It’s a fact that many of our parents will have said “fucking Germany” after reading about the horrific activities of the Nazis in the 1930s, just as many older readers, like me, will have used the same expletive to describe America after seeing awful photos of napalmed children in Vietnam. In neither case was racism implied, and neither should it be in the case of Graham Jones (Labour suspends second parliamentary candidate over Israel comments, 13 February).
In saying “I’m sure when [world leaders] go home, like me, pardon my French [they say] ‘fucking Israel’ again”, Jones was clearly showing his frustration with Israel’s government, an emotion probably felt by many after watching the appalling destruction of Gaza on television, and hearing about Israel’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire.
