Was it coincidence or sinister strategy that just as John Kerry embarked on renewed Middle East peace talks, Israel announced plans to build yet another massive settlement in the West Bank?

Also coinciding was a guest column by Howard Segal (Sun Journal, Dec. 29) bemoaning the fact that academic organizations are calling for the boycott of Israel because of its treatment of the Palestinians under Israel occupation.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recently quoted in a conversation with Kerry saying, “given the actions and words of Palestinian leaders, there’s growing doubt in Israel that the Palestinians are committed to peace.”

Really?

That, in the face of continued destruction of Palestinian homes and erection of Israeli settlements in what is left of the ever-dwindling West Bank.

While most of the rest of the world has protested loudly against Israel policy in recent years, the U.S. has stood nearly alone in its unilateral support, and continues to dole out more than $3 billion in aid to Israel annually — more than to any other country.

Israel is the most militarized country in the world, thanks to Uncle Sam, yet the more militarized Israel becomes, the more entrenched is the conflict.

Segal castigates Israel’s critics in the U.S. for not spending their energy decrying the fate of American Indians or slaves. Indeed, those very lessons in history should serve as a call to justice for the oppressed today.

Most offensive, however, were Segal’s remarks that critics of Israel harbor “a hatred of not just Israel but of Judaism overall,” and that they believe that “Israel must be crushed.”

That is an invidious straw man that one frequently hears when daring to speak out against Israel policy, i.e., if you’re not in total support of Israel, you’re an anti-Semite.

In fact, some of the strongest movements seeking justice for Palestinians and peace in the region are Jewish and a good number stem from Israel, itself.

Radical fringe groups aside, the proponents in the growing movement protesting against Israel sincerely believe that Israel’s hardline policies toward the Palestinians are actually increasing Israel’s vulnerability by fanning the flames of discontent among the Palestinians.

Just as the dictum, “you can love the person but hate his actions” goes, so goes protesting Israel’s disregard of U.N. resolutions and ongoing human rights abuses.

If the U.S. took a tough-love approach with Israel and made aid contingent on discontinuing settlement construction in the West Bank, honoring U.N. resolutions and affording Palestinians basic human rights, the peace process might actually have a chance.

Calling for a boycott of Israel until it does so is not anti-Semitic or even anti-Israel; it is Israel’s best chance for long-term viability as a state.

Kathleen Kienitz, Lewiston