4 min read
A job to do
The sound bite people who constantly complain about antisemitism seem to have gone away. The one voice which truly represents the community is behaving with gravitas, and I do not witness “no go areas “ nor am I frightened out of Central London by the chants and banners. I am there most Saturdays.
There will always be some Jew hatred, there always has been, yet we survive and we have been fortunate in rational support from King, responsible political Leaders, and most of the press. The same cannot be said of the TV companies whose mournful voiced reporters, with sarcastic reference to “some” who believe Hamas to be a terror organisation, and whose repetitive screening of the destruction which is a result of any war, fail to ask whether those unfortunate civilian victims , with flaying arms, and shrill voices , had ever paused to consider the consequences of the war preparations, tunnelling, and use of rocket firers, which they must have condoned, let alone connived at.
Where we are failing is in reminding the public again and again that Gaza was completely vacated by Israel in 2005, that employment and hospital treatment was provided, and they had the opportunity to govern themselves, that there was therefore in effect a two state solution, which they used to prepare for hostilities. So simply, why should Israel risk this again?
Barrington Black
NW3
A Port for Gaza.
A Spanish owned ship is soon expected to sail to from Cyprus, bound for Gaza with much needed humanitarian aid. A so called ‘maritime corridor’ was announced by European Commission Chief, Ursula von der Leyen, after President Joe Biden said the US plans to build a floating port on the Gaza shoreline. What a good idea! Why has no-one thought of that until now? Oops! I forgot. Israel suggested this as far back as June 2018 and revisited the idea four months ago but was seemingly ignored on both occasions. Still, better late than never. And what could go wrong?
Stanley Grossman,
Glasgow
Talk pod
At a time of heightened religious tension,I like the idea of a Jew and a Muslim sharing a podcast (Baddiel and Warsi’s pod tries to teach us to be nice,March 8). Because Islam like Christianity evolved from Judaism, the two religions have much in common:kosher v halal,Yom Kippur v Ramadan, praying three times v five times a day, trayf v haram. We both have ultra-Orthodox or fundamentalist sects who shun secular society and study scripture at yeshivot or madrasahs. Which makes it all the more absurd that so much of today’s antisemitism should emanate from elements in the Muslim community.
I would like Baddiel and Warsi-two reasonable people having a civilised conversation-to discuss why this is and how, in the interest of peaceful coexistence, it can be eliminated. That’s the challenge of this podcast.
Stan Labovitch
Windsor
Out of control
Michael Gove is not nearly as clever as he thinks he is and his attempt to legally define extremism will ultimately be doomed to failure following the inevitable challenges from lawyers. Meanwhile, the painting of Lord Balfour at Trinity College suffers criminal damage and the authorities just stand around doing nothing. Parliament has lost control.
David Miller
Chigwell, Essex
Rothschild’s legacy
We were appalled that you published a letter (8 March 2024) claiming that of the late Lord Jacob Rothschild “none of his four children are Jewish and they will not make any contribution to the Jewish world.” This is totally incorrect as there is active Jewish life in the family and devotion to their father’s incredible work supporting Jewish institutions in Israel this country and Europe. At a time when the Jewish community is under attack we do not need further misinformed and hateful assertions.
Rabbi Baroness Neuberger D.B.E.,
Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein
London
Memorial thoughts
I was deported with my mother to Bergen Belsen concentration camp in 1943 when I was 7 years old. I had the good luck to come to London after the war with both my parents who miraculously survived.
As a Holocaust survivor, I am writing about the proposed plans for a Holocaust memorial and learning centre close to Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens.
The Holocaust is not part of the national history of the UK thankfully, and therefore I do not see how having a memorial is relevant to us as a country. The proposal for a Holocaust learning centre strikes me as unnecessary, since there are many libraries and other institutions where interested people can learn about the Holocaust, including an excellent permanent exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London.
The proposed location is a small and pretty garden, intended for general use such as dog walking and pleasure. The proposed building is large and would be obtrusive and spoil the park. From the plans I have seen, the proposed building does not seem very attractive.
The proposed plans are expensive, and may be perceived as “showy”, which may not reflect well on the Jews of this country, particularly in the current climate. Lastly, a memorial of this type and scale may attract antisemites, and this will result in costly security and maintenance ongoing expenses.
At the very most, if the concept of a Holocaust Memorial is something that this government is committed to, perhaps a more suitable memorial would be a simple statue of, for example, a mother with children, clearly camp survivors, in a more suitable location, such as the grounds of London’s Imperial War Museum.
Henrietta Kelly,
London
NW4
Zone of Emnity
With so called Jewish friends like Jonathan Glazer, Israel doesn't need enemies.
Stephen Vishnick
Tel Aviv
Not so old
As a gentleman of 71, it is upsetting to read that Marco, age 62 is ‘elderly’ (Victim of Paris hate attack: ‘The Nazis are back’; JC 8/3/2024). I am fit with all my faculties and teeth.
Steve Binysh
Northwood, Middx