Sir, – Zoë Lawlor tells us “people of conscience can continue to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign” (“We need a permanent ceasefire in Gaza”, Letters, November 29th).
Forgive me, but this person of conscience prefers to follow Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition in Israel, who has refused to sit in Binyamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet: “The battle against the BDS is first and foremost to promote partnership and mutual discourse against discrimination and hatred”.
Ms Lawlor’s letter contains no condemnation of the Hamas attack on October 7th nor does it call for the release of innocent men, women and children held hostage in Gaza.
Perhaps we should give “mutual discourse” a chance instead? – Is mise,
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KENNETH HARPER,
Burtonport,
Co Donegal.
A chara, – November 30th has been designated around the world as the “Day to Commemorate the Expulsion of Jews from Arab Lands and Iran”. Over a period of a few decades from the 1940s to the 1970s, nearly 900,000 Jews from ancient communities across the Middle East and North Africa were forced to leave due to violence, discrimination and disenfranchisement. This is greater than the number of Palestinians who fled as a result of the Arab-Israeli war in the 1940s. The businesses, property and wealth of these Jewish refugees was seized and they left with little more than the clothes on their backs.
Most Israeli Jews are descended from these refugees.
It’s worth bearing this in mind when people try to relativise Palestinian violence by referring to the Palestinian refugee issue. It’s also worth bearing in mind that never once have any of these Jewish refugees or their descendants committed an act of terrorism against the countries that took everything they owned and expelled them. – Is mise,
CIARÁN Ó RAGHALLAIGH,
Cavan.