Kenan Malik’s piece is beautifully observed (“In the Middle East, as in Greek tragedy, justice must prevail over moral absolutism”, Comment, ). The universality of what is happening now in the Middle East is well represented by Greek tragedy, removing the laziness of the trope that “they’ve always been like that over there”.
I have to take issue, though, with the idea that Israelis and Palestinians are faced with a choice between vengeance and reason. Unfortunately, the situation is even bleaker than that. What the Israelis are doing is not just vengeance. It carries its own rationale – that of a belief that a solution is impossible. Israeli leaders know they cannot fulfil their public aim and eradicate Hamas forever, that Hamas is an idea and will be back no matter what. But if you believe that Hamas represents simply the latest wave of antisemitism, which has always been with us and always will be, then scorched earth makes sense from a tactical point of view.
Such a rationale is self-fulfilling, and brings its own nihilistic response in terms of the difference between the ideology of Hamas and the PLO before it, the escalation from secular into civilisational conflict. And of course we could debate which came first and who is most to blame. But the grim bottom line is: the dark side, for both sides, carries its own logic. And so we go on.
Johnny West
Berlin, Germany
Hey nonny no, Suella
The English Folk Dance and Song Society archive lists 15 types of folk dance, from Early Morris to Longsword, Rapper and Molly, many no doubt with their own local variations (“There’s nowt so queer as folklore: archive hunts for a new home”, News).
While most present-day dances are revivals or interpretations, the origins of folk dance are lost in the whirligig of time. The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance pictured in your piece uses reindeer horns carbon dated to the 11th century.
Modern sides such as Brigantii Border Morris and Stone the Crows use folk dance for overtly political protest. Suella Braverman would do well to note that dissent and irreverence are part and parcel of British culture (“Revealed: plan to brand anyone ‘undermining’ UK as extremist”, News). As opposed to her own contributions that are, at best, an irrelevance.
Austen Lynch
Garstang, Lancashire
I see that Michael Gove proposes to brand as “extremist” anyone who “undermines the UK’s institutions and its values”. What an excellent idea. It would allow us to prosecute our rotten government for doing exactly that for 13 disastrous years.
Caroline Westgate
Hexham, Northumberland
Re your headline on the plan to brand anyone “undermining” UK institutions and values as extremist. Does that mean that the 48% of eligible UK citizens who voted remain at the Brexit vote are now all extremists? Or is it possible that the 52% who voted in favour of Brexit have “undermined” the UK?
Julian Brown
Malvern, Worcestershire
AI: just the job?
Martha Gill makes a valid point about job interviews being past their sell-by date (“If chatbots can ace job interviews for us, maybe it’s time to scrap this ordeal”, Comment). But if selection for a job rests solely on the CV and similar data, it would only be a matter of time before job applicants used AI to create their application and for employers to use AI to analyse and select the “most appropriate” applicant. Unfortunately, I cannot think of an alternative to either personal interviews or AI mysteriously deciding for us. Perhaps we could leave finding a solution to another AI?
Gary Bennett
Exeter
If dogs could talk
As a carefully distanced observer of SUVs, there appear to be two other criteria that drive their popularity (“Monsters of the road”, New Review). Both are especially influential in the UK. The first is dog ownership, which has soared by roughly 40% since the pandemic and which usefully offers another excuse for driving 3 tonnes of metal. If dogs could talk, they might say they are not bothered about their vehicle status as long as they get fed on time.
The second is the increasing number of obese drivers for whom the SUV usefully offsets their own bulk. The need for a personal carbon allowance appears to be ever greater.
Fiona Pitcher
Walsingham, Norfolk
My pain at Little Britain skit
I agree with Barbara Ellen that Little Britain was offensive (“I loathe Little Britain, but it shouldn’t be censored – let it fade away for being unfunny”, Comment). I noticed, however, that she devotes just one line to the most vicious depiction of a disabled person on TV: the character who pretends to be wheelchair bound but gets up whenever his carer’s back is turned.
As a wheelchair user, I can testify to the harm the sketch caused in terms of increased harassment. When I first became ill, I was repeatedly mocked during a trip to hospital by a large group, clearly inspired by the programme, because I got up from my wheelchair and, with great difficulty and a lot of pain, walked a few steps. This is just one of the many hostile or suspicious reactions I have experienced as a disabled person, but perhaps one of the most humiliating.
While I am glad Ellen calls out this horrible sketch, I feel she could have given it more attention. The portrayal was created and “enjoyed” against a backdrop of increasing hostility from the state, the media and the public towards disabled people as “bogus scroungers”.
Name and address supplied
Praise be
Why are women far more likely than men to praise their colleagues’ work (Comment)? Because women are more interested in “power with”, as opposed to men’s “power over”.
Bruce Higgins
San Diego, California
Life after life
Bitter irony indeed that, while Jeff Bezos is making strenuous efforts to lengthen his own life, he employs workers under conditions that will almost certainly reduce theirs (“Britain’s biotech startups race US ‘buff billionaires’ for secrets of eternal youth”, Business). The world of longevity research is producing important insights, but a bigger challenge remains reversing the decline in life expectancy affecting people in low-income occupations and deprived neighbourhoods. We urgently need an ambitious programme of social research targeting the poorest groups, ensuring that they too can have a healthy and secure later life.
Chris Phillipson
Manchester
September song
“Nobody ever got poetic about September,” writes Stewart Lee (“Will the planet outlive my dying laptop?”, New Review). Kurt Weill’s September Song, as performed by Lotte Lenya, is poetry distilled and brings tears to this old fellow’s eyes every time.
Simon Lawton-Smith
Eynsham, Oxfordshire
