Bob Schaible’s March 21 guest column, “Sen. King complicit in Israel’s Big Lie,” – depicting Israel as a horrid master that mistreats the Arab population of the Mid-East – was itself a Big Lie.

I have lost track of the number of times Israel has offered Arab leaders land for peace, only to have the offer rejected by the Palestinians. Obviously Arab leadership would rather see its citizens suffer than live in peace with their Jewish neighbors.

If there is suffering endured by the Palestinian population of that area, it is under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, which rules Gaza, not Israel. The Arab population of the West Bank (which is under Israeli control) enjoys employment, medical care and the opportunity to practice their religion.

The Arab citizens of Israel have been and are vaccinated as quickly as their Jewish neighbors. They are not starving. They have water and dependable electricity, and many of them quietly admit that they prefer living in Israel rather than under Hamas or Palestinian Authority control.

Gaza was turned over to the Arab population several years ago and eventually came under the control of Hamas, which has brought nothing but poverty, hunger, and hatred of Israel to its citizens.

There is no siege by Israel. The crossover points see dozens of truckloads of food and supplies from Israel enter Gaza every day. Hamas thanks Israel by lobbing rockets from school buildings and mosques into Israel’s border communities. In most cases Israel does not retaliate, because destroying the launching sites would also kill innocent inhabitants.

The rockets are purposely launched from these high population sites, knowing that Israel will not retaliate. The Arab convicted murderers who are incarcerated in Israel are honored, and monies are sent to their families on a monthly basis with dollars supplied by the United States.

The essay further claims that over 100 years ago the Zionist founders of Israel wanted to acquire the land, now Israel, and expel the Arab population. Personally, I have never heard that, but the Arab nations did expel its Jewish populations in the years before statehood.

The column further states that the Arabs lost most of their land to Israel. On a map Israel appears almost as a dot surrounded by vast areas of Arab nations.

Finally, kudos to our Sen. Angus King for maintaining his pro-Israel position.

Joel Goodman, Auburn