• I WAS really saddened to read C Papadopoulos’s letter, (How can Israel claim to be the only democracy in the Middle East?, July 19).

Instead of dealing with the curse of anti-Semitism in Britain, which I had raised the previous week (Labour should act ‘sharpish’ and adopt the full IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, July 12), s/he demanded that people of Jewish heritage, like myself, should answer for the policies of the Israeli government. This is completely unacceptable.

Israel is a theocratic state. That much was affirmed by the Knesset this week. It is not a policy I support, but then I do not support many policies adopted by governments all around the world.

Israel is, of course, by no means the only theocratic state. Saudi Arabia and Iran are two other examples.

Does C Papadopoulos ask British Muslims to take responsibility for their policies? Did s/he expect British Shia to explain where they stood when Iran hung gay men from cranes?

Did s/he demand that British Sunnis be held account­able for the stoning or beheading of men and women in Saudi Arabia? Of course not. And rightly so.

The same standard must be applied to British Jews: they cannot be held accountable for the policies or practices of the Israeli state. This is not to imply that I am uncritical of Israel.

I have personally seen orthodox Jewish boys throwing stones at elderly Palestinian women in Hebron market, while Israeli soldiers stood by and did nothing. When I remonstrated with the soldiers they shrugged and told me to move on.

I have seen Arab women, heavily pregnant, held at checkpoints around Jerusalem, hour after hour in the burning sun, for no reason at all.

I have witnessed the devastation of Gaza and the sad reality of the Israeli settlements peering down on Ramallah.

I know how Sudanese and Eritrean refugees are treated as “infiltrators” and held in desert camps, rather than being granted refugee status.

I have and will continue to protest about all this – and more. But I do so as a human being. No one has the right to hold me accountable for these iniquities because of my heritage.

MARTIN PLAUT
Ryland Road, NW5