORTED the, what would you like me to call it? The incident? Ok, go for it. So they, the Israeli soldiers were the ones who reported the INCIDENT to the IDF commandement!!!!

Is there any need for more EVIDENCE dear Dr??

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 24 Oct 2004 01:25 ------"An Innocent Palestians Civilians versus Wild Israel Machine" ------

Dear Mr. Derek: First; i read you article i'd like to thank you for your care about palestinians right which will never vanish, i believe it'll return back, god bless them any one cannot imagine such kind of life which daily exposed to gunfires, bullets,and American technological Weaponry to murder a child, a woman or even an old man, all thier guilt; they trying to live a normal life, so that they have no choice to struggle, to spend their blood for proofing their Nationality which Occupancy Authorities trying to erase, it's a kind of war which be called by Eradication War, so we have to do something to rescue the innocent palastenians life from the wild Israeli Machine.

THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR HUMANITY AND GOD BLESS YOU.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004 08:26 ------"BMJ Courage " ------

I would like to congratulate the BMJ on its courage and determination in publishing this article. It is disturbing to see that a so-called democratic state has time and time again resorted to oppressive, inhuman and deadly policies to maintain control over the occupied territories. Unless Israel starts acting like a democracy and stops defying international law , the bloodshed will continue.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004 09:27 ------"The rare truth on Palestine" ------

It is with great admiration and respect for Derek's courage that I read his article on Palestine's tragedy. I also praise the BMJ for having the courage to let its readers see the "untold" side of the Palestinian tragedy. It is very rare nowadays to see any writer express his views on the actual facts so boldly. It is high time the people of the world, especially the Western World, start opening their eyes to the huge injustice that is happening to others under the pretence of "Democracy", "Self Defence" and "Freedom". It is high time everyone gets to know the difference between "Terrorism" and "Resistance". The French who fought the Nazi's were all branded "Patriotic Heroes" while the Iraqis, Palestinians, Afghans of this world who are fighting to free their countries from the occupying aggressors trying to steal their land, wealth and heritage are all called terrorists. We are all against terrorism for any reason, people by nature are peaceful and want to live in peace, but you must start asking yourself; what in the world drives a young man or woman to blow himself up? It must be an extreme case of injustice, despair and hopelessnes that drives a young person supposedly to be looking forward to life to do a terrible thing like this. Thanks to all who helped publish this. Adel

Competing interests: None declared

** Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004

------"Re: Mona Baker and some balance" ------

This surely takes the biscuit. Absolutely amazing coming from Mona Baker, an academic [edited]. I want the Palestinians to have rights and dignity and normal lives, but please, again, let's all wake up to what is going on. If Israel is to be brought to account, then why not bring the Palestinian leadership to account simultaneously? They continually follow a corrupt and brutal leadership which has brought them nothing but misery. This regime (which has no interest in peace - only the destruction of Israel and it's very own peoples lives, the Palestinians) and it's military factions, is financially supported by European taxpayers, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran. Why not bring the Jordanians to account for occupying three quarters of 'Palestine'? again, sadly, silence. [edited] Why is it swept under the carpet when Muslims/Arabs persecute their own people? who will answer me? I am sitting on the edge of my computer waiting....

Competing interests: I want a fair and just peace - no more lives ruined by either side

**

------Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004 13:02 ------"Israel..stat of crime and Apartied" ------

thank u mr.summerfeild for u courage...but in fact it is just apart of the seen of crimes and murderes that this state was builte up on...i wonder hwo long the world with his innocent people will tolerate this huge amount of war crims commited in front of the civilized worled and live on tv screen .

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004 13:24 ------"You can't hide the truth forever." ------

Greetings to the courageous speakers of truth, I wanted to send my congratulations and appreciation to Mr. Summerfield for his work on this article. All to often when oppression and biased media are bound together, the truth takes forever to surface. At a time when the majority of the western world believes false Zionist propoganda regarding this conflict, it really inspires my heart to see that you at least have the courage to speak the truth about this conflict in the face of suppression. A great person is one who gives a voice to the ones who have no voice. The world is unfortunately ignorant when it comes to the apartheid and bloodshed that the Palestinian people are subjected to on a daily basis. Facts are facts, and I thank you for bringing about the truth with the facts at the forefront. All we ask is that the game is played fairly. Once both sides involved in this conflict get to fairly express their views, the facts speak for themselves. This is why Pro-Israeli groups go haywire when any voice is given to the Palestinians in the media. The world cannot be duped forever. In closing, I admire your efforts to bring about the truth, although it is difficult to do so and wanted to let you know that you have inspired us with your writing. May God, Most Meriful bless you and reward your efforts in life and beyond. You have no idea how much your article has touched our lives and inspired our community. Thank you so much.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004 13:32 ------"Who will stop the killing of innocents Palestinians" ------

Congratulations to BMJ & to Derek Somerfield for his article highlighting the daily geonocide in Palestine I'am sure more & more people would love to write & denonce the big tragedy but as we all know the Zionist lobby is quick every time to label these people as "anti- semitic"( just take note of the relpies to the article ) a trick that's managed to keep the majority quiet
I'am glad this respected journal did not & will not feel intimidated by such thing

I hope that one day the Palestinians & Israelis could live in peace & dignity together

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004 13:54 ------"ISRAEL THE DEFIANT OF U.N RESOLUTIONS" ------

Israel since its birth which is illegal to this day hasbeen brutally crushing the palestinian rights.I congragulate BMJ and author to publish what is already known to all of us

Competing interests: None declared

** ------Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004 14:18 ------"Re: Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes" ------

When people discuss this issue they forget that in the first place Israel is an occupation. The pro Israelis feel that the occupiers have the right to smash the people they occupied resistance no matter how many innocent lives are lost inclusive of shooting Childrens. Condemning individuals or resistant groups as terrorists and forgetting the organized terrorism of the state of Israel is not a balanced view and is indeed a biased one in favour of the apartheid and occupation. When some one courageously write about those atrocities while the whole world is silent and pre-occupied by the influence of the media, the pro Israelis come quick to complain and threaten to silence the truth.

Competing interests: None declared **

------Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004 18:50 ------"three cheers for the BMJ" ------

To Mr. Derek Summerfield, my heartiest congratulations and a huge thank you for having had the courage to stand up to the suffocating and immoral pressure of Israeli and Zionist organisations when it comes to telling the truth about the horrors in the Palestinian lands. What I cannot understand is the seemingly total indifference of the world, including the Arab world, to the plight of those Palestinians. Indeed, there is an election in the USA, soon, and none of the candidates can afford to touch Zionist interests even with a feather, but where is the rest of the world? Why is no one exposing the shocking lies, and deliberate harm and violence inflicted innocent citizens of a poor and weak nation by one of the strongest and most vicious military establishment in the world?

Thank you again, Mr. Summerfield, and three cheers for your publication who had the guts not to allow itself to be intimidated by the friends and slaves of Israel, do or die.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004 02:35 ------"Re: Congratulations from Canada" ------

I am a Canadian and certainly don't agree with you. You do not have the right to send in a response as if you represent the Canadian response. You should choose your title more carefully next time

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004 2:54 [NOT POSTED] ------"good work" ------

It is entirely appropriate that a medical journal should discuss and document the deteriorating health of the Palestinian people resulting from the occupation. Do not be intimidated by the inevitable avalanche of condemnation from the Likud apologists for whom Israel can do no wrong. Keep up the good work.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 25 Oct 2004 02:59 ------"Summerfield Is, of Course, Right" ------

Actually, the conditions the Palestinians live in are worse than Summerfield described. What Israel and the United States have done to these people, whose only crime is to have been born where these two world powers do not want them, is beyond belief. The US and Israel want the land and the water but not the people. Removing them, using billions of US tax dollars, is called genocide. This is want the Zionists do not want the World to know.

US aid to Israel is US tax dollars soaked in Palestinian blood. I thank Summerfield for sheding light on this disgusting secret.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 26 Oct 2004 09:06

------"Thank you Dr Derek Summerfield and bmj for showing the truth" ------

Congratulations Dr Derek Summerfield for this honest and truthful account of the terrible tragedy the Palestinians are living under?

The daily life of palestinians has become unbearable, they are left with no choice, lacking the minimum rights for decent living.

innocents are killed everyday in palestine and from time to time in israel. Only israel can stop the violence, not by building walls, separating , confiscating land, destroying crops and homes, terrorising children Violence can bring only violence, israel should know that by now

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 26 Oct 2004 16:20 ------"Wake Up every one!" ------

What is the matter with all you people? Of medical and non- medical professions, Arabs and non Arabs Jews and non- Jews. There is only one ugly, monstrous, inhuman and murderous criminal in this whole Israeli - Palestinian conflict and that is Zionism. Ever since its creation it has greatly embarrassed and offended the true God fearing Jew, seduced the guilt of the Christian west, indiscriminately murdered and killed Arabs (Christian and Muslim) and ravaged the land of Palestine (intended for all the descendants of Abraham). Zionism is the very ugly image of anti Semitism.

An objective and unbiased research into a bit of history could only lead any decent, caring and un- egoistic human being to one major conclusion. Quite simply all Semites ( indigenous Jews, Christians and Muslims of the Middle East) had no problems co existing with each other until Zionism was fabricated in Basel / Switzerland sometime in the late 1800s. We may all differ on the how, why, when and where but the conclusion remains the same!!

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 26 Oct 2004 17:23 ------"Thank you BMJ" ------

Thank you BMJ for a brilliant article. I was very disturbed to see the statistics and facts involved with the ruthless ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. When so many people are so blantantly denied simple human rights and victims of war crimes on such a massive scale, it amazes me that the Israeli's are still able to get away with it. Thank you for printing the truth. BMJ is a credilbe journal, and also now I think a very noble one to go against world politics to print the truth. The suffering Palestinian people need organisations such as yourself to help their cause.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 26 Oct 2004 18:36 ------"Zionism: the assault on exposing truth! Shame, doubt, bias..." ------

SHAME, DOUBT, BIAS, EVERYBODY HATES US, blah blah blah.. Is anybody else tired of all the ways Zionists who mask their real intentions cry about truthful stories that actually get published in main stream media publications?

I dare one of you to go live in the occupied territories for 6 months. Enjoy the isolated outdoor prisons and ghetto slums Israel created in an attempt to totally demoralize anyone with an INKLING of wanting to live in a Palestinian state. Enjoy the complete lack of natural resources, transportation, infrastructure, and basic health and welfare that are so afforded the residents of these new age Auschwitz’s.

THEN, and ONLY THEN, may you cry out loud about injustice to Israel and how NOTHING must change until complete "peace" arrives anytime an extremist Palestinian blows himself up in utter frustration. Is the suicide bombing OK? NO. Hiding the truth is worse.

Israel deserves a state of its own and peace for all its citizens, period. So does Palestine. And not the isolated ghettos that have been created but rather contiguous land with its own natural resources that Israel isn't usurping for its own; go back to the 1967 UN declared borders. Stop wasting your war of words to hide the truth, spend your efforts responding to the truth in a way that is just for all humanity. Until then, the truth WILL hurt and your dysfunctional responses will mark you as those that foster hatred, not a state of peace.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 26 Oct 2004 20:59 ------"Human Rights Abuses in Palestine" ------

Thanks to Dr Summerfield, the world now knows the true atrocities commited by the Israeli Government against the Palestinians. In the past reports of Israeli soldiers preventing ambulances from reaching victims until they've died from their wounds, used to fall on deaf ears.

Perhaps now that professionals are sounding the alarm, such reports will gain credence. It seems that Israeli citizens are given the benefit of the doubt because a minority of them do not support such abuses. But Muslims are tarred with the same brush as the minority who defend their Human Rights.

Dr Summerfield's report makes one understand why Muslims do the things they do. And all people can do is ask "What have the Muslims done for the world?" The question should be "What have the Jews done to the Muslims?"

Competing interests: Member of the Muslim Public Affairs Committe (MPAC) but writing in a personal capacity

**

------Date submitted: 26 Oct 2004 23:33 ------"Well Done" ------

i'm so glad that to read the truth when there is a little who can say it. Thanks Alot.

Competing interests: we wish the truth to reach the whole world.

** 27/10/04 02:27

[no title]

Dear BMJ I found the article by Derek Summerfield to be so lacking in balance and context as to be unworthy of itemised refutation. It recycles the classic European anti-semitic stereotype of the Jews (Jewish State) as murderers of innocent children, (see post-war massacres in Poland eg. Kielce 1946, Jedwabne1947), and is lacking both in serious statistical methodology and medical science. I might have expected to have encountered this type of polemic in disseminations of extremist ideology such as The Socialist Workers Party or Neo-Nazi Youth Groups from East Germany, or from certain Islamic clerics formulating religious sanctions for suicide bombers, and orgs such as M.A.B./M.C.B. who campaign for Muslim minority rights in UK and Europe while refusing to recognise Holocaust Memorial Day. The BMJ is the flagship publication of the British medical profession. In my view it has greatly devalued its standing and departed from good practice by publishing such a text. Yours etc **

------Date submitted: 26 Oct 2004 07:39 ------"many thanks Dr.Summerfield " ------

What a great translation of the real situation in that land. God help our Palestinian brothers and sisters who are facing these crimes with a wierd isolation from the rest of world.

Thanks Dr.Summerfield for your try to uncover the truth.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 27 Oct 2004 08:23 ------"Silence and the death of Truth" ------

During the Second World War, the silence surrounding the Holocaust cost millions of Jewish lives. History repeats itself. It is now the turn of the Palestinians to be silenced. For the many distinguished critics, the truth of Palestinian suffering is propaganda, pure fiction. How many Palestinian lives will have to be lost before the truth is considered morally palatable. The BMJ is to be commended for taking a brave and courageous stance.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 27 Oct 2004 08:27 ------"Firing on ambulances" ------

Not only does the Israeli military fire on ambulances, but they've also provided instructional material to our good U.S. soldiers to teach them to do the same. Soldiers who, on their way to Iraq, were sent to Israel learn (I guess) how to occupy an Arab country. This was written up in the L.A. Times about a year ago (if not in so many words).

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 27 Oct 2004 10:49 ------"the true peace" ------

I am writting to congratulate you on your brave and courage to telling the truth of Palastenian situation and the illegally occupied terrotories and how Israeli goverment give the green light to target innocent women and children. [edited]I believe that Israel is guilty of war crimes, deliberate child killing, illegal colonization. All muslims and Arab hope that the peace to come and to be truth and stop the blood stream and all muslims dont condone the killing of innocent people anywhere in the world. The state of Israel will not fall to suicide bomber when she withdraws completely from the occupied terrotories and complies with all humanitarian laws and principles,then there will be the peace.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 27 Oct 2004 10:58 ------"One sided" ------

If Palestiniens stopped firing rockets into civilian homes and stopped blowing up restuarants and buses with suicide bombs and allowed both side to talk peace then actions of the Israeli army in defence of their countrys citizens would be unnecessary and the tragic consequences, which we all hear of when the actions are reported would not occur. It takes 2 to tango and Yassir Arafat who had the chance for a favourable settlememnt failed to grasp that opportunity. It is he who has let his people down

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 27 Oct 2004 11.23 ------"Where do we stand?" ------

I found it rather tragedy to see and read all these Zionist Responds relating to this article. Where wear all these intellectuals and humanist while the Israelis killing the Palestinians children, women and old men.

It’s okay to talk about the Holocaust, and the Apartheid in South Africa, But as for examining how the Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes by Zionist ideologues in league with various colonial powers… NO NO you can’t do that; do you know whey simply because we have too much of extremist Zionist everywhere and I mean everywhere!!!!. All I want you to see is that there are thousands of differents between Judaism (religion), Zionism (racist ideologues “on November 10, 1975 the United Nations General Assembly adopted, by a vote of 72 to 35 (with 32 abstentions), its Resolution 3379, which states as its conclusion: Zionism is a form of racism and . The resolution also endorsed an August 1975 statement by the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries (Lima, Peru), that: severely condemned Zionism as a threat to world peace and security and called upon all countries to oppose this racist and imperalist ideology. Israel made revocation of the infamous resolution a condition of Israel's participation in the Madrid Peace Conference in progress in the last quarter of 1991. The culmination of the long struggle came on December 16, 1991 when the UN General Assembly finally revoked Resolution 3379, with a vote of 111 to 25 (with 13 abstentions”) For these entire racists Zionist kindly fined underneath an article written by an Israeli Journalist and published in an Israeli’s Newspaper.

Killing children is no longer a big deal

By Gideon Levy, Haaretz

[Edited. A full transcript of the article was copied in the response. It doesn’t apparently appear on HAaretz’s website, but can be found at: http://www.jerusalemites.org/articles/english/oct2004/19.htm )

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 27 Oct 2004 18:07 ------"responses are also one sided" ------

People complain about the lack of impartiality, then write a response that is totally partial. Can't they see this? Wouldn't it have been better to write an impartial example?

I would be very suprised if the same people wrote in to complain about an article that was pro-Israeli????

Think about it

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 27 Oct 2004 19:09 ------"The historical roots of anti-semitism ." ------

These conflicts have gone on for millenia and have deep and widely spread roots. If there ever is to be a permanent solution, and the simplest would seem to be the public discosure of all relevant information, the historical roots need to be defined in terms that everyone can understand and not distorted by partial disclosures and disinformation. I believe this is what the people who built the British Empire and latterly Churchill may have tried to do, protecting for historical reasons the information from distruction or abuse by premature and incomplete disclosure.

"The original Zealots.. were members of a Jewish sect that at first just refused to pay tribute to the ..Romans who then occupied the land of Israel, declaring that God was their only King. This ..escalated to violence and assassination against the Romans, and anyone else, including other Jews, who cooperated with the Romans. The overwhelming power of the Roman military caused their rebellion to fail, after which they became scattered rebels who were also known as Sicarii ("dagger men"), from their deadly use of the sica, a Roman dagger. The Zealots were leading members of the revolt against Rome in 66-70 AD and at Masada ..committed suicide rather than surrender to the Roman Tenth Legion. At least one of The Twelve Apostles, after being directed by God in prayer, was a Zealot"(1). This raises the possibility that Christianity might have been conceived as a covert offensive against Roman domination.

"Gildas' De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae was written around 540 AD with the intention of showing that his people, the Britons, had been justly punished by God for treachery, religious backsliding and internal squabbling by the adventus Saxonum - the coming of the Saxons...Nicholas Howe (Migration and Mythmaking in Anglo-Saxon England, 2000) argues that later 'Anglo-Saxon' writers reformulated Gildas's writings so that instead of being 'the end of British history' the adventus Saxonum became a migration myth which formed the beginning of English history. In a variety of texts, ranging from Bede's Ecclesiastical History to the Old English verse Exodus, the Anglo-Saxons were presented as a chosen people (like the Israelites) who had left pagan Germany for the the Promised Land of Christian Britain" (2).

Christian Britain is told of in Arthurian legends and chronicaled in the lives of the Roman Catholics St Patrick [Ireland, 432 AD], St Columba [Iona, 536AD] and St Augustine [Canterbury, 597 AD]. Whereas St Patrick and St Augustine were said to have been of nobel Roman birth St Columba belonged to the Clan O'Donnell and was of royal descent. Further the Celtic Saint of Scotland, St Machar, was a son of Fiachna, a Prince of Ulster, who was one of the twelve who accompanied St. Columba into exile from Ireland and estabished the monastary on Iona. Christianity was introduced to the Scots from there, St. Machar’s "cell" lying a little west of Aboyne on the side of Balnagowan Hill just west of Aboyne Castle.

The Celts and Anglo-Saxons who invaded Britain at about these times[in about 450 AD, ] have, according to the BBC the British state funded broadcasting corporation, "The nub of the myth of the Norman Yoke..that Anglo-Saxon England had laws which protected people's freedom; pre-1066, the English lived free under the law and these liberties were lost to the Normans and the succeeding rulers of England. In their place was imposed Norman law, foreign law, French law. So - the myth goes - up until the English Civil War, the English were all, in effect, under the rule of the Normans. The 17th century struggles then were to free England from the Norman Yoke. As they said at the time of the English Civil War, 'What are the King and his ministers but the Conqueror's colonels in another guise?'"(3).

In 1394 King Charles VI of France ordered all Jews to be expelled from France. Many became cryptic-Jews, those who had managed to cobceal their ethnic identity by being assimilated into Christianity by intermarriage. Protestantism was particularly attractive for them for it had returned to a more original Christianity which was closer to Judaism. Many Jews settled in England, especially in the East End of London where the proces of assimilation continued. In recent times they have been able to acknowledge their Jewishness and be assimilated into the upper levls of British society, Churchill's Harrow School being favoured by many Jews today includng the Rothschilds and Oppenheimers.

The choice of Normandy for the D-Day landings in WWII might given Churchill's intimate knowledge of the history of the English Speaking Peoples, well have been an announcement that the Norman or even the Roman invasion was finally being reversed. But Churchill was unhappy at Harrow and developed a close bond with Field Marshall Smuts who was of Dutch orign, Holland, New Amsterdam [New York] and South Africa being other repositories for the successive migrations and assimilations of Jews enforced by persecution by Romans first, then Roman Catholicism and later the Russian pogroms and the Nazis.

A product of these Jewish persecutions, migrations and assimilations is their aquisition of the control of the diamond industries from their being mined in Southern Africa, cut in Antwerp, and sold in New York. The Oppenheimer family [cryptic Jews], through their control not only of de Beers but also of gold mining through Anglo-American, have consistently refused to reduce their diamond prices in compliance with US pressures. Indeed it is only very recently, with the resolution of some of the outstanding issues relating to the conflict diamond trade, that de Beers directors have been able to enter the US without fear of arrest.

Might the successive persecutions, migrations and assimilations of the Jews have had a common biblical origin or different and unrelated origins?

"The Babylionian empire lasted rwo thousabd years before Babylon disappeared under the sands of the Iraqi desert for the next two millenia. The decline appears to have begun shortly after Babylonia conquered Judaea, when the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, went mad. "Nebuchadnezzar’s son, Nabonidus, who had overthrown his insane father in a court conspiracy, proved himself to be even less competent a ruler than his father. When Nabonidus abandoned Babylon entirely for eleven years in military expedition ...to gain control of the caravan and sea-borne trade routes, he left his capitol under the regency of his son, Belshazzar, whose control of the city would bring it to an even lower level....

At a feast for his nobles, the Prince [Belshazzar] and his guests witnessed a disembodied hand scribing the words “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Peres” on the palace wall. Frightened, he sought out anyone who could read the words upon his wall. That man was a Hebrew prophet named Daniel. According to the Bible, Belshazzar promised Daniel the riches of Babylon to interpret the message. Although Daniel refused the proffered wealth, he read the message of Yahweh for the regent:

“God has numbered your kingdom and finished it; you have been judged and found wanting; your kingdom shall be divided between the Persians and the Medes.” "(5).

Montheism is said by the Bible to have been begun by Abraham circa 1800 BC.,In " 1365 BCE Amenhotep IV ..came to power. He unsuccessfully tried to promote a form of monotheism with the Sun god 'Re' as creator. Akhenaten's successor was Tutankhamun (King Tut)(6). Moses is thought to have been born aout 1300 BC. In 587 BC Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, seized Jerusalem. That is when the First Temple [of Solomon] was destroyed and the final decline of Babylon began. .. A large part of Judea's population was exiled to Babylon. In 722 BC the First Dispersion, the Diaspora, occurred and Jews were either "taken as slaves in, what is commonly referred to as, the Babylonian captivity of Judah, or they fled to Egypt Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia".

The answer to millenia of conficts might, therefore, lie in who or what in Judeah was responsible for the writing on the wall if [as from my observations and research suggest]it was real? Might it habe been the harnessing of the semiconductor property of a diamond, as previously argued, that rendered a person partially invisible to achieve this illusion? These properties might even have been employed to make gold, alchemy. [Hence perhaps the legends about King Midas and the myth of King Solomon's African mines populrised by Ryder Haggard].

Babylonia was a very scientifically advanced civilisation all recorded evidence of which was effectively lost in a succession of sackings most notable of which was the burning of the great library in Alexandria. The latter has been attributed to different people from Julius Caesar in 48 BC to a Roman Catholic bishop, to the Moslem Caliph Omar in 640 AD who is quoted as having said of the Library's holdings, "they will either contradict the Koran, in which case they are heresy, or they will agree with it, so they are superfluous." (8).

A diamond is forever says de Beers. Given its ubiquitousness on women and some of the properties tha have been ascribed to it one wonders of their might not be more to it. Partial diclosure of scientific information inevitably promote's the formulation of hypotheses many if not most would be rejected if there were full discosure. I wonder if Nicky Oppenheimer, whose family trusts control be Beers today, Kissinger, Weinbrg, or Relman could shed more public light on the subject.

1. Zealots www.keyway.ca/htm2001/20011024.htm

2. The Anglo-Saxon Invasion www.postroman.info/saxon1.html

3. www.bbc.co.uk/history/lj/conquestlj/ yoke_03.shtml?site=history_conquestlj_yoke

4. ST MACHAR, MOCHUMMA - Celtic Saint of Scotland. www.cushnieent.force9.co.uk/machar.html

5. The writing on the wall: the fall of babylon coco.essortment.com/writingwallfal_rghs.htm

7. History of ancient Israel and Judah. h/hi/history_of_ancient_israel_and_judah.html

8. eHistory.com: The Burning of the Library of Alexandria www.ehistory.com/world/articles/ArticleView.cfm?AID=9

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 27 Oct 2004 20:46

------"Thank you" ------

Thank you for your effort and courage, Thank you for showing the injustice incurred on Palestinians, Thank you for having a strong conscious, Thank you for having a kind heart, THANK YOU FOR SHOWING US THAT THERE IS STILL GOOD, FAIR, AND CONSCIOUS PEOLPE IN THE WEST. Congratulations for your courage... we all know what you might hear... but it's people like you who strike the balance in this turbulent world, where the truth and the honest information is the most valuable thing If you are a believer bless you ... if you are not… you are with this great conscious and courage

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 27 Oct 2004 00:12 ------"stop the anti-Israel propoganda" ------

How dare you allow Dr. Derrick Summerfield to include false and outrageous claims comparing IDF action to the September 11th attacks in his article entitled 'Palestine: The assault on health and other war crimes.' I'm shocked that such a highly acclaimed medical journal would allow such garbage to be published. It's disgusting to see, what is considered some of the most brilliant writing, portraying a country constantly threatened by terrorism whose own people suffer on a daily basis at the hands of 'unarmed civilians'. That claim is disturbingly false and grotesquely distorts the truth behind the daily suffering of the Israeli people. As far as his claim that IDF soldiers are "authorised to shoot children", I was shocked and disgusted. My brother is an IDF soldier as are my cousins and as were my aunts and uncles and hundreds of relatives living in Israel. Nobody cares about the preservation and sanctity of human life more than the Jewish people do, its a fact. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 27 Oct 2004 00:32 ------"are the americans suporters or cheaters to the israelis??" ------

I would congratulate dr Derek Summerfield for his article. as expected many people of israeli side try to scilence him. I think by this they support the arrogance and stupidity of the israelis.they live in the middle east,15000 miles from america who is their biggest cheater(supporter). what is called israel is surrounded by weak arab states whose rulers are spies to the americans.things will change some time in the future and the israelis then have to face the arab mases or who has no love to them.they find it defficult to deal with the gazzans alone so it is better for BMJ readers specially the supporters of israel to tell israelis that it is better for the israelis to make real peice with palestinians before things change not in their favour.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 08:10 Rapid Response ID: bmj_el;82320

------"World Peace" ------

Editor- I hve read all the responses to Dr. Summerield's article (well over 400) and I think that you should call a halt to the correspondance. It is obvious that there would be no Palestinian problem if there were no Israel.Israel only exists because of the Jews who can be sent back from where they came from (in my family's case-London,Yemen,Syria and Lybia). This will solve most of the world's problems-insurrections in Indonesia and Philipines, strife in southen Thailand, Kashmir, intercommunal riots in Pakistan,Chechnya,Iran's nuclear program,arab lack of democracy,the Kurdish problems,Sudanese wars and hunger, Nigerian communal tensions(and polio),etc.If only the clock could be turned back, wars such as Iran- Iraq,Kuwait,Yemen would never have happened. Nor would 9/11- as many of your correspondants can tell you, this was a conspiracy by Israeli's either using forged Saudi passports or dupes.By coincidence, the same BMJ issue printed an obituary of another psychiatrist, John Mack,who published and gave credance to alien abductions-including eye-witness accounts

Competing interests: Jew who wants to live

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------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 10:44 ------"Up Your Ass You Slimeball Anti-Semite" ------

Go peddle your nazi nonsense to your stormtrooper terrorist friends.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 11:56 Rapid Response ID: bmj_el;82337 ------"Humanity" ------

Firstly I would like to thank and comend Derek Summerfield for this article and for the clear truth that most writers, journalists etc are afraid (or for other reasons)to convey. The Palestinians have been suffering for too long and it is absolutely criminal that the so called 'democratic' states of the 'first' world have abandoned these human beings that live in a an 'open prison'. I find it even more incredible that people can actually defend the crimes of the Israelis. It is obvious what they are doing to the Palestinian people and nothing can justify this. Yet what is even more disgusting is that when Israeli raids kill hundreds of innocent men, women and children no one takes notice but when a suicide bomber kills a handful of innocent Israelis the whole world erupts in horror and disgust. This is beyond grotesque. I would like to point out that I condemn suicide bombings against innocent Israeli men, women and children. Israelis tend to brand anyone who are opposed to Zionism and Israel as anti-Semitic. However I think this excuse has been exhausted and the Israelis had better start looking for some real reasons as to why millions of people around the world oppose the Zionist state and it's war crimes. The fact is the word 'semitic' also applies to Arabs and North African people. So if you condemn someone for being anti-semitic, it will not solely be directed towards Jews but also Arabs; and I am very confidant that Dr Summerfield is not anti-Arab. Well done to Dr Summerfield for standing up for justice and for exposing and condemning the tyranny of Man.

Competing interests: Human against inhumane terror

------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 12:39 ------"BMJ - Medical Journal?" ------

It is sad that your journal appears to have been used as a political platform. It is even sadder that the view offered through this misuse would be laughably inaccurate and biased if the matter being being 'discussed' (or more correctly, ranted about) was not of such a serious nature.

Mr Summerfield's analytical technique appears to be of a level that I would expect from a five year old - a dogmatic beleif in 'statistics' that support his views, regardless of the source, while rejecting any evidence that opposes.

For example, what exactly is the assertion 'Clearly, soldiers are routinely authorised to shoot to kill children in situations of minimal or no threat.' based upon?

The fact that the Editor allowed this to be published is disgusting.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 12:58 ------"Damn lies, statistics, and hatred of Israel" ------

Sir,

In Dr Summerfield's 'personal view' Israeli soldiers 'are routinely authorised to shoot to kill children in situations of minimal or no threat'. Does he think it is for the purpose of using young victims' blood in Jewish religious rituals? If so, I look forward to seeing Summerfield's arithmetics 'proving' that on the pages of the BMJ.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 14:45 ------"Re: Support for Derek Summerfield" ------

AS an Arab Egyptian i DO thank YOU Marcia for your honesty. I really appreciate it. God bless my friend.

Shalom from Cairo.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 14:51

------"thank you" ------

I would like to congratulate Derek Summerfield and the BMJ for speaking the truth. The article was very well written and refined. The article was not one sided and portrayed the HORRIFIC REALITY in which the Palestinians actually live. Thank you for having the courage to speak up.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 15:10 ------"Re: Re: Well done" ------

First of all, Israel was the one who started the 1967 war. All the indicators point into that direction. if you read “body of secrets” about Israeli air force massacring 35 American navy seals because they were the undefeatable witnesses of the Israeli initiation of the 1967 war. Second, the war has not taken place in any place that has been defined by the US as Israel. It was all outside that border. That means Israel was not protecting itself, but rather it was attacking the indigenous people of Palestine it has just massacred and deported. If interested in more info read for Benny Morris or Ian Pappe [Edited].

Again if you go to read history, you will find out that the golden era for Jews started when Islam became a strong empire. Muslims were the first to lift the suffering of Jews in Europe. Muslims protected Jews as well as Orthodox Christians from the Western European cruelty. The few percentage of Jews in Palestine before 1917 were living with peace and harmony until the infamous Hertzl came up with his scheme in which he saw Israel a country for only the European white Jews, from central and eastern Europe (this explains the racism in Israel against all the jews who are not whites). If interested read for Michel Selzer. If you do further readings in history, you will find out that Jewish Palestinians did oppose Herzl. As an evidence, in the west Bank’s town of Nablus there is still living a jewish minority and guess what they live among Palestinians and they are represented in the Palestinian National Authority council. Compare that the treatment of Palestinians (who are the indigenous people, for more info read Maxime Rodinson) still living in Israel as a second class citizens, away from the luxuries of democracy.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 15:21 ------"Re: Israel Builds for Nobel Prizes, Arabs Build for Suicide Bombers" ------

Mr. Farid, you have all the right to feel bitter about the lack of free speech & human rights in Arab countries in general, specially in Syria. Thank God it's far better here in Egypt.

I do agree with much of what you said on this topic. BUT!!

You have chosen the wrong place to talk about this!! Yes, we're here to comment on a report on the tragedies inflicted on Palestinian chidren, if you failed to notice it!!! AND!! You don't have any right to CHANGE the track of this thread, and i give you the benefit of doubt!!! Despite many questions about your goals!!!

Zionist Israeli horrors perpetrated round the clock against our people in Palestine are acknowledged by the whole world, even by honest Israelis, and they are numerous. The international community, represented by the UN, adopted dozens of UNEXECUTED resolutions condemning the zionist crimes. Even the AMERICAN Security council TRIED to follow, but i think you must know, just a LITTLE BIT, about the famous VETO!!!!

My advice, is to separate between your anger towards the Syrian Ba'ath, who isn't the Syrian people anyway, and your Arab belonging. Try not to be subjective because of a personal experience. I don't hate Egypt because of

Mubarak and his party!!

Try to chose WHERE to say WHAT!!

Ps : For your information, and since you're talking about the , let me REMIND you of Dr. Ahmed Zoweil, a proud egyptian who has been awarded YOUR a few years back!! By the way, he is married to a lovely and a great Syrian lady, who surely contributed to his becoming one of the world's scientists.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 15:26

------"Re: Re: The truth hurts" ------

I could not hold myself from writing regarding the idiotic response from Michael Mansoor. This only gives some indication of what the Palestinians are up against; the most destructive army in the world, and seriously misinformed professionals with blinded support for a terrorist state like Israel.

What Israel has and is doing in occupied Palestine is WAR CRIME. The killing of innocent children and women is deliberate, and is part of a ZIONIST strategy to wipe out the whole of the Palestinian population. Zionism (Israeli Fundamentalism with the belief that all the land between and including Iraq and Egypt belongs to Israel, and Israelis should role the world) is the main threat to world peace now, that’s why UN peacekeeping troops are needed and NOW in all Palestine to try and secure survival of Palestinians.

It horrifies me to see very few professionals supporting the ZIONIST movement. I am glad that they are of the minority, but we have to remember Dr Shipman who killed so many innocent lives because of his idiotic believes. [edited] We have a duty to protect our society from them.

[edited] The Palestinians where offered on 65% and NO Jerusalem at Camp David. That’s why it was not acceptable to the Palestinians. Israel only offered killing, destruction and invasion to its neighbours during the previous wars. All the Arabs wanted were to implement UN resolutions, since the UN (lead by US) is selective in implementing its own resolutions[edited]

THE BMJ IS CONGRATULATED AGAIN FOR ALLOWING THE TRUTH TO BE PUBLISHED. IT TAKES A LOT OF COURAGE TO DO THAT. I HOPE THE BMA WILL CONTINUE WITH IMPORTANT ARTICLES LIKE THESE IN THE FUTURE.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 15:58 ------"Bravo for Derek Summerfield" ------

I have been to the West Bank twice in support of the International Solidarity Movement. I can attest to the accuracy of the material in this article.

Competing interests: None declared

*

------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 18:58 ------"why can't anyone criticize Israel?" ------

I always find it amusing that anyone who writes anything accusing Israel of tyranny, abuse, violation of human rights is immediately ambushed by a wave of brutal responses, no mater how trivial and honest his accusation may be. Why can't we point out the truth??

I was deeply moved by the picture in the article... a father carrying his sick daughter to the hospital...yet is stopped by the occupier....

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Competing interests: an Arab

**

------Date submitted: 28 Oct 2004 01:18

------"THANK YOU" ------

YOUR OBJECTIVITY AND HONESTY IN THE ARTICLE: PALESTINE:THE ASSAULT ON HEALTH AND OTHER WAR CRIMES ARE WELCOMED AND APPRECIATED.

THANK YOU,

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 29 Oct 2004 10:52 ------"The truth is worse" ------

Dear sir, I would like to congratulate the author of the artical in producing a v.concise but nevertheless informative reflection of the 'palistinan issue' in the face of such pressure and almost WORLDWIDE effort on behalf of pro israelis to surpress and conceal the TRUTH!!! Adressing the doubters: There is NO defense against hard facts and playing the Anti-Semetism card is as bad as calling every jew a murderer... Who is going to report the daily situation to us which is daily hard reading. To all those involved in deception, the world will soon dissociate from you and then who will you deceive?

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 29 Oct 2004 12:26 ------"Excellent work BMJ" ------

Well done BMJ for having the guts to stand up and write exactly what is going on in this world. Glad to know there are still some people who are not afraid of the truth. Thank you, from a faithful reader.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 29 Oct 2004 13:16 ------"Personal Gain?" ------

It is amazing and quite frightening that the concept of 'free speech' is hugely distorted whenever the issue is the Israel- Palestine conflict, more accurately when it is against Israeli policies.

Dr Summerfield deserves to be applauded for having the courage to carry out such research in the face of such pro-israeli opposition. I find it hard to understand what Dr Summerfield will gain, as it is being argued by many people. He is a health professional and not a politician and unlike what the politcians may do e.g. 'sexing up' or 'adding a spin' he is presenting the information the way he sees it.

It is about time people woke up to the fact that the Israeli government are not angels with no malice in their hearts, who would not hurt a fly but rather are in essence dictators to an oppressed people. Fair enough the Israelis have a right to defend themselves as anyone does, but how can one use that justification when it is they who are carrying out horrendous acts as described by Dr Summerfield.

I just hope this is a turning point, from which not everything published against Israel will be regarded as anti-semetic, and people are given their fundamental freedom of 'free speech' once again.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 29 Oct 2004 15:17 ------"Its about time." ------

For the first time have I come across an article that borders doing justice for what goes on in Palestine. How low have people stooped; killing children, wiping out a nation, denyinying people of their basic right, incase nobody knows what that is then it's be able to live. Im sick of hearing about [edited] suicide bombing in free newspapers. I want people to know what happens to Palestinian people on a daily basis. Its about time people ware given the real facts about our present day (yes we are in 2004!) middle easten massacre.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 29 Oct 2004 16:20 ------"Dr. Summerfield is correct in all of his assertions." ------

Dear BMJ: My heartfelt thanks for publishing Dr. Summerfield's article which so aptly presented to a highly intelligent and professionally and socially influential readership many essential facts about "The shame of the twentieth century", the occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

I have also read some of the replies to the article. Obviously many of them are from a zionist-Jewish perspective and anti-Semitic by their very nature of blind defense of Israel's grosly illegal and inhuman policies.

The whole world is slowly catching up to the pathetic details of the unbearable condition into which the Palestinians were forced by European and US Zionists. Perhaps, that's why Gandhi said of western civilization: "That would be a good idea!"

Here are some excerpts from Zionists own mouths telling the world their intentions and views:

[Edited: Seven quotations from Begin, Eitan, Ben Gurion, Jabotinsky, Heilbrun, Ginsburg, and Shamir whose provenance we were unable to check]

The solution is well known by almost the entire world but not accepted by zionist powers, in which Israel goes back to 1967 borders and through international efforts a Palestinian state is established. Peace loving Jews and Palestinians and the world population will be satisfied. Otherwise this humanitarian disaster shall continue as the shame of the western world well into the twenty first century.

Best regards,

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 29 Oct 2004 18:59

------"when will there be an end to hate" ------

i address my letter to the people who have replied to the original article. the problem with "debates" such as this one,about palestine is that the extreme elements of both sides quote statistics, facts, history blah blah blah ad infinitum. if you are all genuine then I DARE YOU to put aside your prejudices and work for understanding between both sides, for without understanding there can be no dialogue. no dialogue = no peace. surely thats not rocket science? if the common enmity is left to fester then the wound will never heal. remember 1st prevent harm to yourself, 2nd cause no further harm to the patient and third treat the cause not the symptoms. i am a muslim what a lot of you would call a convert. i know personally a lot of muslims including myself that would put out our hands to the jews in peace but also lift up a weapon in war if necessary. let me make 1 statement THOSE STATISTICS YOU ARE ALL QUOTING, WHETHER ARAB OR JEW ARE SOMEONES LOVED ONES AND THEY ARE SUFFERING BECAUSE OF THEIR LOSS. INSTEAD OF USING THEM AS AMMUNITION FOR JUSTIFICATION FOR YOUR POSITION HOW ABOUT USING THEM AS MOTIVATION TO PREVENT MORE STATISTICS. AND ALSO BEAR IN MIND THAT THE LIFE OF AN ARAB AND A JEW ARE NOT FOR ANY OF US TO JUDGE AS WORTHWHILE UNLESS YOU ARE GOD OR HAVE A COMMISSION FROM HIM TO DO SO. THE REAL PROBLEM FACED BY BOTH JEWS AND ARABS IS THE CRIMINAL GANGS PRETENDING TO ADMINISTER THE NATIONS WHEN ALL THEY DO IS SIPHON THE COFFERS OF THE NATIONS LIKE VAMPIRES.

regards and best wishes to all who seek truth and peace

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 29 Oct 2004 20:01 ------"What is one-sided?" ------

First of all, science is all about presenting one's point of view,;whether its a thesis or a just a fact. So those who are complaining about how Mr. Summerfield's article is not scientfic because it is biased should revise their scientific research method. This has always been the argument of the oppressor,; that we judge them from the victim's point of view! i am sure all tyrants and oppressors thought they had "a valid" reason for the atrocities they performed. But the simple fact at the end is that innocent people have been killed. Secondly how can we compare civiliian killings performed by a highly organized army to that of a group of millitants who might not reflect the whole palestinian public and yet we are blaming the whoel palestinian nation for it!I think it is easier to control that well-organized army than to try to control diffuse dispearsed millitant organizations that is just feeding on the miserable situation in palestine. I am sure the nazis were also falsely using an argument of self -defense to explain their massacares!even though we all know that they were performing a genocide. In other words, the oppressors will never say they are wrong, they will jsut say that the peopel are biased against them, and unfortunaetly this is happening in israel.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 29 Oct 2004 05:02 ------"Re: The Solution To The Problem" ------

Of all the responses that I have seen this is the most vile.I am totally shocked that the editor let it pass.This has nothing to do with medicine.This is anti semitism at its worst. You have your own distorted view of Judaism.You obviously don't know the first thing.Israel and zion are a central part to judaism.I would suggest you read the book:Why the jews? by Dennis Prager and get educated rather than quote the infamous Chomsky with his distorted views.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 29 Oct 2004 05:19 ------"Thank you" ------

Thank you to Dr. Summerfield and the BMJ for writing and publishing the truth about the ongoing brutality faced by Palestinians. This week another child, an eight year old school girl, was gunned down by an IDF soldier. This is what Israel's supporters are attempting to excuse and justify. This is what the American media covers up, spins, or ignores on a daily basis. It's about time the Western medical establishment talks about reality, and you've done it and I say thank you.

Competing interests: a mother of two children

**

------Date submitted: 30 Oct 2004 11:15 ------"Sad but True!" ------

Dr. Summerfield in his article was expressing it as it is. One cannot argue facts regardless of how distressing or repulsive those facts may be. Prejudices aside, no two honest human beings would disagree that Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians are inhuman, cold-blooded and condemned in every religious script. I cannot believe the guts of some people arguing for Israel’s’ right of self-defense! Ask yourselves one question: who is under military occupation?

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 30 Oct 2004 14:48

------"Anti-semetism?" ------

Firstly i would like to congratulate this brave author on producing such a controversial essay. It must be hard for both sides reading this to respond without passion. We must understand that this issue is likely to have many people with stron biases.

I would like to correct the misconception held by many of semetism - anyone who follows the son of prophet Noah is semetic, i.e. Jews, Christians & Muslims. Therefore we (Muslims/people against state terrorism in Israel) cannot be called anti-semetic in all cases.

This article clearly shows the blatant truth which has been locked up for many years, and will continue to be hidden from the public for many more to come. This article will never reach the mainstream news, and therefore I am glad it is available on such a prestigious journal.

My heart goes out to all the families of the victims of this long running war, on all sides. I just hope there will be more Israelis out there that would understand that they are on sacred land, and whether they like it or not, Islam comes first for any Muslim, and Muslims will give their lives to secure this land.

Thank you

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 31 Oct 2004 11:08

------"Thanks for telling the truth" ------

I would like to thank Dr. Summerfield for his courage and dedication to the truth and the issue of human rights and human dignity. Please raise your voice against injustice as Dr. Summerfield did.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 31 Oct 2004 12:10

------"People of all or no religions! Let's unite for justice and peace!" ------

I have read your article in the BMJ just now. It is nothing but the truth and the whole truth. You are a very courageous gentleman and professional. I wholeheartedly congratulate you, salute you and pray for you that may you stay brave against the onslaught of Zionist lobby! May Allah bless you with the best!

My thanks to the BMJ editor as well who let your article be printed. He/she is also a courgaeous professional. Please convey my regards to them.

BMJ must also respond to the situation of WMA being presided by the chair of IMA. We must not allow this farce to continue.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 31 Oct 2004 13:02 ------"Jews linked with Amnesia?" ------

Most Jews/Israelis seem to have a case of Amnesia of what took place 56 yrs ago..THEY TOOK the land of Palestine from the Palestinian people..Just beacause they have RELIGIOUS JUSTIFICATION from their scriptures..it is not a suffecient one for the average human being. With their claims they disregard basic humanitarian rights and then they try and twist things to claim that they are 'fair in their attacks as they only target suicide bombers'Yeah right!!

Respect Mr Summerfield for standing up to justice and exposing the truth.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 31 Oct 2004 13:40 ------"The picture is an extra evidence" ------

Dear Sir I would like to congratulate the BMJ and Dr Summerfield for their courage to speak out.

For those who object on what had been said I would like to advice them to watch any unbiased news channel so they could appreciate the truth in Dr Summerfield article or probably they could volunteer to work as a Palestinian for a week in Gaza to feel the heat.

The world would be a bad place to live in if we always support the aggressor.

Regards

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 31 Oct 2004 18:00

------"PALESTINE" ------

THANK YOU DR. SOMMERFIELD FOR HAVING THE COURAGE TO REPORT THE TRUTH,AND THANK YOU BMJ FOR HAVING THE COURAGE TO PRINT THE TRUTH.AS PHYSICIANS WE MUST STAND FOR JUSTICE.NOTWITHSTANDING THE RIGHTS OF ISRAELIS TO LIVE IN PEACE,THE PRESENT ASSAULT ON BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS BY ISRAEL IN PALESTINE IS APPAULING.THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THE STATE TERROR INCITED AGAINST THE PALESTINIAN CIVILIAN POPULATION BY THE ZEALOTS RUNNING ISRAEL.JUST AS THE ATTACKS ON ISRAELI CIVILIANS BY THE PALESTINIAN ZEALOTS.WE ARE ALLOWING THE FANATIC MINORITY IN BOTH SOCIETIES TO LEAD US INTO THE ABBYSS.IF WE CONTINUE TO BE TERRORIZED BY THE FEAR OF CRITICISING ISRAEL, WE ARE DOING BOTH ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS A GRAVE ERROR.TO SOLVE PROBLEMS WE HAVE FIRST TO IDENTIFY THEM AND HAVE THE COURAGE TO TALK ABOUT THEM. THANK YOU AGAIN,AND MAY GOD HELP BOTH SIDES RECONCILE

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 1 Nov 2004 13:45 ------"Mental Problem" ------

This week Alex Ferguson claimed that Arsene Wenger had a "mental problem" with Ruud van Nistelrooy because "it's always van Nistelrooy" Well using Sir Alex's logic it would appear that Derek Summerfield definitely has a serious mental problem with the state of Israel judging by his long obsession with condemning the Jewish state at every possible opportunity and his failure to see the reality of Israel's war against Palestinian terror. It is also clear that Wenger has a much stronger case than Summerfield! The psychiatrist has succeeded only in distorting facts and quoting false statistics and has therefore only succeeded in raising questions about his true motivations for writing his latest malicious slander against the state of Israel.

He conveniently claims that he cannot be labelled an anti-semite for his disgraceful claims including the false accusation that Israeli soldiers are instructed to murder children. It is perfectly valid to condemn Israel in very harsh terms and to not be anti-semitic and the majority of critics of Israel do not hate Jews.

However, it is also beyond doubt that certain vociferous critics are using anti-Zionism as a convenient smokescreen for their anti-semitic views. It is possible that Summerfield doesn't yet know The Protocols of The Elders of Zion off by heart. It is also possible that he has not yet found time in his busy schedule to write about the genocide of millions of civilians in Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Cambodia and Burundi or of the daily human rights abuses in the Arab dictatorships. (Apparently Summerfield has a day job). It may just be a strange coincidence that he always singles out the Jewish state.

What cannot be disputed is that Summerfield's latest diatribe against Israel in BMJ raises some serious questions about what is really going on in the psychiatrist's head.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 1 Nov 2004 15:08 ------"standing up for truth" ------

I would like to state formally my approval of this article because it is seldom that we actually read or hear about the atrocities carried out in the occupied territories. This must be commended because the truth has been told and there are those who would oppose such articles, however, those people only deceive themselves, this Journal has taken a brave step and should continue with the telling of true events and not fictions lies, which would please the unjustified actions of the Evildoers.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 1 Nov 2004 00:50 ------"The pro-Israeli vultures circle in" ------

Dear Sir/Madam

I find it deeply disturbing that so many individuals are attacking Dr Summerfield's article. It has been noted for some time now that Israel has consistently broken its Geneva Convention responsibilities and has degraded everyday Palestinian life to a miserable routine. Many times Palestinian ambulances have been denied access to critically ill patients, including pregnant mothers. The reporting of such events has often been labelled as "political" with the intention of dehumanising this blatant tragedy. We as doctors have a responsibility to point out injustice especially when it concerns the basic right of access to healthcare for anyone. Comparing these injustices to suicide bombs and its subsequent victims is letting into the tit-for-tat attitude that is driving us further into oblivion. As educated citizens, we should not only try to be objective but also point out what is wrong too. Dr Summerfield did exactly that and I for one congratulate him on a job well done!

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 1 Nov 2004 07:53 ------"thank u" ------

thank you BMJ for your fair and respectable article.

Competing interests: fair article

**

------Date submitted: 2 Nov 2004 12:55 ------"Today's Anti-semite = someone Jews hate" ------

I commend both the author and the BJM on the opinion piece in question. Anyone who regularly responds to articles depicting frankly what is going on today in the Occupied Territories will know that they come across again and again the same trite authorial slurs, the same unsupported rebuttals, and the same chop-logic of Israel's supporters to the point of nausea. They will know this, and will know also to see through it. For here, in the eyes of the Jewish state's apparatchiks, the facts of the Occupied Territories must be what are ultimately anti- semitic. Here the UN, the ICJ, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Red Cross, clearly, are all filled with anti-semites. So too parts of Europe, the US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, while it goes without saying those other Semites, the Arabs, suck it in with their mother’s milk. Yes, clearly the whole world is anti-semitic because it just doesn't get that all Israel wants is peace and universal brotherhood. For that’s why it occupies lands it’s not supposed to; that’s why it bulldozes homes and people, too, if they don’t get out in time; that’s why it consistently violates its neighbour’s airspace; and that’s why it has nuclear weapons and one of the world’s most powerful armies. And yet, despite all that, it has war thrust upon it by the mighty Palestinians, who rear their children up to hate Israel and send them out to die. For anti-semitism is a psychosis, a plague, an irrational scourge that blinds people to the odds stacked against them and the human kindness Jews intend for them. Its aetiology cannot be understood and it should not be understood, for to understand it would be to bring anti-semitism down into a rational schemata of cause and effect, and inevitably place the burden of its eradication on the eradication of the perceived cause, which most assuredly can have nothing to do with the killing of one’s children, the humiliation of one’s parents, or the destruction of one’s dreams.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 2 Nov 2004 20:51 ------"Israel's Right to Self Defence" ------

Dr Summerfield:

Your article appearing in the October issue of the BMJ is an outrageous distortion of the truth. Israel is under seige and in a state of war. The actions that it takes to fight this war are absolutely necessary to ensure the safety of its civilians. You cannot in good conscience, blame Israel for the plight of the Palestinians. Israel has repeatedly extended an olive branch and attempted to make peace through real offers to exchange land. However, the Palestinian leadership and the majority of the Arab world has rejected Israel's overtures and instead, embarked on a campaign to "drive the Jews into the sea" as they repeatedly state.

The poverty that the Palestinians live under is a direct result of their corrupt and inept leadership. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority have stolen billions of dollars in aid, while plunging their people into a state of war. If the Palestinian leadership were to change their tune, agree to real steps towards peace, stop the terrorism, then there would be no need for the security fence that Israel is building and no need for security check points. Israel does not want to live with a constant state of terrorism and fear. They would like nothing more than to be a prosperous nation engaged in scientific research, business and contributing to the development of humanity.

Israel's response to the attacks on its people is no difference and no less defensible than any other nations response. When the Falkland Islands were invaded by Argentina, the British government sent troops halfway around the world to fight to protect its citizens. And the British government has again sent troops halfway around the war -- this time to Iraq -- to fight to protect its citizens. How many casualties has your government caused? The threat against Israel is far more immediate as it is surrounded by aggressors, and constantly targeted by suicide bombers. I have not heard of Iraqis targeting Britain. But yet, your government still believes that it is legitimate to attack Iraq and inevitably kill innocent civilians in the process.

Israel has every right to fight this war on terrorism as does Britain and the US. And the fact is that the Israeli's are very careful to ensure minimal collateral damage. There is absolutely no evidence that they target civilians as you suggest. If you have any evidence then lets see it. You are a scientist -- and you know that evidence is paramount to any claims of factual truth.

Competing interests: None declared **

------Date submitted: 2 Nov 2004 07:28

------"End the Violence" ------

Dr Derek Summerfield must commended on his bravery and the truth of his workmanship. His article illustrates the utter hopelessness that the Palestinians are living through, or should I say barely living through.

Can the Zionist now understand why some Palestinians go to such extremes as suicide bombings? As a Muslim and as a professional I do not condone such acts, where innocent Israelis die. Yet the average Palestinian has no hope, he sees his family members gunned down, he sees the other side living comfortable lives on land that was his own some years before.

Israelis must see how their treatment of the Palestinians is the same treatment as that the Nazi’s gave the German and Polish Jews.

Hatred will only breed more hatred, as violence will only breed more violence. Only the brave and strong will want peace… end this blood shed.

Free Palestine!

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 11.28 ------"Well Done Dr Summerfield" ------

I am extremely pleased that such truth about the Israeli treatment of the palestinians has been published in the BMJ. Having read some of these responses I am disappointed that pro-Isrealis cannot accept the truth!! and feel no sympathy towards the Palestinian people. I accept the deaths and carnage are happening on both sides, but denying basic medical care to civilians is an utter disgrace!!! Do they then blame the hatred that exists in amongst the Palestinians. They were kicked out of their land and are now treated like animals by the "DEMOCRATIC" state of Israel.

I laugh when people call Israel the only Democracy in the Middle east. No democracy would implement such barbaric treatment on any people. It is a very sad situation in Palestine that has simply deteriorated by the day since Sharon took charge.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 11.26

------"Zionists' insensitivity" ------

After watching the cruelty of the Israeli army on Palestinians and after reading the outrageous, insensitive and blind criticism of the Zionists on anyone who dares speak out against these atrocities can one claim that we are living in a civilized world?

Behind the pretext of defending itself from the “suicide bombers” the Israelis are committing unspeakable crimes against humanity. When will their supporters come to their senses and realize that each human being in this world loves his life. No one wants to send his/her children to die for nothing unless they have lost hope. For God’s sake if you believe in a just God be fair and think about the feelings of those whom you humiliate day and night and destroy their houses like naughty children playing with the nests of birds. And then these poor lot can not even take their case the so called world body, the UN. Can you feel their frustration? During the holocaust if the Zionists had the means they would have done to the Nazis more than what the Palestinians are doing to them.

Any way I salute the courage of the British Medical Journal for publishing such a bold article and Derek Summerfield for his brave move because by going to such an extent he has definitely put his career at risk. The Zionists are not so forgiving.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 13:01 ------"Once again the Palestinian death not mentioned" ------

Philip Lempert, physician, USA 14850 qoutes the AP story about the Palestinian Suicide bomber. But he fails to mention the other well reported story that one hour after the above suicide bombing, a 12 year old Palestinian boy was shot dead by a IDF soldier for throwing stones at an armoured vehicle.

Indeed only the Israeli life is valuable to a Zionist.

Competing interests: None declared

**

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 13:57 ------"They kill them for their sport." ------

I am a postgrad in English Literature here in [edited], and got involved with the conflict through the activities of the International Solidarity Movement, so I am not a neutral observer when I pass comment, but then it would be difficult to be neutral as the Israelis so wish, after seeing the ghastly and wilful destruction of life and property the IDF inflicts, especially in Gaza and Rafah.

And yes, the deliberate targeting of children is policy. Chris McGreal noted the effects as well:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1007051,00.html

Anyway, I would like to thank Dr Summerfield for this intervention, clearly made out of decency, common sense, care and integrity, speaking out like a doctor should. We get so many opinions from doctors in this country, about the vagaries of health. It's heartening when this opinion can also be expressed by a doctor, and I commend the BMJ for having the integrity to publish.

No-one denies the evil of suicide bombing, but there is a longer history than that, and current Israeli policy includes child murder.

I had a friend in Nablus, a 14 year old boy named Baha, who used to teach International Solidarity Movement people Arabic. He was such a lovely child, never picked up a stone in his life, very bright and handsome and smiling. He was shot dead in the presence of 4 ISMers, by a sniper who emerged from an APC. The army said he had a petrol bomb in his hand, which slipped and burnt him to death. There was no proper investigation, even with four European witnesses there. How desperately sad. Baha was shot dead to try and get ISM to leave the area and stop witnessing the constant murder and mayhem of the IDF against the Palestinian population and infrastructure.

It is only right to defend the rights of civilians on both sides of a conflict, unfortunately, civilians on the Palestinian side are not as equal as other civilians.

This morning there are more such reports of chidren being killed, two twelve year old boys for stone throwing, and an eight year old girl in the wrong place at the wrong time, which basically means anywhere in Palestine, to the IDF.

http://www.palestinemonitor.org/new_web/november_update_archive.htm

The list goes on and on, a third of Palestinian casulaties are under 15.

Good on Dr Summerfield for noticing and reporting these dreadful crimes against children.

best,

Competing interests: None declared **

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 13:57 ------"Dr Summerfields article" ------

Hello i would just like to express my support towards you people for making certain facts aware regarding the zionist policy. This as a matter of fact actuallyy happens and is not shown in the british media

I would like to whole heatedly thank you for publishing the Dr Summerfields article. IT has made a lot of people aware of how the zionists act, by killing innocent children.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 14:23 ------"Congratulations for Righteous Indignation!" ------

Congratulations to Dr Summerfield and to the BMJ. But…

I have always assumed the BMJ to be a glorious exalted and esteemed journal, or so I have heard, but when I read the first two lines of Dr Summerfields article I knew straight away that it was not.

How dare Dr Summefield write anything that puts Israel in a bad light?

So what if the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) kills children? So what if they are killed by sniper wounds? Even snipers have bad days! Dr Summerfield has clearly never ever been a Sniper? What if the 621 children looked like adults through those telescopes? What if your finger slips, hey Summerfield? Why don’t you try to learn sniping before you comment on it?

Snipers are not anti-Semites but honest law abiding Israeli citizens and Dr Summerfield is clearly NOT a Sniper.

How dare the BMJ publish stuff that puts Israel in a bad light? How dare the BMJ allow people to publish personal views that are backed by facts… that put Israel in a bad light? Don’t they know nothing over there at BMJ editorials?

Tell you what BMJ, I’m going to subscribe to your publication, and then I’m going to CANCEL my subscription as a mark of my righteous indignation that you published Dr Summerfield’s article. (Incidentally you might also want to know, I am lead to believe, that Dr Summefield has never even been to sniping school and as such he can not comment on snipers shooting children in the head, neck or chest.)

Dr Summerfield goes on to mention stats by The and Amnesty International and research from John Hopkins but what do they know? How dare they back Dr Summerfields blatant anti-semitism.

We need action! We need action fast. Clearly this sort of thing must never be allowed to happen again. The laws of free speech must be amended, once again so that everyone understands them clearly.

I believe that if we write lots of angry responses to the BMJ about this shocking, shocking article we will get both the BMJ and Dr Summerfield fired.

I will also be sending a letter to the Prime Minister and The President stating that it should be made an offence to criticize 1) Israel 2) Israeli Defense Force 3) Israeli Policy and 4) Snipers

After all Snipers need protection from people like Summerfield.

Competing interests: 1) Friend of Israel. 2) Zionist.

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 15:02 ------"RE; Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes" ------

Thank you for seeing fit to print this article by Derek Summerfield. There are not many publications which would have the courage to print such a piece for fear of the backlash. Although every little stone thrown by a palestinian child is given prominance of place in many a written publication, it is rare indeed to come across an article which could be construed as criticising the Israeli occupiers.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 15:08 ------"Dr Summerfield's article" ------

Thank you for publishing such an article which highlights the truths that are usually never printed in the mainstream British press. Best wishes,

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 15:15 ------"Interesting and Brave" ------

Interesting and Brave response

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 17:53 ------"Article of truth!" ------

Firstly, I would like to the thank BMJ for publishing Dr Summerfield's article. The actions of the Israeli defence force have had a devastating effect on the Palestinian population. I do not condone suicide bombing, but one can begin to see how an individual can be driven to take such drastic action. When basic human rights are snatched, and a people are harassed on a daily basis as they struggle to cope with the difficulties imposed on them, it is totally understandable that a person will decide on strapping bombs to his body when he has just seen his baby shot dead.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 20:02 ------"Accurate analysis of the war crimes committed by the Israeli army" ------

I would like to thank both the BMJ and Dr Summerfield for writing such an informative and factual article. Even after knowing the facts, those people who are still defending war crimenals should be ashamed of theirself. Let peace prevail in this world.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 20:14 ------"Some truthful reporting" ------

I thank the author of the article for daring to publish the truth about what happens on a daily basis in Palestine. Many of the people defending Israel say that Israel is simply trying to stop terrorism and is resporting to such measures to stop terrorism, however, they never mention the fact that Palestinians fight only because nearly 5 million of them are refugees who descend from, or are, people who were ethnically cleansed from palestine by the Israeli army in 1948 and thereafter and whose land is being occupied by racist settlers from around the world. They have had to endure conditions more worse than apartheid South Africa while their nemesis is funded by the world's only superpower, the USA. Thus the claim that the Israeli's are fighting terrorism is a red herring, their actions are the catalyst for the Palestinian actions.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 21:35 ------"Palestine truths" ------

I write to thank you for having published Dr Summerfield’s article, especially in view of the fact that the atrocities about which he writes are hardly ever printed in the mainstream British press.

Do not be perturbed by the barrage of pro-Israeli complaints that you have no doubt received about the article.

Sincerely

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 00:12 ------"Re: Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes" ------

The right of the occupied people to resist the occupation is recognized in the UN Charter. The behaviour of the professional soldiers has to be judged by a different yardstick than the one used to judge rag tag guerilla operatives.

The critics of the article fail to realize that even if some Governments are permitted to kill legally,they must do so after a court of law says so. Israel, United States, Pakistan, India, Syria, , Yemen and Uzbekistan, to name a few, have engaged in extra judicial killings. United States does so outside the US borders, mostly. Israel does so all over the world.

It is the responsibility of intelligentia ( doctors, teachers, professors, lawyers, journalists) to pressure the politicians to negotiate with the leadership of the warring parties as it exists, rather than trying to install a leadership of their choice, but without a following. This article has done a service, by stimulating the discussion.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 3 Nov 2004 02:36 ------"Thank you" ------

Thank you for publishing Dr Summerfield’s article, especially in view of the fact that these truths are never printed in the mainstream British press.

Its always a refreshing read to hear the other side of the story which is too often ignored by the mass media.

Dr Summerfield has merely stated the truth and we need many more of these brave people to state the truth that is so easily hidden or distorted by the mainstream press.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 4 Nov 2004 12:19 Rapid Response ID: bmj_el;83820 ------"excellent" ------

Palestine is one of the most important issues today. As long as the brutal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands goes on we will have no peace in the world. Anyway the message can get out, whether in a medical journal or home decorating magazine it matters not. People must be made aware of the long suffering of the Palestinian people.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 4 Nov 2004 13:50

------"courageous and informative" ------

I am writing to make a comment on Dr Derek Summerfield's courageous and interesting article on Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and the many negative responses your publication has received.

Israel's apologists manage to devise one problematical rationale after another to stifle any exposure of Israel's transgressions. At times they bellow "it's not balanced". But how you balance a 10 to 1 death ratio is conveniently not addressed. At other times it is charged that the criticism "is reminiscent of Der Sturmer" or "it conjurs up the old canard of dual loyalties". Then, of course, there's the old standby, "it's anti Semitic".

This time respondents are claiming that the British Medical Journal is not the proper forum. If you can't mention a situation where people are being shot, maimed and killed in a medical journal I don't know where it can be alluded to. Would these critics raise the same objection to a "politically correct" article on the treatment of Jews during World War Two? I would be surprised if there hasn't been such articles in the British Medical Journal in the past.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 4 Nov 2004 15:39 [IS THIS A DUPLICATE?] Rapid Response ID: bmj_el;83839 ------"Obeisance to the truth:" ------

Firstly I think the article published is an opinion by Derek Summerfield and last time I checked ‘One’ was allowed to voice their point of view in a "free and democratic society." That’s what makes us different? The current predisposition is that we are a civilised and open society as opposed to those barbarians in the Middle East and Asia who suppress their peoples and take away their freedoms! Am I stating something incorrect? Are we not pillared by the main stream press about the draconian laws and conditions of the Southern world or should I say Islamic nations? So if that is the case than surely we here in the developed world should be able to act in a multifarious manner and be able to present and represent the weltanschauung born out of our own personal experiences and knowledge without being harangued by the pro Zionist lobby that seems to shriek and ululate every-time the word Israel is mentioned!

For these so called learned people who act and voice their opinions in such a repetitive and banal manner about the notion that everything mentioned about Israel is anti Jewish or Anti Zionism, I suggest you either pick up the dictionary yourself or learn the meaning of the term Semite! According to ‘The Oxford English Dictionary’: Semite is “a member of a people speaking a Semitic language, in particular the Jews and Arabs.” Thus an Arab cannot be an anti-Semite technically or practically. A westerner who supports an Arab also cannot be termed anti-Semite so where’s the logic? As for being anti-Jewish! Well those of you who are Jewish and know your history and your religion and the code of life preached will know that Muslims and Jews are brothers! A matter of fact is that the true Jew does not recognise the Israeli Zionists who are currently hijacking Israel. Please visit this website: http://www.nkusa.org/. The Jewish people have endured much and the Muslims have no argument with them neither do they seek to vitiate their status as the citizens of Israel. But the atrocities that are being carried out currently are as horrendous if not worse then the holocausts by The Nazis. For a generation of people who have suffered so much ‘The Zionists’ have assumed a plenipotentiary mantle of the Jewish people to further their own cause. With the aid of strategically placed Druzhenniki in western institutions the Zionists stamp out dissent and cover their nefarious actions. This perfervid excoriation of any account of the suffering and dire situation of The Palestinians has reached endemic proportions in The West. Those reporting are treated with insolence and any who may have proffered a similar view are attacked by the ancillaries of ‘Eretz Israel’ incessantly through all the available media outlets. Thus, Mr Summerfield my personal comment to you is that it takes courage to make a statement that contains truth and challenges the obduracy of the tautological accounts being expounded by the Western media which systematically expunges the plight of the Palestinians and continually portrays them in a vituperative and sub-human manner so as to reduce their character and thus eschew the westerners from any emotional or human connectivity to them! You are an example not an anti-Semite or ‘hater’. I pray to God that persons from all denominations, faiths and eruditions can begin to show some veracity and refrain from the invidious comments and actions made in a tendentious manner so as to further divide humanity into its perceived camps. Therefore, I urge you the neutral to indeed view both sides of the story but look at the source of your information and then decide for yourself.

Question: How can stone throwers be a viable threat? By blowing themselves up as suicide bombers of course! However, I don’t think they do it for fun! Do you?

Wake up humanity! The West needs to wake up, its creating another war with desperate and the needy! This time the desperate and the needy far outnumber the satiated! For those who have nothing; they have nothing to lose! For those who have it all, they have a lot to preserve! There’s only one loser in this war!

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 4 Nov 2004 18:04 ------"BMJ should not be intimidated by Jewish propoganda" ------

I admire BMJ for publishing - Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes by Mr. Derek Summerfield. It is an eye opener about the plight of Palestinian people at the hands of tyrant Israeli government. There is no one to speak about the atrocities committed by Sheron and his gang and whoever speaks against these atrocities are accused for anti- Semitism. BMJ should not be intimidated by Zionist propoganda.

Competing interests: None declared

**

------Date submitted: 4 Nov 2004 02:36 ------"Thank you Dr. Summerfield " ------

I want to thank BMJ for printing Derek Summerfield's article about Palestine. In a day and age where the world seems to want to ignore the atrocities taking place in Palestine it is refreshing to see someone pay attention to the reality of what is going on and inform the rest of the world about it.

It is disheartening to see so many people either ignorant or apathetic to the situation in the Middle East. We need to realize that unless there is a global effort to punish Isreal for brutally murdering so many innocent women and children this will not come to an end.

Thank you Dr. Summerfield for your report and I hope the world learns from it and people action in their communities to pressure their respective governments to hold Israel accountable.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 5 Nov 2004 13:53 ------"Palestinian casualties--Summerfield article" ------

I fully support the fact that such a topic can be raised in a prestigious medical journal: the wider health impacts of a military occupation on the occupied population should be a matter of broad medical interest. Israel has occupied the West Bank and Gaza since 1967, and the Palestinian population have resisted this, mostly non-violently but sometime with violence which, when involving Israeli civilians, also should be condemned. Such incidents are given full media coverage. The routine killings and woundings (>26,000 since October 2000) of civilian Palestinians are rarely given prominence, and neither are the health effects of the Separation Wall now being built.

Dr Summerfield deserves our thanks for raising these statistics.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 8 Nov 2004 17:53 ------"Thanks" ------

An interesting read, quite disturbing (the info), but thankyou very much for the publication, its been useful.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 8 Nov 2004 03:43 ------"Journal besmirches it's good name" ------

This prestigious journal should be embarassed to have lent it's good name to such inaccurate and obviously anti-Israel biased filth.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 10 Nov 2004 18:45

------"At last, some common sense" ------

I would like to congratulate Derek Summerfield for being brave enough to write such an article while most of the mainstream newspapers have decided to ignore the documented atrocities happening in occupied territories for over half a century.

For decades, the world have sanctioned and encouraged Israel to conduct its state terrorism in open view by allowing it to by-pass countless UN resolutions. Undoubtedly, this has fostered the feeling of unaccountability within the Israeli institutions and its military apparatus.

Therefore, it is not surprising to know that soldiers who have been conditioned as killing machines are murdering children, women and the elderly at free will. So why is the world still ignoring the cries of the Palestinians. Where are the people who opposed previous aparthaids and genocides.The Palestinian situation is no different. The world has been black-mailed into seeing the Israelis as victims, scared they would be labelled as "anti-semitic".

It is about time that we all opened our eyes to the realities on the ground and this article will surely help us to do it.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 12 Nov 2004 02:08 ------"Thanking BMJ" ------

Welldone to the BMJ for publishing an article supporting the plight of the palestinian people, especially when the mainstream british press is hellbent on hiding these issues from their readers.

A big thumbs up for the BMJ : )

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 13 Nov 2004 20:51 ------"dr summerfields larticle" ------

I'd like to thank you for publishing doctor summerfield's article. Such truths are never printed in the mainstream British media and it is refreshing to see the Palestinian viewpoint being argued.

Competing interests: None declared

** ------Date submitted: 15 Nov 2004 10:09 ------"AntiSemitic attack in disguse of scientific research" ------

I am appalled by your biased, anti-Israeli article. You people do not have the moral right to criticize Israelis. The Israeli soldiers constantly subject themselves to risk, unnecessary in military terms, because they fighting the terrorists trying to minimize civilian casualties. The Palestinian terrorists are not hindered by these considerations. They murder children in cold blood, at point blank. They use ambulances and UN vehicles to transport suicide bombers. The use hospitals and houses of civilians to launch missile attack. Is the author familiar with the case when 15-year old Palestinian was shot by "guerilla fighters" because he refused to allow them to fire the mortar from his backyard? As for scientific of the article, its findings can be put into one sentence: "War causes hardship for the health care". Brilliant! The only "originality" of this article is in its other revelation: "War causes hardship for the health care, and the Jews are to blame". I understand that my response is too late to publish. I just wanted to express my disgust.

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 15 Nov 2004 10:37 ------"A Tad Churlish" ------

I read with absolute disbelief the comments by Dr. Struthers. Talk about trivialisation of a serious problem. Robert Maxwell may have been an extremely controversial figure but he was certainly not a murderer nor a terrorist. His family arranged for him to be buried in a private cemetery in Israel. Big deal. The Palestinians wanted to bury Yasser Arafat who was responsible for killing more Jews than anyone since Hitler at the site of the ancient Jewish Temple, the holiest site in Judaism. That would have been about as appropriate as burying Hitler there. If I had not been entirely convinced by all the correspondents' protests that their intentions are for the good of mankind then I would suspect that Dr Struthers' comments are somewhat antisemitic. But of course he cannot be because he is merely anti-Israel and he cannot understand why the family of a Jewish swindler (if that is what is what he really was) should be allowed to bury him in a Jewish cemetery in Israel whereas the Israelis refused to bury a terrorist murderer on the Temple Mount. A tad churlish indeed!

Competing interests: I live and work in Israel.

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------Date submitted: 15 Nov 2004 18:56 ------"THANK YOU FOR RAISING THE TRUTH" ------

THANK YOU FOR RAISING THE TRUTH

Competing interests: None declared

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------Date submitted: 15 Nov 2004 22:49 ------"Parallel And Linked Genocides: Iraq And Palestine " ------

Remember the optimistic forecasts of a dozen years ago that in a post -Soviet world, without the bitter conflict of two competing systems, and with the triumph of the liberal capitalist West, we would soon see the spread of peace, tolerance and prosperity? The reverse has happened: corporate concentration and globalization, and the aggressive projection of the now uncontained military power of the United States, have helped erode democratic substance and increase inequality, conflict, ethnic cleansing and open warfare on a global scale.

What is truly remarkable, however, is that in this New World Order, genocide, supposedly something the world community would "never again" allow to happen after the horror of the Nazi Holocaust, has become more commonplace, in process today in two separate but neighboring locales, with the two politically linked to one another. It is also notable that these parallel and mutually-supportive genocides are being implemented by the superpower that claims to be a repository of a higher morality, and by its Israeli client, widely regarded in the United States as a "light unto others" (Anthony Lewis), and whose Jewish citizens are heirs of the victims of the Nazi genocide.

In these ongoing genocides the United States has been the dominant factor, carrying out one of them directly and facilitating the second by aid to, and protection of its implementer. It has pressed the "sanctions of mass destruction" that have decimated the Iraq population, and it is preparing for a war of aggression against that victim state and populace that should add to an already immense death toll. Israel, on its side, has been engaged in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians for half a century, with crucial U.S. economic and military aid and diplomatic protection, but it has stepped up its cleansing pace under the protection of George Bush and the "war on terror." The United States uses Israel as its proxy to help it maintain domination in the Middle East and for other services, and Israel uses the United States to help it pursue a "redeeming the land" from non-Jewish inhabitants in the occupied territories.

For Israel, Iraq has been a rival local power that it is happy to have its protector destroy and occupy, and as noted by numerous Israeli and other commentators -- but ignored in the U.S. mainstream media -- under the cover of the war which the United States is preparing to unleash, Israel will be able to ethnically cleanse the occupied territories more rapidly. This possibility is under active discussion in Israel itself. The two genocides are also linked by the close connection between the military establishments of the two states, and by the force of the powerful pro-Israel lobby in the United States, which advances Israeli interests by pushing for U.S. aid and protection to Israel, and, currently, by pressing for a war against Iraq, which again will serve Israeli interests. This lobby has not only helped control media debate and made congress into "Israeli occupied territory," it has seen to it that numerous officials with "dual loyalties" occupy strategic decision- making positions in the Bush administration (see Kathleen and Bill Christison, "A Rose By Another Name: The Bush Administration's Dual Loyalties," Counterpunch, Dec. 13, 2002).

The word "genocide" has been used too freely in modern times, and as in the case of "terrorism," it is applied with the double standard that is so familiar and so integral to the Free Press's propaganda service. William Safire states that "our patrol of a no-fly zone in Iraq...protects Iraqi Kurds from genocide" (The New York Times, Feb. 26, 2001), but Safire would never suggest that the Turkish Kurds need protection from genocide, let alone Iraqi civilians subjected to U.S.-sponsored sanctions, bombings, and prospective massive attack. The word was used frequently by the mainstream media in reference to Serb actions in Kosovo, and earlier to their operations in Bosnia; but as regards U.S. policy toward Iraq or Israeli actions in the occupied territories, on the rare occasions when the word appears it is always something that only Arabs and other foreigners allege. For example, "genocide" was used in The New York Times 85 times in application to the Serbs in Kosovo in 1999, 16 times in Op-Ed columns; but the word shows up only nine times in reference to Israel in 1999, never in an editorial or Op-Ed column, and always referring briefly to allegations by non-Americans.

It is also notable that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY, or Tribunal) has used the word genocide freely, with Milosevic and numerous others indicted for allegedly carrying out that crime. In 1996 Radovan Karadzic was accused of "genocidal intent" based in good part on a statement he made in 1991 calling on Alija Izetbegovic to recognize the Bosnian Serb desire to remain in Yugoslavia - - Karadzic said "do not think that you will not perhaps make the Muslim people disappear, because the Muslims cannot defend themselves if there is a war -- How will you prevent everyone from being killed in Bosnia- Herzegovina?" Although this muddled sentence was made as a warning to avoid a war, it was presented by the Tribunal as serious evidence of genocidal intent. U.S. warnings that it might "end states" harboring terrorists, and scores of Israeli statements dehumanizing their victims and expressing an intent to displace or otherwise get rid of non-Jews in Eretz Israel are treated differently in the West.

Arguably, policies that carry state terrorism to the point of mass killings for political ends and "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part" (Article 2(c) of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide), constitute genocide. The sanctions policy carried out against Iraq, which was installed following the destruction of major civilian facilities affecting health and nutrition during the 1991 Persian Gulf war, would seem to meet that condition of genocide, and the imminent war against the crushed populace will reinforce this conclusion. The 1991 destruction of the water and sewage systems were clearly understood by U.S. officials to threaten civilian health; one Defense Intelligence Agency document of 1991 states that "Conditions are favorable for communicable disease outbreaks, particularly in major urban areas affected by coalition bombing" (Thomas J. Nagy, "The Secret Behind the Sanctions: How the U.S. Intentionally Destroyed Iraq's Water Supply," The Progressive, September 2001). Numerous U.S. and British interventions in the sanctions process since then have prevented their repair, as well as denying other aid to the suffering civilian population (Joy Gordon, "Sanctions as a Weapon of Mass Destruction," Harper's Magazine, Nov. 2002). Among many similar statements by high-ranking U.S. officials, Robert Gates stated in 1991 that "Iraqis will be made to pay the price while Saddam Hussein is in power." That is, this has been intentional mass killing with no apparent limit until the objective of "regime change" is achieved.

The numbers killed in Iraq have already been impressive: estimates run from 1-1.5 million, about half small children. Back in 1996 Madeleine Albright conceded on national TV that 500,000 children might have died as a result of sanctions, but she said this was "worth it." Karl and John Mueller, writing in Foreign Affairs ("Sanctions of Mass Destruction," May/June 1999), concluded that the sanctions had killed more Iraqis than had been killed by "all the weapons of mass destruction in human history." Needless to say, the numbers killed by the sanctions tower above the totals in Bosnia, that were greeted with horror in the West as a clear case of genocide (the numbers killed there were almost surely under 60,000, although the Bosnian Muslim estimate of 200-250,000 was taken as gospel by David Rieff et al. [see Diana Johnstone, "Fools' Crusade," 53- 55]). The UN now estimates that a U.S. war could place 10 million Iraqis in further jeopardy, especially in light of their dependence on government aid for survival and the likely effect of the war on transport and communication.

Thus, it must be regarded as one of the miraculous achievements of war-supportive propaganda that the U.S. media have not only kept this 12- year ongoing genocide out of sight, but have also made the U.S. concern for removing Saddam and getting rid of his "threat" into a great moral crusade -- the United States as benevolent genocidist! The media describe U.S. patience as exhausted with the bad man -- who had been supplied with weapons of mass destruction by the United States (and Britain), and who had used them only under U.S. diplomatic protection in the 1980s. Perhaps the Indonesian media in the years of Indonesian genocide in East Timor (1975-80) made Indonesia into a moral force doing its noble duty in preventing infidels from taking power in the victim state. They couldn't have surpassed the performance of the Free Press, which has literally hidden an ongoing genocide in the process of helping its leaders prepare the public for war -- and for an add-on genocide.

Israel's genocidal policies have been advancing slowly but surely, as the Israelis have been engaged in a long-term process of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in order to "redeem the land" for Jews. This has been the clear aim from Theodore Herzl in 1895 -- "the process of expropriation...must be carried out discretely and circumspectly" -- to Ariel Sharon in 1998 -- "Everything we don't grab will go to them." The victims have resisted, mainly by peaceable means, as in the first intifada, where more than a thousand Palestinians were killed by the ethnic cleansing state. But then, in intifada 2, the even more desperate Palestinian population resorted to suicide bombing violence. Peaceable means had achieved nothing -- the UN and "international community" had failed over the course of decades to end the relentless ethnic cleansing. Intifada 2 has produced an Israeli escalation of violence and a new structure of genocidal thought within Israel on policies of immiseration and "transfer," that threatens further advances in "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its destruction, in whole or in part."

What Israel has been able to get away with is stunning. First, it is an openly racist state, explicitly designed for Jews, with others automatically second class citizens -- a "Herrenvolk democracy" ruled by a "master people," says Baruch Kimmerling, a sociologist at the Hebrew University in Tel Aviv. If Jews were treated in France as Israel's Arab citizens have been treated in Israel there would have been a huge international outcry about antisemitism and racism, and France would have been condemned and ostracized. Israel is the only nation privileged to be a racist state, able even to give Jews abroad more rights in Israel than indigenous Arabs.

Back in 1999, Harvard "human rights" professor and newly appointed New York Times Magazine regular contributor Michael Ignatieff, explained why the Serbs could be expected to kill Albanians at Racak: "The reason is simple...only in Serbia is racial contempt an official ideology." This was a straightforward lie: Belgrade was a multi-ethnic city and Albanians living there were not subject to discrimination, and in his famous 1989 speech in which he allegedly proclaimed nationalist-ethnic superiority, Milosevic said that "Yugoslavia is a multiethnic community, and it can survive only on condition of full equality of all nations that live in it." No statement conflicting with this one can be found in his speech, and nowhere does he proclaim ethnic superiority or an intent to ethnically cleanse. On the other hand, you will find no statement like Milosevic's from Ariel Sharon, or from the late Yitzhak Rabin for that matter, but you can locate dozens expressing racial contempt and an intention to ethnically cleanse. But Michael Ignatieff has not yet found these worthy of attention as he channels his human rights concerns elsewhere, and dissembles in the process.

Second, Israel has long been able to ethnically cleanse and settle its privileged people in the occupied territories in violation of the claimed Western moral aversion to ethnic cleansing, the consensus of the world community, and international law. The phrase "ethnic cleansing," like "genocide" used freely by the media to describe Serb operations in Bosnia and Kosovo, is almost never applied to Israel's operations in the occupied territories, although the phrase is far more applicable there than in the Balkans (for data, see my "Israel's Approved Ethnic Cleansing, Part 3," Z Magazine, June 2001). In Bosnia you had an ugly 4-5 year war for territorial control that involved ethnic cleansing among three competing parties, with the supposedly weaker party (the Bosnian Muslims) given major aid by NATO, Saudi Arabia, and the mujahidin -- whereas Israel ethnically cleanses a virtually unarmed populace, with massive U.S. military aid, over decades. In Kosovo there was only a civil war (though supported from the outside) -- and the Serbs were never pushing out Kosovo Albanians to make way for Serb occupancy. By contrast, in the territories occupied by Israel, the ethnic cleansing is very clearly to make way for settlements by the "chosen people." Only Palestinian homes are demolished and only their olive and fruit trees uprooted by the thousands.

Once again, we find that Michael Ignatieff came through with great indignation at Serb expulsions in Kosovo, based again on a lie: Ignatieff stated that "Milosevic decided to solve an 'internal problem' by exporting an entire nation to his impoverished neighbors...a final solution of the Kosovo problem." He neglected mentioning that the exodus of Albanians occurred only AFTER NATO began its bombing war; that the KLA was working in coordination with NATO during this war and that Serb attacks and expulsions were concentrated in strong KLA areas and can therefore be explained by military demands and strategies; and that a higher percentage of Serbs than Albanians fled during the bombing war. But again, while indignant in his dissembling about Serb expulsions, Ignatieff is silent about the Israeli ethnic cleansing that is real, open and purposeful; a case also where there are ongoing discussions of "exporting an entire nation" to Israel's impoverished neighbors. Ignatieff has found that carefully channeled indignation in accord with the state agenda pays off[edited]

Despite the extreme clarity of the Israeli ethnic cleansing program the Free Press focuses on the "worthy" victims (Israelis), not on the "unworthy" ones (Palestinians) being expropriated, in accord with their government's agenda. This parallels the press usage of "terrorism" and "retaliation," again in close accord with a political agenda. In Israel itself, resisting army officers, holocaust survivors, and numerous intellectuals repeatedly point to the occupation and ethnic cleansing as the root of the problem: that "Israel is not defending its democracy, but an ethnic- supremacist regime...[that] rules over millions of people under atrocious conditions of blockade and curfew" (Aeyal Gross, Tel Aviv University); and when will the world "stop neglecting the fact that the goal of the Israeli Government is not security, but the continued occupation and subjugation of the Palestinian people?" (Lev Grinberg, Ben Gurion University). Israel's leaders "have built a hothouse for rearing suicide bombers. A person whose beloved brother has been killed, whose house has been destroyed in an orgy of vandalism, who has been mortally humiliated before the eyes of his children, goes to the market and buys a rifle" (peace activist Uri Avneri).

More recently, critical Israeli analysts have been stressing the Israeli leadership plans to accelerate their genocidal operations (Ur Shlonsky, "Zionist Ideology, the Non-Jews, and the State of Israel," University of Geneva, Feb. 10, 2002 -- quotes that follow are from this article). In this analysis, it is recognized that the first order of business is to crush the Palestinian resistance: "The civilian population must be terrorized, assuring maximal destruction of property and cultural resources." Second, in preparation for expulsions like those of 1948, a war must be encouraged. In parallel, "the daily life of the Palestinians must be rendered unbearable: They should be locked up in the cities and towns, prevented from exercising normal economic life, cut off from workplaces, schools and hospitals. This will encourage emigration and weaken the resistance to future expulsions." Third, the Palestinian political class must be eliminated by assassination or expulsions. Fourth, settlement activity must continue and expand to produce facts on the ground.

All of this will stimulate "terrorism" on the part of the victims, but that will be good -- it will sow fear in the Israeli population and play into the hands of the hardliners. Thus, "all the elements are put in place for what Des Forges, in another context, called 'the genocidal campaign.' Further, continued Kamikaze actions and the media coverage they elicit furnish a central element in the struggle to rally world opinion to the Zionist Cause." As this genocidal campaign will cause criticism abroad, despite the efforts of the Western media to put it in the best possible light, Jewish communities abroad must be mobilized to protect the Israeli operations. "In this context it becomes necessary to utilize and in the long run to encourage, the hatred of Jews in Europe and elsewhere in order to create Jewish solidarity with the Zionist project." This will involve casting aside a long tradition of Jewish support for enlightened secular and universalist goals in favor of a parochial purpose that demands backing radical ethnic cleansing and genocide itself, led by Likud leaders like Sharon and Netanyahu.

In short, conditions are ripe for ridding Palestine of its unwanted non-Jewish occupants. The Palestinians in the occupied territories are now regularly treated with contempt, humiliated, and with Geneva Convention violations "committed daily, hourly, even every minute by the Israeli authorities against Palestinians" (Amnesty International, April 2, 2002). They are called "lice," "grasshoppers," "cockroaches," and " that need to be removed," by high officials of the state, with no critical reaction in the West. The Israeli populace has suffered heavy casualties and is fearful and prone to listen to leaders who promise them "security" through more forceful action against the Palestinians.

The surge of suicide bombings has brought into power leaders like Ariel Sharon, with a long record of ruthlessness and anti-civilian violence, perfect to implement an advanced system of ethnic cleansing, including "exporting an entire nation" to neighboring states. The Israeli genocide now under Sharon management has thus far not involved mass killing, although the levels have been impressive (1,200 Palestinians killed and 9,900 injured by Israel Defense Forces in the territories in 2002). The Israeli method has been to make the conditions of life of the Palestinians unbearable, by destroying their infrastructure, reducing them to penury, isolation, humiliation, fear, and hopelessness. This state terrorism is designed to make them subject to easy domination in Bantustans, to induce their "voluntary" transfer, and to ready them for forced mass expulsion.

In Israel, Sharon can speak of "taking advantage of the opportunity" presented by a battle in Hebron to "minimise the number of Palestinians living among Jewish settlers," and Benjamin Netanyahu can say "we are going to cleanse the whole area and do the work ourselves" and these statements are kept in the black hole in the Western media (cited only by Henry Siegman in the International Herald Tribune, Jan. 7, 2003) -- while the Yugoslav Tribunal looks desperately for statements like these from Milosevic that would justify his condemnation for "genocide"!

Sharon can escalate his violence because the Bush administration has given him a blank check to ethnically cleanse, if done with moderate discretion. How much discretion is needed will depend on the media's cooperation, and that has been exemplary. In Israel itself, Gideon Levy reports that "If the acts of killing and the arrests are marginally reported by the media, the imprisonment of the entire Palestinian people is continuing uninterrupted and unreported. Whole cities, parts of which lie in ruins, are under almost unceasing curfew; an entire population is unable to move from one village to the next...without the authorization of the occupation army -- but within the Israeli public there is not even an echo of this" (Haaretz, Dec. 20, 2002).

The same low-key reporting characterizes the U.S. media, who have long treated Sharon as a respectable and responsible statesman rather than a world class state terrorist. They do not report on, dramatize with stories of personal suffering, or criticize with any indignation his cruel siege against a virtually unarmed populace, or the enlarging settlements - - and they have never focused on or criticized these for racist discrimination, ethnic cleansing, and illegality. These daily attacks, humiliations, and policies of beggaring the population, have been normalized, placed occasionally on the back pages, as the mainstream media handled reports of Nazi killings of Jews during World War II. The media refuse to address, let alone criticize, the policy intent of the Sharon government, which clearly includes possible "transfer." Henry Siegman states that Sharon has boasted to his inner circle of his new freedom of action, where, in contrast with a year ago his forces "move about as they please throughout the entire West Bank and Gaza, and no one says anything." This sets the stage for the next phase of the genocidal project.

The world community has opposed Israel's policies for decades, but Israel can pursue them because the United States prevents effective action against the ethnic cleanser, and even actively supports its ethnic cleansing. General Assembly votes on action to restrain Israel and to force it to adhere to Security Council rulings usually run about 150 or 160 to 2 or 3. Israel is also in continuous violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits an occupying power from taking over land of the occupied territory and abusing its populace. Israel has long ignored this, with U.S. protection.

The world community has also opposed the U.S.-British-organized Iraq genocide by sanctions and threatened war against Iraq. But here also, the "international community" has done nothing to interfere with the 12 years of sanctions, and has even allowed these partners to use the UN as their instrument of death-dealing. The international community is putting up only token resistance to the planned war of aggression. Kevin Begley comments with some justice that the UN resolution 1441 calling for intensified inspections "is the greatest example of appeasement since Chamberlain gave in to Hitler over Czechoslovakia." Instead of challenging the planned aggression the Security Council has given the United States a UN cover to justify it, with numerous built-in trip-wires for finding "material breaches" and rationalizing war that the Bush administration will take advantage of unless the political cost appears too high.

The media and pro-Israel lobby have played a crucial role in facilitating this double genocide. As noted, the public is unaware of the fact that their government is already responsible for a major genocide in Iraq, as it prepares for the add-on genocide. The victim state is seen as a serious threat to the pitiful giant. As regards Israel, its actions and plans are also kept largely out of view; words like ethnic cleansing and genocide are not used to describe its policies, and in another miracle of Orwellian or even Kafkaesque proportions, the suicide bombings of the primary victims are featured heavily, the systematic reduction of Palestinian life to stone age conditions in the interests of a "Greater Israel" is back page or black hole material. The stage is set for escalated transfer and genocide with the commencement of the add-on genocide against Iraq.

Competing interests: None declared