LettersViewpoints

Taking a nice long walk

By Edward Alexander, , Seattle

The most pertinent comment on the slanderous accusation approved by Metro for display on some of its buses was made by Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, in his testimony earlier this year before the UN Human Rights Council investigating Israeli actions in Gaza:
“Mr. President, based on my knowledge and experience, I can say this: During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defense Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.” (Quoted from UN Watch 2010 Annual Report.)
The Hamas regime in Gaza, whose inalienable right to shower thousands of rockets and missiles upon Israel with impunity the purchasers of the bus ad wish to protect, is a neo-Nazi regime openly committed to politicide and genocide. Here are some choice excerpts from its official “Covenant”:
1. “Israel will exist until Islam will obliterate it”;
2. “Hamas is the spearhead and vanguard of the circle of struggle against World Zionism and the fight against the warmongering Jews”;
3. “The day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: “˜O Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.'”
Is this really a cause the City of Seattle and King County should allow to be promoted on their public transport?  Since I am an elderly gentleman, my personal boycott of the bus system will cost the city only 75 cents a ride, but I’d rather trudge through the next snow than patronize a system that condones such things.