“Tales of infanticide” is not what is happening in Gaza (“Tales of infanticide have stoked hatred of Jews for centuries. They echo still today”). These are real deaths and real children and real loss. The blood libel myth is a horrific example of how antisemitic propaganda was used to persecute, and eventually exile, the Jewish population of England. It is a shameful facet of British history but it is, and it is important that we strip its power by firmly establishing this, a myth. The killing and bombing and starving of Gaza children is not a myth. It is fact, it is continuing and it is irrevocably disrespectful to their memory and their families to suggest that their bodies are only a prop in an antisemitic narrative.
What is antisemitic is to equate an entire religion with one violent regime and occupier, which is precisely what Jacobson does in this article. The Jewish population and faith is diverse and there are many who do not support the Gazan occupation and genocide.
Esther Chauncy
London E7
As a writer of fiction, Howard Jacobson is an excellent polemicist who in his article gives cover for Israel’s war crimes against my people, and so risks stoking antisemitism. I will never defend antisemitic blood libel, although I will accuse Israel of habitually murdering Palestinian children.
Here are some facts: Guardian reporter Chris McGreal wrote in April that doctors were “deeply troubled by the number of children who were severely wounded or killed by single gunshots” from Israeli sniping. A group of 45 doctors sent a letter with accompanying documentary evidence attesting to this. My mother’s cousin, 15-year-old Abdallah El-Farra, was shot like this while fetching bread for his family in July.
Also in April, the Guardian reported that Israel knowingly allows the killing of civilians with its AI-powered targeting methodology. In Nasser hospital, in November 2023, I watched as a grim procession consisting of a baby, three older children and two adults were carried to the morgue immediately after an Israeli airstrike on the Khan Younis refugee camp. Twenty-five of my maternal family, including children, were killed by an Israeli airstrike on their home in Khan Younis last week.
We accuse Israelis and their western arms dealers, not Jews, of murdering more children than in any other conflict in the past two decades. Jacobson should pause to consider facts and the impact of conflating Jewishness with Israel if he truly cares about antisemitism.
Mohamed Ghalaieny
Manchester
I’m positively charged
Ros Coward is right to ask for a more coherent and effective system of public EV charging (“Four years after buying an electric car, why am I still forced to play hunt-the-charger?”).
Nonetheless, my 18 months of EV ownership has left me feeling much more positive. For those of us able to charge at home it is a no-brainer. Aside from the heavy carbon footprint, internal combustion engines are woefully inefficient in energy use. At best, about a third of the energy in the fuel is used to propel the car – two-thirds is discarded as heat from the radiator and exhaust. Hybrids are better than conventional cars, but only marginally. Driven sensibly, our mid-sized EV has a range between 280 (winter) and 320 (summer) miles. It has taken us to west Wales and to south-west France. Long trips require a little forethought, but so does anything in life that is to be done effectively. “Range anxiety” feels suspiciously like a neurosis that is being promoted by lobbyists for the oil industry.
Dr John Gee
Forest Row, East Sussex
Looking good, feeling good
At last, someone with common sense who realises that the reason people get surgery is simply to feel better about themselves (“Social media isn’t driving the plastic surgery boom. Who doesn’t want to look better?”). I wish the sour grapes crowd would stop shaming those who simply want to feel better about themselves, instead of insinuating that anyone who cares about how they look is somehow a bad person.
Bekah Griffiths
Cobham, Surrey
What about the climate?
Will Hutton always has something important to say about politics and society. His new book is no different. But there is a flaw at its heart and he illustrates that in his piece (“After 100 days of mistakes, we need to hear Labour’s underlying philosophy”). The world has changed and yet here we are again, 70 years back, picking the brains of a long-dead politician. The challenges we face are unprecedented and the elephant in the room is the climate and biodiversity crisis. No mention of that here and hardly any in his book, yet the looming failure to address it will negate all his vision. His plea to the new government is valid and heartfelt but the gap between that and the action we need, now, is a yawning chasm.
Neil Blackshaw
Alnwick, Northumberland
Hard work pays off
Torsten Bell rightly highlights the role that inherited wealth plays in financial security, but strays too far into defeatism (“TikTok is full of advice on how to retire early. The truth is you just need rich parents”). Reducing success to luck of birth ignores the value of hard work, innovation and perseverance.
Suggesting that financial success is unattainable without rich parents risks fostering resignation in young people. Yes, inherited wealth creates advantages, but it doesn’t make ambition and effort futile. Social mobility stagnates when we promote a sense of helplessness. Instead, we should empower young people to believe that, despite the challenges, they can change their circumstances.
While the system is rigged towards the wealthy, there are countless examples of people who have built success through smart choices and persistence. It may be harder today, but it’s not impossible. The state has a role in levelling the playing field, but individuals must take charge of their own destiny.
Omar Sarhan
Leeds
Put a brake on boozing
Re “England urged to bring in minimum unit price on alcohol as deaths rise 10% a year”: prevention takes many forms in public health. The people who design seatbelts do not generally want to outlaw cars, but to reduce the deaths from crashes. Some people will drink a lot of alcohol, if it is readily available and relatively cheap. Damage to the body from alcohol relates to the amount consumed and how frequently. Alcohol-related deaths are at a high-water mark – and still rising. Our society does not encourage driving a car without brakes. A minimum unit price is effective, for some drinkers, in putting a brake on their boozing.
Woody Caan
Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Portobello porkies
In his review of Boris Johnson’s Unleashed, Tim Adams asks us to spare a thought for the factcheckers (New Review). He cites Johnson’s claims that “graffiti appeared on the wall in Portobello Road”, saying “Brexit saves lives”. As a resident of the road, I can confirm that is a fact. I can also confirm that beneath it, in the same handwriting, were the words “Brexit keeps Britain white”. I painted over it. That may be why Johnson failed to mention it in his memoir.
John Lowery
London W11
