Rapid Responses to:

REVIEWS: Simon M Fellerman Palestinian health: the truth, the lies, and the statistics BMJ 2004; 329: 1110 [Full text]

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Thanks for helping to set the record straight

Joy Wolfe   (4 November 2004)

International justice

Mark Struthers   (5 November 2004)

Thanks for factually accurate article worthy of BMJ: more facts

Judith Issroff   (5 November 2004)

Thanks for factually accurate article worthy of BMJ: more facts

Judith Issroff   (5 November 2004)

the Inner World and the Wider World

susanne mccabe   (5 November 2004)

Re: Thanks for factually accurate article worthy of BMJ: more facts

susanne mccabe   (5 November 2004)

Facts from Amnesty International and the Israeli government

Norman Bauman   (6 November 2004)

THE THINGS IN THE RIGHT PLACE

CELIO LEVYMAN   (6 November 2004)

The myth of 97%

M. Grant   (6 November 2004)

We are indeed looking for facts and the truth

Joy Wolfe   (6 November 2004)

Re: We are indeed looking for facts and the truth

Norman Bauman   (7 November 2004)

Long Live Personal View

Rupert A Gude   (7 November 2004)

Editorial Responsibility

Simon AP Jenkins   (7 November 2004)

The Human Perspective

Isaac Hassan   (8 November 2004)

Re: Re: We are indeed looking for facts and the truth

Joy Wolfe   (8 November 2004)

Re: Editorial Responsibility

Adrian S. Blaj   (8 November 2004)

Shame on BMJ for being bullied into this 'reply'

Sami Timimi   (9 November 2004)

Palestinian health

Jeffrey S Hillman   (9 November 2004)

The UK is Apartheid

Andrew M Fink   (9 November 2004)

palestinian health

daniel c hurwitz   (9 November 2004)

It never fails to amaze me...

Yoav Tzabar   (9 November 2004)

Re: Editorial Responsibility

Mark Struthers   (10 November 2004)

Palestinian Health

Vaughan P Smith   (10 November 2004)

Re: It never fails to amaze me...

Paul Winter   (10 November 2004)

Response from Derek Summerfield

Derek A Summerfield   (11 November 2004)

Response to Derek Summerfield

Abraham Dunn   (12 November 2004)

Dear oh dear, Dr Summerfield

Mark Berelowitz   (15 November 2004)

Re: Dear oh dear, Dr Summerfield

Mark Struthers   (15 November 2004)

Response to Dr Berelowitz

derek a summerfield   (15 November 2004)

Re: Re: Dear oh dear, Dr Berelowitz

Mark Struthers   (16 November 2004)

Long Live Personal view and Rapid Responses

Rupert Gude   (21 November 2004)

Thanks for helping to set the record straight 4 November 2004
Joy Wolfe, Freelance journalist Cheadle cheshire SK8 1QY Send response to journal: Re: Thanks for helping to set the record straight	My faith in the BMJ has been at least partially restored and I want to thank you for publishing Dr. Simon Fellerman's excellent response to the very misleading article in your last edition by Derek Summerfield about Palestinian healthcare. I also welcome the selection of the very many letters you have included, particularly from medical practitioners in Israel who can give a first hand viewpoint of how many Palestinians and Arabs access the finest healthcare available to them. You only have to visit any Israeli hospital to find evidence of this. The difference between Dr Fellerman's version of Israeli healthcare for the Palestinians and Mr. Summerfield's is that the former is based on proven facts and documented data while Mr Summerfields's was a reflection of his clear bias against Israel, and was filled with misinformation and unsubstantiated allegations. Israel's contribution to the wellbeing of the world is there for all to see. New drugs for Alzheimers, Multiple Sclerosis, influenza, acne, many cancer breakthroughs, stem cell research, to name but a few, as well as many generic drugs that we in the UK now take for granted without realising we have Israel to thank for them. Also Israel is currently set to be the major world centre for diabetes research and treatment. Add to this the fact that four Israeli hospitals have special programmes to treat Palestinian children funded by Italy, that there are currently Beslan survivors being cared for in Israel, and that teams of Israeli doctors regularly visit China to carry out heart operations on children and you get the true picture of healthcare in Israel and their help for the Palestinians and others around the world. For over 30 years Israel has been providing Palestinian society with medical support. Serious diseases have been eradicated; Palestinian infant mortality rates have been dramatically reduced; Palestinian medical staff have received training in Israeli hospitals; and Israel has helped open fully equipped intensive care and open heart surgery units in Palestinian hospitals. And let us not forget that an Israeli doctor who had dedicated his lifetime's work to specialising in researching and treating Palestinians who had a particular blood disorder was gunned down in a terrorist attack, while another doctor who treated and saved the lives of many Arab patients in Shaare Zedek hospital was also the victim of a suicide attack. Ironically it was Shaare Zedek doctors who fought to save the life of a suicide bomber because of their belief that every human life is sacred. Thank you again for so promptly setting the record straight. I would like to express a hope that the columns of your journal are not used for political propaganda, like Derek Summerfield's, again in the future. Joy Wolfe Competing interests: None declared
International justice 5 November 2004
Mark Struthers, GP Bedfordshire, UK. mark.struthers@which.net Send response to journal: Re: International justice	Simon Fellerman denies “soldiers are routinely authorised to shoot to kill children”. Israel is a signatory to the Geneva Convention and Derek Summerfield’s friends the Palestinians are not. Therefore, as a stout supporter of international convention, I wonder why Israel has been coy about becoming a party to the International Criminal Court. Perhaps Dr Fellerman will consider that this is because Palestine is also not a signatory to the Rome Statute adopted by an overwhelming majority of countries in July 1998. The Israeli army appears unwilling to prosecute offenders. I personally think that Israeli soldiers who kill children should defend their behaviour in front of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The perception that the IDF is above the law is damaging and unhelpful in the search for a healthy and lasting peace. Freedom from punishment - or the ‘impunity’ that Derek Summerfield refers to - does nothing to deter the ‘crime against humanity’. Of course international justice will be denied by the ubiquitous American veto in the UN Security Council: so much for the ‘never again’ promise that was made to the world in 1948. Competing interests: None declared
Thanks for factually accurate article worthy of BMJ: more facts 5 November 2004
Judith Issroff, writing and seeking consultant post child, adolescent psychiatry or psychodynamic psychotherapy London NW33BT Send response to journal: Re: Thanks for factually accurate article worthy of BMJ: more facts	This is to express my appreciation of Simon Fellerman's and the Editors' factual and appropriate response to Derek Somerfield's 'opinions' that disgraced the pages of the BMJ. I congratulate them on this. I would add the following reference for interested readers from a recent article published by Aljazeera:http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/review/ article_full_story.asp?service_id=5458 If this report is accurate, as has long been rumoured, I think the sums mentionedby AlJAzzera that Arafat's personal fortune amounts to $4.2-6.5 - are evidence enough, along with the facts documented in Fellerman's careful article, and historical records, that Arafat, himself, has misled his own people and the world. As as an Israeli-British citizen, together with Middle Eastern - mainly Muslim and some Palestinian Christian colleagues, I attempted a constructive response to find ways in which health and allied professionals might contribute to amelioration of violent conflict situations and to build tolerant and healthier democratic societies capable of coexistence. Consequently, I can factually document further attempts made by Palestinian professionals who wanted to alleviate their own people's distress and make use of Israeli colleagues to that end. These I outlined in my previous letters to the Editors that were presumably too long to publish, but I would gladly share them with anyone interested [ issroj@yahoo.co.uk]. So I can add to the list of medical and professional services rendered by Israelis, and attest to the efforts of Israelis and Palestinians working together in NGOs to aid Palestinians. Sadly, such efforts were all scuttled by Arafat and PA policies. For instance, I think of 18 carefully drafted joint programs that were handed over to the Palestinian UNDP by my colleague Prof. As'ad Masri and myself, and to Palestinian Authority Health Ministry, and plans worked out with Al Kuds University Public Health Department. For the sake of the Palestinian people, and if there is to be any hope of peace in the Middle East, in the aftermath of Arafat's demise I hope such programs as drafted by IASC/ASULHAH in conjunction with Palestinian organizations might stand a chance of implementation without any threats to Palestinian colleagues with their own people's best interests at heart. Yours truly, Judith Issroff Competing interests: None declared
Thanks for factually accurate article worthy of BMJ: more facts 5 November 2004
Judith Issroff, writing and seeking consultant post child, adolescent psychiatry or psychodynamic psychotherapy London NW33BT Send response to journal: Re: Thanks for factually accurate article worthy of BMJ: more facts	This is to express my appreciation of Simon Fellerman's and the Editors' factual and appropriate response to Derek Somerfield's 'opinions' that disgraced the pages of the BMJ. I congratulate them on this. I would add the following reference for interested readers from a recent article published by Aljazeera:http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/review/ article_full_story.asp?service_id=5458 If this report is accurate, I think the sums mentioned by AlJAzzera that Arafat's personal fortune amounts to $4.2-6.5 are evidence enough, along with the facts documented in Fellerman's careful article, and historical records, that Arafat, himself, has misled his own people and the world. As as an Israeli-British citizen, together with Middle Eastern - mainly Muslim and some Palestinian Christian colleagues, I attempted a constructive response to find ways in which health and allied professionals might contribute to amelioration of violent conflict situations and to build tolerant and healthier democratic societies capable of coexistence. Consequently, I can factually document further attempts made by Palestinian professionals who wanted to alleviate their own people's distress and make use of Israeli colleagues to that end. These I outlined in my previous letters to the Editors that were presumably too long to publish, but I would gladly share them with anyone interested [ issroj@yahoo.co.uk]. So I can add to the list of medical and professional services rendered by Israelis, and attest to the efforts of Israelis and Palestinians working together in NGOs to aid Palestinians. Sadly, such efforts were all scuttled by Arafat and PA policies. For instance, I think of 18 carefully drafted joint programs that were handed over to the Palestinian UNDP by my colleague Prof. As'ad Masri and myself, and to Palestinian Authority Health Ministry, and plans worked out with Al Kuds University Public Health Department. For the sake of the Palestinian people, and if there is to be any hope of peace in the Middle East, in the aftermath of Arafat's demise I hope such programs as drafted by IASC/ASULHAH in conjunction with Palestinian organizations might stand a chance of implementation without any threats to Palestinian colleagues with their own people's best interests at heart. Yours truly, Judith Issroff Competing interests: None declared
the Inner World and the Wider World 5 November 2004
susanne mccabe, retired cf 23 4pf Send response to journal: Re: the Inner World and the Wider World	Lord Alderdice, Deputy Speaker of Northern Ireland Assembly,psychiatrist- psychoanalytic psychotherapist, gave a public lecture on 9th October in Bristol , arranged by the Severnside Institute (otherwise Initiative) for Psychotherapy, entitled 'Understanding Violence - the Inner World and the Wider World'. Can psychoanalysis make any difference in the wider world? Competing interests: None declared
Re: Thanks for factually accurate article worthy of BMJ: more facts 5 November 2004
susanne mccabe, rettired cf 24 3pf Send response to journal: Re: Re: Thanks for factually accurate article worthy of BMJ: more facts	Politics is a dirty game - let's not be too naive about acknowledging there will be offences committed on all sides of any major national or international power struggle. Has the way the probable death of a man likely to die very soon been reported appropriately though? Public discussions about whether he is 'brain dead' or what the likely consequences of his death are likely to be when he is suffering and probably near to the end of his life and when his family is greiving are unecessary. If we are to retain our humanity this scavenging should be restrained. Competing interests: None declared
Facts from Amnesty International and the Israeli government 6 November 2004
Norman Bauman, medical journalist 411 W. 54 St. New York NY 10019 Send response to journal: Re: Facts from Amnesty International and the Israeli government	I agree that we should start with the facts. The Amnesty International report, "Killing the Future: Israel and the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian Authority." AI Index: MDE 02/005/2002, 30 September 2002 <http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde020052002> documents examples of killing of children by both sides. The report says, "The patterns of killings described in this report show how the right to life of Palestinian and Israeli children has been repeatedly violated as a result of the systematic failure of the Israeli authorities, Palestinian armed groups, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to comply with the obligations and safeguards set down in international human rights and humanitarian law." The case of Khalil al-Mughrabi is notable, because it establishes that the Israeli Defence Forces lied in denying the charges: "Khalil Ibrahim al-Mughrabi. On 7 July 2001 three children were shot by IDF sniper fire as they were flying kites and playing soccer in an open space near the border fence at Rafah. Khalil Ibrahim al-Mughrabi, age 11, was killed by a high-velocity bullet in the head. Ibrahim Kamel Abu Sussain, age 10, and 13-year-old Suleiman Turki Abu Rijal were also shot and both sustained serious injuries in the abdomen and in the testicles, respectively. The shots came from an IDF post about 800 metres away, and the boys were in a large, open space.... The IDF claimed that there had been rioting and throwing of fragmentation grenades in the area at the time, but confidential IDF records showed that this was untrue. On 8 November 2001, the IDF informed the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem that it had decided not to initiate an investigation of the incident because there was no suspicion of criminal behaviour by the soldiers. However, a file was attached to the IDFs response, apparently in error, which contained internal records of the IDFs operational de- briefings and the opinions of the IDF Southern Command Judge Advocate and of the Chief Military Prosecutor. These documents, which have been made public by B'Tselem, show that the IDF, in spite of the evidence, decided not to order a Military Police investigation and cleared the soldiers who killed Khalil al-Mughrabi and injured the two other children..." The Israeli government published a document,"Response to Amnesty International's Report - 'Killing the Future: Children in the Line of Fire'", 1 October 2002 <http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2002/Response+to+Amnesty+International -s+Report+-+Killi.htm> The Israeli government's report does not address the specific facts of the Amnesty International report, for example the killing of Khalil al- Mughrabi. Are Amnesty International's first-hand testimonies correct or not? And if they are correct, how did the Israeli government dispose of the matter? I have personally called the Israeli embassy in the United States to ask them to respond to these charges. They were unable to do so. But don't take my word for it. Call your local Israeli embassy yourself and ask them how they respond to that Amnesty International report. (One standard reply was, "Amnesty International has an agenda.") The Israeli government writes, "Authors of the Amnesty report compare IDF operations in which Palestinian children were killed to Palestinian terror attacks in which Israeli children were killed. This comparison is unjustified and baseless." I disagree. The deliberate killing of children, without military need, as documented in the Amnesty International reports, is wrong, and criminal, whether Palestinian kill Jewish children, or Jews kill Palestinian children. (Or whether Americans kill Iraqi children, or whether Germans or Russians kill Jewish children, as my mother witnessed.) The fact that some people of one ethnicity are doing horrible things does not justify killing children of the same ethnicity. (In their defense, the Israeli government has prosecuted some soldiers for killing children and other innocent civilians, but these seem to be rare exceptions rather than the general rule.) As a Jew (and an American), I am ashamed to see overwhelming proof that the Israeli government is allowing its soldiers to kill children, and encouraging these killings by not consistently prosecuting them. I wish someone could prove this false, but even in my personal conversations with Israeli embassy officials, they were unable to do so. My only consolation is that Jews around the world, in organizations like B'Tselem, are vigorously trying to stop these killings. The only moral position for a Jew, Moslem or Christian is that it is wrong to deliberately kill any children, whether Jewish, Moslem or Christian. I would suggest that, with the Amnesty International report in hand, you call your Israeli Embassy and ask them whether they agree, and if so, why are their soldiers killing all these children? Let me know what they say. Amnesty International told me that calls like that really do help get governments to change. Competing interests: Jewish, formerly worked in Jewish public relations, raised money for Israeli medical research.
THE THINGS IN THE RIGHT PLACE 6 November 2004
CELIO LEVYMAN, Senior Neurologist Headache and Neurology Clinic,Sao Paulo,Brazil Send response to journal: Re: THE THINGS IN THE RIGHT PLACE	This article demonstrates well the subject of the conflict Israel- Palestines,and little there is to be added,of course to be to thank to the author for putting the things in order and with safe references and no opinatives or even underlined by the prejudice. Inside of the own jewish culture ,even that modified by the inhabitants' of Israel local conditions and their differences with the ones that they live outside Israel,until for they be in constant war state -caused for the neighbors-since the Nation exists,there has moral and ethical precepts that can do with that the medical service can be differentiated or disturbed for the population civil or military,arab or jewish. Of everything that was exposed,maybe the more it is worthwhile to remind for the occasional reader to be the mentioned fact and that should always be allways reminded:Israel is the only democracy,parlamentarist,pluralist,from of the extreme left to the ultra- orthodoxs,but with tendency to the centralization and real power,an alternation to exist in the Middle East.Is surrounded by civil and militamore,since the century XIX... But there is that people happy in attacking thesmall country,with problems,of course,even if could agree with everything that there exists,but that are the citizens of Israel that freely decide as the politics will be driven and it happens the real power,and alternation no leaders that are only substituted when they die for their immediate ones or princes after bloody disputes. Israel is the Occident civilization;should we pray so that the Palestinian also get him/it to be. Competing interests: None declared
The myth of 97% 6 November 2004
M. Grant, Internet Consultant London SW4 Send response to journal: Re: The myth of 97%	Simon Fellerman repeats the myth that the Israeli Prime Minister Barak offered to return 97% of the Palestinian territories at the Camp David negotiations in 2000. What Barak actually offered to the Palestinians was four separate cantons, without access to international borders or control of airspace, with very limited control of water supplies, and with continued Israeli control of roads in the West Bank. This offer was not the basis of a viable Palestinian state. A critique of this offer is available on the web site of the Israeli peace movement, Gush Shalom.[1] The two sides came much closer to an agreement at the Taba peace talks in early 2001. These talks were suspended because of the Israeli general election. After the elections, against the advice of the Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, the new Israeli government chose not to continue negotiations.[2] 1. http://gush-shalom.org/media/barak_eng.swf 2. Michael Desch. The peace that failed. The American Conservative, November 8th 2004. http://amconmag.com/2004_11_08/review.html Competing interests: None declared
We are indeed looking for facts and the truth 6 November 2004
Joy Wolfe, Freelance journalist and Middle East Media analyst Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 1QY Send response to journal: Re: We are indeed looking for facts and the truth	Norman Baumann calls for facts, and then produces opinions that are not authenticated as his view of fact. Firstly there is absolutely no evidence that Israeli soldiers "deliberately target children" as he suggests. In contrast there is plenty of evidence that homicide bombers almost invariably select areas where children will be the victims, in particular the Sbarro Pizza where babies in their pushchairs were among the victims and the Dolphinarium Disco where the murderer placed himself in a queue of teenagers. Three other notorious incidents were the two tiny children gunned down in their beds as their mother read them a bedtime story, the pregnant mother and her four beautiful young children pumped full of bullets after their car was forced off the road and 10 month old Shalhevet Pass, targeted by a sniper in her father's arms. THAT IS DELIBERATE KILLING May I point Mr Baumann and other readers in the direction of a report by Medecins du Monde, not known for being in support of Israel, which highlights the deliberate killing of Israeli civilians and which documents the medical consequences for children, in particular post traumatic stress. http://www.medecinsdumonde.org/index.html It is not easy for young children to be able to recover after they have witnessed friends burning to death or to live with the consequences of a body filled with nails and shrapnel from cynically prepared bombs, or cope with life with lost limbs. May I also draw attention to the most recent statement by Amnesty International on homicide bombings in the wake of the Beersheva attacks in a queue of teenagers this August. “Palestinian armed groups must put an immediate end to suicide bombings and other attacks against civilians. Such deliberate and systematic targeting of civilians is a crime against humanity.” I share everyone's horror at the killing of any children, but I deplore the tactic of knowingly placing children in danger by deliberately having them near or with armed terrorists. I will be more than happy to provide visual and written evidence of this for anyone who doubts this happens. Above all I deplore the growing practice of using young children as so-called martyrs, to become homicide bombers and blow themselves up to kill Jews. The worst examples of this have been at least two cases where the children were of somewhat limited IQs, and to exploit this is despicable. Finally it would help if Palestinian children were not incited to hate and kill Israelis and Jews in their school books, their summer camps and by their teachers and religious leaders. Those of us who really want peace, and I count many grass root Palestinians in that category, should be lobbying for an end to the creation of a new generation of children being brought up to hate. You are indeed right Mr Baumann, we want facts and truth. You can't just play a numbers game when it comes to talking about the tragedy of children being killed. You also have to take into account the level of self-inflicted risk there is by putting large numbers of children in danger, very different to children only committing the 'crime' of travelling to school on a bus, going to a disco, or wanting to drink coffee with their friends Israel can be proud of the fact that it has such organisations as B'tselem and Physicians for Human Rights looking after the interests of the Palestinians. What is needed is someone on the Palestinian side to be doing the same and fighting to protect their children and stop the unfortunate consequences of deliberately putting children at risk in a theatre of war. In fact what we really need is a partner for peace. Joy Wolfe Competing interests: None declared
Re: We are indeed looking for facts and the truth 7 November 2004
Norman Bauman, medical journalist 411 W. 54 St. New York NY 10019 Send response to journal: Re: Re: We are indeed looking for facts and the truth	I agree with Joy Wolfe's condemnation of the Sbarro, Dolphinarium, Shalhevet Pass, and other deliberate killings of innocent civilians or children, of deliberately placing children in danger by proximity to armed terrorists, of the use of children or anyone else as suicide bombers, and of any incitement to hate and kill; and I agree with the statements of Medecins du Monde and Amnesty International that she cites. Wolfe does not say whether she agrees with the Amnesty International report, "Killing the Future." Ms. Wolfe, do you agree with that report or not? Specifically, can you identify any errors in the report's account of the Khalil al-Mughrabi case? Competing interests: Jewish, formerly worked in Jewish public relations, raised money for Israeli medical research.
Long Live Personal View 7 November 2004
Rupert A Gude, General Practitioner Abbey Surgery, Tavistock,Devon, PL19 8BU Send response to journal: Re: Long Live Personal View	Dear Sir, I have been a regular reader of Personal View for over 30 years and I wish to congratulate you for printing Derek Summerfields excellent disturbing article,for having Rapid responses to hear of peoples reactions and for the very prompt publication of Simon Fellerman's response. It is only by having free speech and listening to peoples worries and concerns that we can arrive at any assessment of where truth lies. I found the insults hurled at the BMJ particularly offensive but I presume the angry readers misunderstood the role of Personal View. The heat generated reminds me of the anger in 1975 when the apartheid regime in South Africa was criticised. The same responses were heard of how well they treated their black population, how African children could have access to top medical facilities, how the life of the African in South Africa was much better than in other African countries and other genuine but blinkered feelings. I spent 15 months there and found a country that systematically abused and exploited the African population depriving them of rights and chances of economic advancement. The situation for the Africans was much worse than I had ever expected. I also found that in 15 months working with Africans I learnt considerably more about these injustices than the white population that I encountered. Israel has taken much from the apartheid regime , not just the containment of the Palestinians in economically unviable units but an attitude bases on a messaniac belief. It ironic that some of the most hard working anti apartheid activists in Soth Africa were Jewish. No doubt Derek Summerfield article was based on a sense of outrage at the injustice in The Middle East. It is good to talk of injustice when one sees it. That the two communities are led by misguided, intellectually corrupt exterrorists has not helped to resolve the state of war that exists between them. (Yes I know no declaration of war has been made but no one does these days). Terrorist bombing, ie fighting the palestinian part of the war against the occupying force will only cease when there is a just and fair resolution of the gross injustice of the present situation. Meanwhile I encourage the BMJ to keep Personal Views flag flying high Rupert Gude Competing interests: None declared
Editorial Responsibility 7 November 2004
Simon AP Jenkins, Retired GP m45 7lh Send response to journal: Re: Editorial Responsibility	It is a welcome sign that the BMJ has seen fit to publish a 'personal view' from Simon Fellerman which refutes the hateful mis-representation of Derek Summerfield. But there is no apology from the Acting Editor for having thought Sommerville's 'personal view' was worthy of being published in the first place. Kamran Abbasi's "Editor's Choice" (http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7474/0-g) shows no remorse, or even a hint of regret that he had made an error in accepting the Summerville paper. Abbasi says that some sections of the BMJ are not peer reviewed and are 'more journalistic'. But this does not absolve him from checking the accuracy of such contributions. In the world of journalism, when editors are duped into printing 'untruths', they must accept the responsibility and the consequences. Take for example the recent publication by the Daily Mirror of faked pictures of British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners. This was swiftly followed by the dismissal of its editor, Peers Morgan. In the wider world of journalism, where opinion, prejudice, and vested interests often hold sway over science, reason and understanding, it should not be the aim of a reputable medical journal to copy the worst attitudes and morals of the tabloid press. I believe the BMJ should lead by challenging untruths and offering solutions to difficult problems, not disseminating poisonous hearsay. It is about time that the BMJ, until recently the voice of the British Medical Association, is reigned in by those who manage it. Perhaps it is old fashioned of me to think that the honour and the interests of medical profession are important, but upholding them is the first objective for which the Association was established [Reference:Memorandum of the Assocition of the BMA 3(1)]. It might also be more apt if the editor reflects on whether he has abused his power (the power of the press) rather than arrogantly assuming the role of exposing 'state power' by publishing Summerville's inciteful and inaccurate view. Simon Jenkins Former Member of the BMJ Management Committee. Competing interests: None declared
The Human Perspective 8 November 2004
Isaac Hassan, Clinical Director of Radiology Royal Bolton Hospital Send response to journal: Re: The Human Perspective	Fellerman’s Personal View (6th November) was refreshingly balanced compared to Summerfield’s (16th October). Fellerman states his case soberly and without histrionics and largely rebutts Summerfields points. In a conflict that encourages irreconcilable views, doctors should lead by example and stress the human perspective and not score political points. That Israel offers Palestinian patients the best medical treatment is established beyond doubt. In Haddassah Hospital, the kidney from an Israeli victim of a Palestinian suicide bomber was transplanted in a Palestinian recipient with the blessing of his family. Where else in the Middle East would this be possible? Peace between Israelis and Palestinians is possible with attitudes like these. However, there is no place for leaders that do not give peace a chance. Competing interests: None declared
Re: Re: We are indeed looking for facts and the truth 8 November 2004
Joy Wolfe, Freelance journalist and Middle East Media analyst Cheadle Cheshire SK8 1QY Send response to journal: Re: Re: Re: We are indeed looking for facts and the truth	Norman Bauman asks me if I accept the Amnesty International Killing the Future report and if I can find factual errors with one particular case in it. Unlike many Amnesty reports this one does try to be even- handed and documents the killing of both Israeli and Palestinian children, both equally tragic and regrettable. I cannot comment on the specific case he cites, and have grave doubts about the definitive acceptance of the veracity of some of the allegations in the report because I believe only someone who saw things that were not open to any misinterpretation with their own eyes is able to give an absolute opinion on what actually happened. Suffice it to say I abhor killing of any children, but find it impossible to believe that Israeli soldiers deliberately set their sights on children and pull the trigger. There may be the occasional situation where in a state of fear or mental aberration this has happened but to suggest it is normal or acceptable behaviour that goes without investigation is simply not true. May I cite the case of Mohammed al Dura as the perfect example of how the truth can be twisted. This was the boy cowering an a corner by a wall with his father, a picture that went round the world with the caption that he was deliberately killed by Israeli soldiers. Yet a German documentary has produced scientific evidence which shows that the most likely scenario is that he was caught in Palestinian crossfire. So with the greatest respect Mr. Baumann I am not prepared to judge IDF behaviour on an isolated incident. However I do accept that the killing of children is indeed "Killing the Future" and accept much of the Amnesty report primarily because it looks at both sides of the conflict, but must draw a clear line between deliberate targetting of children and accidental deaths. Perhaps what deserves the title "Killing the Future" most is the systematic brainwashing of young Palestinians which is projecting hate for generations to come. Competing interests: None declared
Re: Editorial Responsibility 8 November 2004
Adrian S. Blaj, Psychiatrist (active) London, England Send response to journal: Re: Re: Editorial Responsibility	Dear Madam/Sir: Please forgive my interlude; as I am a firm believer in the concept of 'win-win' situations, I think that perhaps some people would welcome the idea of splitting the bmg.com into a section dedicated to bmg members and another one to non-members --- and each section further branched into the following subsections: active, retired and dead members/nonmembers. Yours, etc. Adrian the Peacemaker Competing interests: trust i make myself obscure
Shame on BMJ for being bullied into this 'reply' 9 November 2004
Sami Timimi, Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist Ash Villa Sleaford Ng34 8QA Send response to journal: Re: Shame on BMJ for being bullied into this 'reply'	What Dr Summerfield wrote originally was a sobering summary, backed by strong, corroburated evidence (see the two letters Dr Summerfield wrote in the rapid responces to his article where he lists his sources) of the deplorable impact current Israeli policy is having on a nation's health and the institutions that provide health services. As such it is very relevant for a medical journal to publish this, just as it would be for medical journals to publish other stories of national health catastrophies (for example caused by famine in which governments' policies may be implicated). Dr Fellermen's responce is quite simply a political polemic and as such is better suited to non-medical newspaper than a serious medical journal. Sadly it seems that the BMJ has been bullied by the powerful pro- Israeli/anti-Arab lobby into publishing an incredibly week rebuttal, which sadly sits (in political terms) alongside a long history of 'deniers' that state terror, torture and mass ethnic murder exists. This is perplexing given that Israel was born on the back of the biggest genocide crime in history (but becomes less so when we realise that so often human defences are such that, when given power, the bullied often become the bully). The difficulty this lobby is having with the statistics (of which Dr Summerfield outlined only a small portion) of suffering that Palestinians are daily experiencing is that they are only able to counter them with 'tricks of language' by stating that they are uncorroburated (untrue) or taken out of context, before trying to sweep them under the carpet by saying it's the Palestinians fault anyway (presumably this is a rational justification for collective punishment- since by implication, Palestinians are all nasty barbaric terrorists) and that Israeli's are suffering too (also true, but not at the hands of those who rule them who are simultaneuosly dismantling their health system and access to it). Thus instead of us as doctors discussing the issue of health (and the human right to this) in palestine the BMJ has been dragged down into an unhealthy bit of unpleasant bullying politics. With regard the politics, Dr Fellerman's 'personal view' is imbalanced, paranoid and, in my view, (like the state of Israel) frankly racist. The basic issue that has to be discussed if we wish to analyse the politics is that of power. Who has the power to make decisions on what to do and to whom. The imbalance in the Israel/Palestine question then becomes clearer. One side is a state with massive power, the other an occupied people driven through destitution and hopelessness to grotesque acts of terrorism (when Palestine and Israel were talking the suicide/homicide bombings weren't occurring). Dr Fellerman starts by suggesting that medical journals have been 'questioning Israel's basic right to exist'. Perhaps I have naively missed this, but if this is the case I would like to know which medical journal this is (presumably they would too). Next he says that Dr Summerfield ignores that the majority of Israeli casualties are civilian. Dr Summerfield ignored this because he wasn't writing about the state of health of Israel. But as Dr Fellerman is writing a political piece, why is he ignoring that the majority (over three quarters) of the deaths since the Intifada have been Palestinian, of which the majority are civillian (5 X as many Palestinian as Israeli children have died)- but perhaps, by contamination, they were all barbic uncivilized terrorists anyway. With regard the mention of 'Israeli soldiers authorized to shoot to kill children' admittedly this must be an assumption as Israel would not wish to admit to this in its public face. This must in part be based on what seems the only credible explanation for what many eye-witness accounts have observed which has been documented by many groups (see Dr Summerfield's rapid responces to his article in which he documents his sources). Dr. Fellerman's only source of evidence in his rebuttal is that Israel are signatories to the Geneva convention. He then goes on to give his own bit of uncorroburated 'evidence' by saying militant groups encourage use of children as human shields (in other words the 500+ children who've been killed since the Intifada started, are the Palestinian's fault anyway- because of course they are a nation of barbaric animals- It also suggests that if this is the main reason for the high death toll in children -which it isn't- the IDF ignores children as human shield's anyway). Dr Fellerman as a 'denier' tries to paint a picture of the Palestinians woeful health crises as being the result of the pilfering through corruption (some truth in this) of enourmous amounts of aid, whilst Israel is the one who is really suffering economically. This is simply inaccurate and shamefully unbalanced. Essentially, one side is a quasi-European country with European-style institutions. The other side is a failed third world state with a level of development among the lowest in the world. GDP per capita in Israel is $19,700 (2003), in the West Bank $800 (2002) and in Gaza $600 (2003). [1] In 2004 Israel received $2,160 million in US military aid and $580 million from USAID. In 2003 Palestine received $75 million in aid from the US and a total of $1000 million in aid from non US sources (EU and the Arab world).[2] This is not polemic it is the balanced truth. What aid Palestine does get for its destroyed economy, is like 'pissing against the wind' (yes a polemic) for bulldozers and appache helicopters keep up a relentless onslaught of destruction and demolition. Dr Fellerman's limp defence of Israel as not racist, as they treat Arabs too, reminds me of the often heard claim 'I'm not racist, one of my friends is black', as if all the discrimination Palestinians' experience, with right of way, access, expropriation of land, demolision of their homes etc., is just a figment of their imagination. Finally Dr Fellerman should not get away with his last paragraph were, in my opinion, he let the cat out of the bag with regard his true feelings about Arabs. We've heard the 97% claim before (usually conveniently ignoring that this was not the most problematic part of the settlement, as the settlement would have resulted in Israeli control over a quasi-autonomous non-state). But it is insulting to ask 'how much land will satisfy them' as if the Palestinians are unreasonable and greedy in their demand for a hoemland on their own soil, and they should be happy to accept whatever crumbs Israel choses to throw to them. It seems that he is judging Palestinians by different standards to those he expects of Israeli's, otherwise why didn't he ask how much land would satisfy 'them' of the Israeli's 1. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html 2. http://www.usaid.gov/policy/budget/cbj2004/asia_near_east/west_bank_gaza.pdf Competing interests: None declared
Palestinian health 9 November 2004
Jeffrey S Hillman, Ophthalmic Surgeon Leeds LS17 8SH Send response to journal: Re: Palestinian health	Dr Fellerman's Personal View is supported by references which refute the unbsubstantiated allegations in Dr Summerfield's assessment of medical conditions in Gaza and the West Bank. The terrorism, intifada and urban war which are being supported there by enemies of peace are harmful to all parties in this complicated and chronic dispute. Now that Arafat appears to be departing from the scene perhaps the billions of international aid dollars which he is holding in bank accounts abroad will be repatriated and used to fund the improvement of medical and other social services in the areas administered by the Palestinian Authority. Perhaps also Israel's Camp David offer of the transfer of 97% of the West Bank and Gaza to Palestinian Authority control can be revisited as a step on the road to a two-state solution to the problem. To me the most clear outcome from this correspondence is that purely political articles have no place in our otherwise peer-reviewed and highly reputable medical journal. Competing interests: BMA member
The UK is Apartheid 9 November 2004
Andrew M Fink, Consultant Ophthalmologist Tel Aviv, Israel Send response to journal: Re: The UK is Apartheid	I would like to add my name to those praising this article. Whether the BMJ is the right forum for this discussion will continue to be argued but it certainly spices up the journal. Rupert A Gude brings up the old chestnut again of Israel being apatheid, comparing our denials to those of South Africa in the 1970's where apologists for apartheid also claimed that black South Africans received the best health care in Africa.There is of course no comparison unless he sees all situations of countries containing minorities with claims of inequality as apartheid. If so the US is aparthied as blacks claim discrimination. The UK which endured terrible race riots a couple of years ago is also apartheid. Holland also is, with its vociferous Muslim minority as is France which has no lack of minority gripes. Gude fails of course ( a common may be deliberate error) to differentiate between Palestinians outside Israel, in the West Bank and Gaza, who are not Israeli citizens but Palestinian Authority citizens and where a war is going on and therefore comparing with the Black South African situation is simply inappropriate. In contrast Arabs who live in Israel are Israeli citizens and therefore a comparison might be applicable except that Arabs do not sit on separate park benches, do sit in the same clinic waiting rooms, are treated by Jewish and Arab doctors who work together, consult with Arab heads of departments and complain to their own Arab members of Parliament. I personally have operated on a convicted Hamas terrorist on my regular hospital operating list. Today I examined several Arab patients in the outpatient clinic who recently underwent corneal graft surgery in my teaching hospital in Tel Aviv. Moreover Arabs have represented Israel in the national soccer team, in the Miss World competition, as Ambassadors in foreign countries, and are Generals in our army. Black Christians have represented us in the Eurovision song contest even(!). And yet people, even intelligent people still claim we are apartheid. It would be a bad joke if it wasn't for the fact that because of this misinformation people are motivated to kill my fellow countrymen. Competing interests: None declared
palestinian health 9 November 2004
daniel c hurwitz, general practice principal morley, leeds ls17 8bu Send response to journal: Re: palestinian health	The personal view by Fellerman in this week's BMJ stands in marked contrast to the negative,aggressive propaganda presented by Summerfield a few weeks earlier. Here is an article which shows the true humanitarian nature of Israeli medical institutions and those who work in them. It is surprising to some, in view of the horror and carnage of the suicide bombs and the hate filled lessons in Palestinian schools, that there is NO dissent in Israeli society to the apolitical treatment of ALL those in need. It is a shame that half the article had to be devoted to refuting Summerfield's inflammatory and baseless claims, because it would be instructive to hear more of the excellent medical work carried out in Israeli hospitals. Whilst it was objectionable that the editor thought it appropriate to publish Summerfield in the first place, I would congratulate him on recognising the necessity of allowing publication of a swift response and Fellerman for providing it. Competing interests: None declared
It never fails to amaze me... 9 November 2004
Yoav Tzabar, Doctor Carlisle Send response to journal: Re: It never fails to amaze me...	... how every time there is even the faintest whiff of criticism of Israel in the media, an army of supporters emerges from the woodwork, ready to discredit the author and pick holes in every sentence. And so it is with Derek Summerfield's article which I read earlier. I didn't think it was perticularly critical nor was there anything in it which hadn't been already widely aired in the media, including the medical media. I have no idea who Simon Fellerman is or why he has needed to write his article. Neither do I know what lies behind the army of correpondents supporting him in the rapid responses. Most have not declared any competing interests. I can only speculate that they are part of the vast legion of correspondents that bombard any publication that dares to criticise Israel. I am sure that there are plenty of caring doctors in Israel who do their best for Palestinian patients and that Israeli soldiers aren't really ordered to shoot children (although when it does happen, the authorities are strangely unable or unwilling to investigate, but that is another matter) Whatever the truth or otherwise of these "facts", it doesn't really matter and I don't care because the real truth is that the entire state machinery of the state of Israel is dedicated to one objective only, that is to destroy and eradicate completely entire Palestinian population and any trace of their existence from what it claims to be "its" lands. This has been its objective since 1948 and will continue to be the objective for so long as it exists. The only thing that has stopped it doing it openly is because it claims to be a democracy and it needs the support of the west. Why do you think the Israeli people continue to vote into office leaders who will carry out this policy? Competing interests: Israeli-born Jew
Re: Editorial Responsibility 10 November 2004
Mark Struthers, GP Bedfordshire, UK. mark.struthers@which.net Send response to journal: Re: Re: Editorial Responsibility	As a practising GP, I wonder if I could be permitted to express my utter disgust for the numerous execrable responses written by retired Manchester GP, Simon Jenkins – of which this latest is the most contemptible. The absurdity of the final paragraph illustrates the lamentable literary quality of Dr Jenkins’ expositions in his criticisms of Derek Summerfield. Hardly likely to win hearts and minds, is there any point to this awful nonsense and its denial of reality? Competing interests: I abhor incitement to racial hatred and the freedom of four more inciteful years at the White House.
Palestinian Health 10 November 2004
Vaughan P Smith, GP 41 Peile Drive, Taunton, Somerset TA2 7SZ Send response to journal: Re: Palestinian Health	Congratulations to Simon Fellerman on his "Personal View". Israel is a brave and admirable country, far more sinned against than sinning. The fact that it has well-developed health services, and other markers of civilisation, doesn't result from chance or conspiracy, but from the virtues of its democratic system. Neighbouring states could do just as well if they emulated these. Competing interests: None declared
Re: It never fails to amaze me... 10 November 2004
Paul Winter, Cardiologist Haifa, Israel Send response to journal: Re: Re: It never fails to amaze me...	Yoav Tzabar ia amazed that Israel has so many supporters who rush to defend her against the allegations spewed out in many parts of the European media. Tzabar adds his own contribution that "Israel is dedicated to one objective only, that is to destroy and eradicate completely entire Palestinian population" Only the watching West stops this from happening he claims. So the precipitous drop in Palestinian infant mortality since 1967 due to Israeli health care, leading to the 300% growth in the Palestinian population was just to impress President Mitterand and the French? The meningococcal vaccine for Palestinian pilgrims to Mecca, introduced by Israel, was purely to impress Harold Wilson and Margaret Thatcher, or else they might think our business was genocide? Its really amazing what lengths our governments have gone to, even creating huge demographic expansion that actually threatens our national character and existence, just to disguise our real intentions which actually, according to Tzabar, are 180 degrees the opposite. Tzabar says "the Israeli people continue to vote into office leaders who will carry out this policy (of eradication)". I am not sure who he means. Surely not Barak or Rabin who were both elected by the Israeli people to seek peace, at least that's why I voted for them. I guess 60% of the Israeli population were just naive dreamers and Tzabar knew all along. When Rabin spoke about peace and compromise,and Palestinian independence, for which he was murdered, he actually meant whole scale national annihilation. Perhaps he is confusing our government for his own government which is currently part of a campaign that, according to press reports, has caused the deaths of more Iraqis in the last few months than Palestinian deaths in 4 years of intafada. All that and not a single Briton has been murdered by an Iraqi terrorist on British territory. Indeed there has been talk in Israel of mounting an embargo against British academics (as some are mounting against us), because of the genocidal activity of British troops in Iraq. Competing interests: British born Jew living in Israel
Response from Derek Summerfield 11 November 2004
Derek A Summerfield, Hon Sen Lect, Instit of Psych CASCAID, 307 Borough High ST, London SE1 1JJ Send response to journal: Re: Response from Derek Summerfield	Fellerman's Personal View seeks to invalidate my paper of Oct 16 by alleging that I am using uncorroborated statistics.As I explained in my rapid response of Oct 21, the paper as submitted was fully referenced but the BMJ does not publish references to papers it allocates to the Personal View section of the journal.The 15 references I drew on are given in full in the rapid response of Oct 21 but it is worth repeating here that I cited both international bodies (Amnesty International-cited 3 times; UN Committee on Human Rights/ Social and Economic Council),and regional health and human rights organisations (Physicians for Human Rights; B'Tselem (both Israeli)and the Health,Development, Information,and Policy Institute; Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (both Palestinian).I could add the findings of humanitarian agencies like Christian Aid, Oxfam and Medecins Sans Frontieres. Does Fellerman dismiss all this? Please would he comment. Fellerman and almost all of those who reacted critically to my paper show a studied refusal to engage with the events I summarise. This is a moral blindness which arises from the politics of identity and attachment,a need to defend "Israel" as an untarnishable idea,a value. But it is also genuine ignorance of the lived realities on the ground, fed by misinformation put out by Israeli authorities (eg "the Israeli Defence Force always goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties" or "the vast majority of Palestinian casualties are terrorists and suicide bombers"). Many of the rapid responses to my paper recycle these self- serving untruths,no doubt often in good faith.The effect is to put otherwise decent people into a position of collusion with abuses which they would regard as grotesque if they were witness to them. I did not say that Israeli soldiers were explicitly authorised to shoot children to kill. They don't need to be.The atrocity of over 600 child deaths in 4 years has arisen from the military and political culture driving the policies of occupation. The use of overwhelming lethal force in congested residential areas has been buttressed by a consistent dehumanisation of Palestinians as people, and their characterisation as "terrorists" bred in the bone- children included. Palestinian lives weigh very little. As I mentioned before,the Israeli journalist Gideon Levy, writing in the newspaper Haaretz on October 17, captured the fate of Palestinian children well.In an article entitled "Killing children is no longer a big deal" he wrote "..the blood of hundreds of Palestinian children is on our hands. An army that kills so many children is an army with no restraints, an army that has lost its moral code.....the disastrous result of a policy driven mainly by an appallingly light trigger finger and by the dehumanisation of the Palestinians. Shooting at everything that moves, including children, has become normative behaviour...Palestinian children have no refuge: mortal danger lurks for them in their homes, in their schools, and on the streets...the message conveyed to the soldiers :it's no tragedy to kill children and none of you is guilty." And so it is: even when the army feels obliged to investigate a particular child killing (which is generally only if there has been publicity,and thus a question of public relations)the soldiers involved are almost always exonerated,though in a few instances a notional reprimand has been handed down.This is what I am talking about.I'd be grateful if Fellerman could comment on Levy's analysis.How many of the 600 children does he think were "terrorists"? One other piece of misinformation Fellerman promotes, like so many other respondents, is that Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances have regularly carries explosives etc.I referred to this in detail in my Oct 21 response but would reiterate (and from Israeli sources, like Physicians for Human Rights)that only one such breach has ever been identified.On the other hand, this untruth is used to help justify interference with Palestinian ambulances. I would remind Fellerman that they have been hit by Israeli gunfire hundreds of times, sometimes fired from helicopters who must have a clear view,leading to the deaths of patients and crew, and that ambulance men must run a daily gauntlet of interrogation, abuse, and assault at checkpoints, and on occassion the vehicle itself has been appropriated for military transport. All this constitutes grave violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention of which, as Fellerman reminds us, Israel is a signatory. Please could he comment on this material too. The Israeli authorities are watchful of public opinion in Western countries, not least professional opinion.They will have been heartened by the absence of even the mildest criticism from those whose duty it is to monitor violations of the Geneva Convention in respect of the rights of health professionals and health facilities to protection from an army,and of access to health care. This means the World Medical Association and influential members like the BMA. A challenge from them really could offer a greater measure of protection to Palestinian doctors and colleagues,and to a population witnessing their health service under assault,but they have chosen to stay silent.No doubt they have their calculations and we are entitled to know what these are.They are a shame and a disgrace. Competing interests: None declared
Response to Derek Summerfield 12 November 2004
Abraham Dunn, Engineer Microsoft Corp. 98052 Send response to journal: Re: Response to Derek Summerfield	In his response dated 11/11/2004, Derek Summerfield fails to omit that the terrorist groups who fire rockets, set up explosives laboratories and generally conduct their activities from within "congested residential areas" are putting all the civilian population at risk including the children he mentions. "How many of the 600 children does he think were "terrorists"?" Also to ponder: How many were thrust in harms way by the "martyrdom-mentality" propagated through the popular Palestinian media? How many were executed by the Palestinian armed gangs for refusing to collaborate? How many were used as human shields by the Palestinian combatants? "Palestinian lives weigh very little" - This is very true, a society that foments suicide terrorism and encourages their young to become "martyrs", uses the civilian population as human shields, places bomb and rocket factories in residential areas and many acts more, shows an utter disregard for the sanctity of life. In Israel a free press exists, any reporter can publish anything he and his editor’s find fit to print. For every Israeli journalist Gideon Levy there is another stating the opposite. If Derek Summerfield wants to bring forward the opinion of a journalist as proof then he must provide the facts on which the journalist based his opinion (if any). "only one such breach has ever been identified" In a situation where the Head of the UNRA in Palestine has admitted that some of the ambulance crews belong to terrorist organizations, and ambulances have been used (even if just one case has been identified by “Physicians for Human Rights“) in a combat-role, The Israeli military is more than justified to stop and search any ambulance that tries to cross checkpoints. Again, the Palestinian terrorist gangs brought this upon the civilian population when they infiltrated and used the emergency medial services for combat activities. Another fact to consider is that ambulances at a combat zone will obviously get hit with gunfire. I would like Derek Summerfield to comment on how he established that they are being hit exclusively by Israeli gunfire. What the Palestinians need to do is to start thinking on how their own actions affect their own lives. They do not want to face up to the facts that they are conducting a liberation war at the expense of their own civilian population and collective moral values. Building a nation involves maturity and determination, I applaud their determination but to achieve their goal of living in their own sovereign state, they will first have to take responsibility for their own actions first. Competing interests: None declared
Dear oh dear, Dr Summerfield 15 November 2004
Mark Berelowitz, Child psychiatrist London Send response to journal: Re: Dear oh dear, Dr Summerfield	Now Dr Summerfield doesn't know what he himself has recently said in print, even when what he has been saying is very important, highly sensitive and hugely memorable, as well as being readily available for checking on your website. So in his response to Fellerman (BMJ 2004; 329: 1110), Summerfield says, with reference to his famous article (BMJ 2004;329:924), the following: "I did not say that Israeli soldiers were explicitly authorised to shoot children to kill". Oddly enough, the article itself contains the following sentence: "Clearly, soldiers are routinely authorised to shoot to kill children in situations of minimal or no threat." Spot the difference? Who slipped this sentence into the original article, if it wasn't Summerfield himself? And if it was, is the editor now going to require Summerfield to issue a formal retraction? Competing interests: None declared
Re: Dear oh dear, Dr Summerfield 15 November 2004
Mark Struthers, GP Bedfordshire, UK. mark.struthers@which.net Send response to journal: Re: Re: Dear oh dear, Dr Summerfield	Michael Berelowitz obviously thinks he has wrong-footed Derek Summerfield over the impunity which authorises Israeli soldiers to ‘mistakenly’ kill children in Palestine. The obvious glee with which he has done so is not helpful and clearly demonstrates the moral blindness about which Dr Summerfield so eloquently speaks. Dr Berelowitz does not pretend to know how to solve the problems of the Middle East (letter 6 November). However, I am personally very confident the process of achieving peace is not helped by killing children and getting away without punishment. Israel appears to be unwilling or unable to prosecute soldiers who kill children. I therefore believe that Israel should relinquish these men so that their ‘mistakes’ can be investigated by the International Criminal Court, prosecuted and punished under international law. Below is an article written recently about the ‘mistakes’ that Israel is making. This translation was obtained from ‘Jews for Justice for Palestinians' in London. www.jfjfp.org/ I KILLED THIRTY CHILDREN B Michael / Yediot Aharonot, October 2004 Between Sept 29 and Oct 15, fifteen days in all, I killed thirty children. Two children per day. Two dead children per day is more or less four bereaved parents per day. Why more or less? Because some of them were brothers. So, two dead children for one pair of bereaved parents. Perhaps that's better, because these parents are bereaved anyway, so they are just bereaved twice, and another pair of parents is released from being bereaved. But perhaps it is less good, because to be bereaved is worse than being dead, and being twice bereaved is twice worse than being dead. So I don't really know what to decide. All these children I killed in the Gaza Strip, and all of them I killed by mistake. That is, I knew that there were children there, and I knew I would kill some of them, but since I knew it would be by mistake I did not feel so pressured about it. Because everybody makes mistakes. Only the one who does nothing does not make mistakes. Mistakes happen, we are all human beings. That is what I think is so nice about my mistakes; they make me so human and fallible, is it not so? The 30 children I killed by all kind of mistakes. Each child with his special mistake. There was one about whom I thought by mistake that he was not a child. And there was one which I hit because he insisted on standing exactly on the spot at which I decided to shoot. And there was one who threw stones and did not at all look six years old. And there was one who from the air looked like a wanted terrorist. Or like a Qassam rocket. Or like a terrorist holding a Qassam rocket. And there were some children who by mistake got into their heads some of the shrapnel from the shell I shot into their house. And there was one who by mistake hid under her bed exactly when I blew up the bed in order to expel the terrorist squad which was hiding there. But this does not count, it was her mistake, not mine. I remember it was the most hard with my first mistake. I shot and shot and shot, then they told me I had killed a child. I became pale, and my mouth was dry, and my knees were shaking, and in general I did not sleep very well that night. But with the passing of time, and of mistakes, it became much easier. Now I make mistakes with hardly any side-effects. It was very helpful that my friends, my environment, everybody, did not make so much fuss over every small mistake. Here, just last week, when I killed by mistake one girl, I shot two more mistakes into her head, just to make sure that I was making a mistake. And then the rest of my magazine, full of mistakes. Once, I would not have been able to do that. True, some people tell me that I am making a mistake in making this confession. They tell I have not been in Gaza at all, and did not shoot any bullet, and did not bomb, and did not shell, and did not snipe. That's true, I did not. But who paid for the bullets? Me. And who bought the gun? And financed the shell? And the missile? Me. Me. Me. Also me. And also, who is not growing pale any more with every new mistake? Whose mouth is not getting dry when one more child is laid in the earth? Whose knees do not grow weak when another nameless baby lies dead in a bloody cradle? Who goes on sleeping soundly even when the number of mistakes reaches thirty in two weeks? Me. Also me. So, don't tell me I didn't kill. http://www.ynet.co.il/home/0,7340,L-8,FF.html Translated from the Hebrew original, which appeared in the generally right-of-centre Yediot Aharonot (Latest News). B. Michael is one of Israel’s best-known political columnists. Competing interests: Slobodan Milosevic is a lonely figure at The Hague. He is looking forward to the day that Ariel Sharon joins him.
Response to Dr Berelowitz 15 November 2004
derek a summerfield, hon sen lecturer Instit of Psychiatry CASCAID, 307 Borough High St, London SE1 1JJ Send response to journal: Re: Response to Dr Berelowitz	In his rapid response of 15 November Dr Berelowitz is being perverse.I stand by what I said about child killings in my October 16 Personal View, reflecting a conclusion resting, firstly, on collated evidence from examination of gunfire patterns on the bodies of victims. A significant percentage showed small arms wounds of the kind snipers produce, as I noted. Secondly, concern about this question has been raised by such as Amnesty International, and I gave an example of a case where Amnesty called for a proper investigation (which the Israeli Defence Force have declined to pursue- no surprise there).So too the concerns repeatedly raised by journalists who witnessed the Israeli assault on Gaza in May and since. This too is not new: 20-25% of all civilian fatalities in the first intifada (1988-93) were children and I recall a study by an international ngo which concluded that many of these children died from directed fire and not from ricochet wounds more typically compatible with "caught in crossfire". Lastly, when in Gaza and the West Bank, there is no shortage of witnesses to deliberate, direct fire by soldiers upon children who could not possibly be a threat, and at least 3 respondents to bmj.com following my paper testified to having witnessed just this themselves. Many of the young Israeli reservists who are refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories have pointed to this kind of thing. It is utterly shameful that Dr Berelowitz and others can go to such lengths to maintain their moral blindness. But I did not say that these killings follow from explicit (written or verbal)instructions. As I have made clear in a previous rapid response, their routine authorisation flows from the context, from the way the occupation is being run (routine use of overwhelming lethal force with impunity, virtually never any action- even tokenistic-against soldiers associated with excesses),and from a culture of dehumanisation of Palestinian life that taints everyone, even children,as unworthy and as "terrorists". As Gideon Levy said in Haaretz, soldiers pick up that it is no big deal to shoot a child and that no guilt attaches to this. Competing interests: None declared
Re: Re: Dear oh dear, Dr Berelowitz 16 November 2004
Mark Struthers, GP Bedfordshire, UK. mark.struthers@which.net Send response to journal: Re: Re: Re: Dear oh dear, Dr Berelowitz	I made a mistake. May I apologise to Dr Berelowitz for referring to him as ‘Michael’. This was a mistake. “Everybody makes mistakes. Only the one who does nothing does not make mistakes. Mistakes happen, we are all human beings. That is what I think is so nice about my mistakes; they make me so human and fallible.” Perhaps there was something Freudian about my mistake. I am sorry Mark Berelowitz. Competing interests: None declared
Long Live Personal view and Rapid Responses 21 November 2004
Rupert Gude, general practitioner Abbet Surgery, Tavistock PL19 9EL Send response to journal: Re: Long Live Personal view and Rapid Responses	Dear Sir, Andrew Fink has objected to my response supporting freedom of expression and the BMJ policy of printing controversial articles. Some how he did not care for my message. I did not write Israel was apartheid, I did write 'Israel has taken much from the apartheid regime' and there is no joking in the tragic situation whether good or bad. I did compare Israeli denials of serious problems and injustices with the dominant white South Africans of that time. The vitriolic and excited responses in Rapid Responses bear this out. I was not referring to the Palestinian people living in Israel but the 3.8 million living in Palestine/the Occuppied Teritories.The control of this disadvantaged group is well documented in 'Obstacles to Peace' by Jeff Halper of the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions, (9789659062607). This gives an analysis of the Matrix of Control by military and economic means so as to keep the Palestinian people in a state of subjugation and dependency. I would recommend this all concerned Israelis whose nation occupies anothers land. It is unfortunate to be killed whether Israeli or Palestinian but I think most observers feel that the fundamental cause of the deaths is the gross injustice of the situation at the moment. Until Justice is achieved for the Palestinians the killings and deaths on both sides are unlikely to cease. Yours sincerely Rupert Gude Competing interests: a deep desire that the editor is not frightened by lobbies into censoring articles that highlight injustice