Israel gets pass from media

I am bemused by the uncritical treatment that the media give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Nobody asks the hard question: “Why is it OK for Israel to have nuclear weapons, but not OK for Iran?”

This is not to forgive the bad behavior of the latter, but to focus on that of the former. Israel has become an expansionist state, building settlements on land that does not belong to it in clear violation of international law, thus inevitably provoking violence.

Worse, it justifies this action by fundamentalist religion, claiming the territory as the ancestral homeland of the Jews. Well, Spokane was the ancestral homeland of Native Americans, but we wouldn’t let them take it back without a fight.

The international community can sanction Iran for its nuclear activities only because Iran behaved responsibly by signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel escapes such censure by the simple but irresponsible expedient of refusing to sign.

The United Nations has repeatedly called for talks aimed at achieving a nuclear-free Middle East, but the only nuclear power in the region, Israel, has repeatedly refused to attend such talks. Should it now be surprised if its enemies seek parity?

Graham Andrews

Spokane