Identity politics
Hadley Freeman wonders why Guardian editors are so cowed by Owen Jones and his belief that anyone who thinks differently to him — on the issue of Israel-Palestine, for example — is on the wrong side of history (Owen Jones isn’t a journalist — he’s simply a propagandist, 8 December).
But the truth is they are not cowed, because they share his world view.
It was not ever thus.
The reason Hadley and other top journalists left the Guardian and people like myself stopped reading it is because a once great and progressive paper became consumed by regressive identity politics and its belief in a hierarchy of victimhood in which Jews don’t count.
As a teacher I believed passionately in equal opportunity, which included giving ethnic minorities the skills to flourish and integrate.
Woke identity politics (and journalists like Jones who embrace it) divides rather than unites and mitigates against a cohesive society — as we have seen in the weekly pro-Palestine marches.
Stan Labovitch
Windsor
Thanks for the light
I was privileged to attend the “March of Lights” with my son on Monday, which took place on Whitehall and ended at Trafalgar Square, where the national menorah stood.
Israeli music was played and Israeli flags and torches were displayed in a wonderful show of Jewish solidarity to celebrate the festival of Chanukah and to give support to the hostages, whose names were displayed on posters.
I pay tribute to the organisers for such a memorable and moving event, topped off with celebratory doughnuts.
Helen Leon (aged 87)
Barnet
Now the dust has settled after last month’s inspirational march against antisemitism, I would like to relate a personal experience.
Walking along the Embankment, holding a sizeable and colourful placard, not entirely uncritical of Hamas terrorists and their supporters, I asked a passing policeman, who looked experienced in controlling large marches and demonstrations, “Tell me, officer, who is better behaved?”
He roared with laughter and replied, “Don’t be funny, you know perfectly well, sir. But I am not allowed to answer that!”
Gavin Littaur
London NW4
No Jewish winners
David Cohen’s piece on Jewish body image and “Dutch Sam” Mendoza’s career (The tragic and complicated history of Jewish body image, December 8) recalled a paragraph in Colonel Patterson’s memoirs about his command of the Jewish Legion in the First World War.
A force-wide boxing tourney was organised in which “...our man reached the final but was disqualified on a technicality.”
He then inferred there was a fix to avoid an immigrant East Ender being champion of an Imperial Expedition.
Frank Adam
Prestwich
For the record
The JC seeks to correct errors quickly.
l “An article we published on 19 October 2023 has been amended to remove a mention of Dr Nimer Sultany. We agree that this part of the article was inaccurate and potentially misleading, and apologise for that.”
