If you have nothing constructive to offer, hold your tongue

Michele Engelberg, Johannesburg

The first is his accusation that “snipers using hi-tech weapons and shooting to kill unarmed protestors on the wrong side of the fence is inhumane”. I’m so tired of people claiming that these protestors were innocent, unarmed, and peaceful, and that Israel trying to stop them from penetrating its border fence was somehow inhumane and immoral.

There were several Gaza border protests, each involving between 10 000 to 40 000 protestors. If Israel wanted to kill as many of the protestors as possible, there would have been exponentially more casualties and fatalities on the Palestinian side. Imagine tens of thousands of belligerent “protestors” trying to breach the border of any other country. What would that government’s response have been? No. Israel was not trying to kill as many Palestinians as possible during those weeks of protests. Many more would have been killed if that were the case.

Further on that point: Protestors throwing stones and Molotov cocktails (also known as petrol bombs) are not “unarmed”. I am reluctant to distinguish between these basic, unsophisticated weapons and hi-tech weapons if they both have the ability to maim and kill.

The second point made by Mr Horowitz is his admission: “We do not have to offer solutions to the crisis.” It is so easy to criticize. But criticism alone is rarely helpful. If all you can do is point fingers and make accusations against Israel from way down here in South Africa, it is simply counterproductive and undermines your credibility. The bottom line is, if you have nothing constructive to offer, please be quiet.