The JC Letters Page, 22nd February 2019

In his analysis (JC, February 15), Colin Shindler showed how disingenuous Jeremy Corbyn is. I concur with Professor Shindler’s evaluation of the Venezuelan crisis as, on more than one occasion during radio interviews, I heard Mr Corbyn praise the past Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the present incumbent Nicolas Maduro as shining examples of how a socialist country should be governed for all its inhabitants. I’m not sure what world Mr Corbyn lives in, but television continues to show how the Venezuelan people are suffering. 

How can he aspire to be prime minister when he makes such obtuse, insensitive statements. He happily takes money from Iranian Press TV, and sides with Russia when they commit atrocities in Syria or Ukraine. His silence on the actions of Syrian President Assad speaks volumes about his hypocrisy, as he criticises Israel at every turn.   

I do not remember him condemning dictators such as Mugabe, who terrorised his people, or members of the IRA, with whom he seemed to be very much at ease. This false messiah has ruined a once great party. 

Robert Dulin
Bricket Wood, Herts 

Abuse of the elderly

We wish to add our voice and support to the campaign on elder abuse in the community (JC, February 15).

The full extent of the issue may still be underestimated. We are encountering numerous cases of vulnerable people being taken advantage of by those charged with overseeing their welfare, including family members pressuring parents to part with savings.

Our successes are in no small measure due to the practical and hands-on support and intervention our army of caseworkers are able to provide.
We need to heighten the awareness of the wide range of abuse that can occur and we owe it to our peers, those less able and our senior citizens to ensure that we, and others, treat them as we would wish to be treated.    

                               
Benjamin Conway Chair, 
Bayla Perrin CEO
The Paperweight Trust, London NW4
 

Kiddush clubs

The kiddush club (Letters, February 15) exists so that people who get up at the crack of dawn to be in shul for the pre-davening shiur may be allowed to eat and drink a little after shachrit without having to wait until the end of the service at midday. If they did, they would be turning Shabbat into a fast day! 

While it is true that the elderly are permitted a coffee and cake before prayers, frankly, some who attend the kiddush club do not arrive in shul early enough to participate in the early shiur, have probably had breakfast beforehand, and may well have come by car. But that’s just a few at whom your reader Mr Rowland Aarons may point his finger in disapproval. Either way, I wish him Shabbat Shalom.

Bernard Silver
London NW1 
                        
Levels of religion

In an otherwise excellent article about the employment appeal tribunal of the teacher at a Strictly Orthodox school (JC, February 15), Simon Rocker wrote that the teacher, who grew up in a Strictly Orthodox family  “became less religious”.

Why should a Strictly Orthodox Jew be described as more religious than, say, a Modern Orthodox Jew, who then is seen in turn more religious than a Progressive Jew. These are not grades of religiosity based on how many mitzvot you obey or perform. Indeed, a practising Liberal Jew could in many ways be more “religious” than any member of the Strictly Orthodox community. 

We are all members of the same religion. We may differ in aspects of behaviour. The lady in question became less Orthodox but her behaviour at the time did not suggest that she was at all “less religious”. 

Michael Romain 
London NW8

Keep it clean

The picture of the crouching Chasid with his shoes on the Tu B’shvat food-laden table has elicited some deservedly humorous comments from readers. Indeed, one wonders how many dirty footprints there were on the tablecloth, and how anyone handling food can be so crass as to put their size nines where one eats, let alone fail to understand the need for cleanliness and the suppression of germ transmission in the presentation of food. 
Yet, in highlighting this sorry, the JC might consider its own practices towards subscribers who have the paper delivered. Until recently, the JC came wrapped in a plastic envelope; now it comes devoid of wrapping. 

Without protection from the elements, the paper can get soaked in rain, pages stuck together, and sometimes torn. More importantly, having landed on the hall floor where people walk, taking the paper to the table creates a simple line of bacterial transmission from floor to table — much like the actions of the crouching Chasid. It may be that the JC wants to help the environment by stopping the use of plastic. I fully support that but considering the dangers of no wrapping, alternative wrappings, even paper, offer feasible solutions. It is one of the simple pleasures of life for members of the community who are avid followers of the JC to read it after having eaten their Shabbat meal. Let us continue to do so with an intact and germ-free paper.

Dr Jonathan Myers
Business School
University of Hertfordshire