• I REFER to the three letters in the December 1 CNJ, (During waves of persecution in medieval Europe many Jews found refuge in Muslim lands, Forget the history lesson… work for safety and A question of human rights).

If you had watched David Baddiel’s recent TV programme, or read his book, Jews Don’t Count, you might be somewhat surprised to find out that these three letters support his premise.

In 1947-48, 1.1 million Jews lived in Arab lands and today, following the many expulsions, there are barely 5,000 Jews living there.

These communities, particularly those in Iraq, went back 3,000 years in history and today there is little or no evidence that such a large community even existed. The world has largely ignored this ethnic cleansing.

Today Israel is the only country in the Middle East where its Muslim, Christian and Jewish population is growing. Even the ancient Christian communities in the Middle East are fast disappearing.

Peace and a full settlement between the Palestinian people and Israel can only happen when the Palestinian authorities recognise the right of a state of Israel to exist.

Bearing in mind Israel has full diplomatic relations with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, this refusal is a major contributor to the lack of progress in the peace process.

Every day people living in Israel, which includes its Arab population, are attacked by terrorists under the control of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, both movements funded and controlled by Iran.

Much of the world is appalled by Iran’s support of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and yet their support for this terrorism is largely ignored. These terrorists are killed by the Israel Defense Forces and border police in their role to protect the population of Israel from terrorism after they have first attacked Israelis.

Regarding the construction of the separation wall, it was started in 2002 following the deaths of over 1,000 Israelis and a further 10,000 injured in the seven years previous to 2002 due to terrorism. It has been very successful in preventing this terrorism, as were similar walls constructed in Belfast which can still be seen today.

It is very sad that the CNJ published these letters without verifying the facts; which brings me back to David Baddiel’s premise that “Jews Don’t Count”.

DAVID STEBBING
Fellows Road, NW3