We in Ireland know very well what it was like to be labelled “terrorists” or “Paddies” in the past when working or visiting abroad, so should not need to be reminded of the mistake of caricaturing Jews or anybody else. However, I find unacceptable his reference to Israel as “an otherwise liberal and tolerant society”, beyond condemnation of the Benjamin Netanyahu regime and extremist settlers. As the minority rights group Adalah points out, there are in fact 60-plus discriminatory laws against non-Jews covering all areas of life — including citizenship, political participation, land, housing, education, culture, language, religion and due process during detention. In fact, some such discriminatory laws in the self-declared “National State of the Jews” affect non-religious Jews, gays and Palestinian refugees. Bob Storey, Raheen, Skibbereen, Co Cork Hilary is right – no explanation needed Madam — Hilary A White is right to remind us that Ireland’s Jewish community owes no explanation for the crimes of the Netanyahu government (‘Don’t burden Irish Jews with Gaza guilt’, 17 August). What we are witnessing, however, is part of a wider trend: diaspora minorities being treated as if their citizenship is conditional, judged not on their contribution to Ireland but by the policies of states they do not elect, fund or control. Social media outrage has accelerated this logic of collective guilt. It is not just Jews who are targeted; Irish-Americans may be pressed to justify US wars, Irish-Russians to denounce Putin or Irish-Hindus to acc-ount for violence in India. If this continues, minorities will begin to act as if they are guests, rather than citizens. Ireland has always defined itself by resisting the collective punishments of imperialism. I hope that the next frontier of Irish liberalism will be the defence of diasporic neutrality: the principle that no Irish citizen should carry the moral burden of a foreign government. Fail to uphold it and Ireland will begin to mirror the majoritarian politics it once resisted. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh Balanced backdrop to unbalanced war Madam — Barry O’Halloran has written by far the best and most-balanced article on the background to the war in Gaza that I have read in an Irish newspaper (‘Israel wanted to be loved in the West and feared in the Middle East, but now it realises it can’t be both’, August 17). He debunks the view, widely held in Ireland, that Israel has implacably opposed Palestinian statehood down the years. The reality is that the Palestinian leadership on multiple occas-ions has rejected a two-state solution. The state of Israel was creat-ed by a resolution of the UN General Assembly in 1947 that divided British-administered Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories. This first two-state solution was accepted by the Jews and rejected by the Pales-tinians and the Arab states, who went to war with Israel in an effort to strangle the new state at birth. Israel won the war and refused to allow the return of 700,000 Palestinians who had fled with the strong encouragement of the Arab states, thereby starting the Palestinian refugee problem. (The war also created a million Jewish refugees expelled from Arab countries, but this is largely forgotten.) For 20 years, Jordan occupied the West Bank and Egypt the Gaza Strip, and neither -lifted a finger to create a state for their brother Arabs, an ambivalence that persists. Israel captured both territories in the Six-Day War in 1967 — a war of self-defence, not conquest. A succession of peace initi-atives in the decades that foll-owed would have created a Palestinian state, or the means to achieve one. These include the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, Camp David in 2000, Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 and Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert’s peace offer to the Palestinian Authority in 2008. In the case of Oslo and Camp David in particular, the Pales-tinian leadership chose the path of violence, rather than peace. Alan O’Sullivan, Kilcoole, Co Wicklow We’ve no influence, but much to lose Madam — What a privilege it must be to have the time, as Naoise Dolan did, to attend four Palestine protests in six days and have the further privilege of a newspaper column to pontificate to the rest of us regarding the same subject (‘If we don’t act against Israel, we are aiding and abetting its war crimes’, August 17). Meanwhile, the vast majority of us must go about our daily lives in the real world. This is the world that recognises that Ireland has zero influence over anything that happens in Pales-tine, but has much to lose by being on the wrong side of US foreign policy. P Kelly, Carraroe, Co Galway Support for Israel is due to Hamas attack Madam — Anthony Hanrahan (Letters, August 17) writes that Western leaders have allowed Israel “a free hand to do what it wants”. The reason the need to supp-ort Israel has “permeated the Western consciousness”, as he puts it, is that Israel is a democ-racy that was invaded by a genocidal terrorist government that orchestrated the highest number of murders of Jews in one day since the Holocaust. Ciarán Masterson, Cavan Dutch show us how to sow a field of dreams Madam — Joanna -Donnelly says it was a small livestock farmer from Mayo who convinced her to plant her feet firmly on the side of farmers after he endured a long, wet winter almost 20 years ago (‘Why I’m on the farmers’ side when it comes to tackling climate change’, August 17). When she referred to her husband’s native Netherlands, where farmers are often vilified, it brought back memories of my history and geography classes in national school. We were told the -Nether- lands was the size of Munster. We were also told Sicco Mansholt, a -Dutchman, was appointed Commissioner for Agriculture in the newly established EEC in 1958. His initial task was to introduce support mechanisms to solve the dire food shortages that arose in Europe after World War II. These supports are still subsidising the price of food today. To emphasise the enterprising nature of Dutch farmers, it was surmised that if the Dutch were in Ireland, they would feed the world. Today, the potential of Irish agriculture can be gauged from the value of agricultural exports in both countries. In 2023, such exports from the Netherlands were valued at €124bn, vastly exceeding Irish exports of €16bn. Drystock farming in areas like Mayo is typically the enterprise on smaller farms that are disadvantaged in terms of soil quality and climate. These farms are not suitable for tillage. While substitutes for “Big Oil” are available, no such alternatives are at hand for many farmers producing food in Ireland. Seamus O’Dowd, Clonakilty, Co Cork A picture alone tells the grotesque story Madam — If ever a picture was worth a thousand words, it was that in last week’s Sunday Independent of Vladimir Putin, having arrived in Alaska, striding across a red carpet to Donald Trump waiting in welcome (‘Weird, embarrassing but not yet disastrous’, August 17). The one striding forward has for the past three-and-a- half years wreaked death and destruction on Ukraine. The one he strides towards is, indirectly at least, facilitating the further destruction of Ukraine and influencing the opportunity for future encroachment on other former Soviet bloc countries. The headline across the photo may have been reasonable, but I suggest that words such as “grotesque, depraved and utterly pernicious” would have been more fitting, if still inadequate, to describe this episode. Michael Gannon, St Thomas Square, Kilkenny Regional airports mean Knock too Madam — Senator Dee Ryan (‘NDP’s €275bn plan must insist on far greater roles for regional airports’, Business, August 17) states that we are over-reliant on Dublin when it comes to aviation. By contrast, she suggests Cork and Shannon airports are stuck in a -holding pattern. I agree with these -sentiments, but would add that Ireland West Airport Knock should not be excluded from support, as it is a vital connectivity hub here in the west and north-west. Ms Ryan also suggests that the Limerick-Shannon rail line must be a top priority and be developed immediately to supp-ort the growth of Shannon Airport. Likewise, the reopening of the western rail corridor from Galway to Sligo, with a rail connection to Knock Airport, would greatly enhance the growth and support Ireland’s fourth-largest international airport. Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co Sligo I’m surprised Ross fell for FG joker Madam — If Shane Ross thinks there is going to be joint support from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for the one candidate, he is wrong (‘Martin’s next move could decide who ends up in the Áras’, August 17). They will both go it alone. If he thinks Fine Gael would support Bertie Ahern, he must not have read the Mahon Trib-unal report. The Fine Gael senator who told Shane Ross he would have no problem supporting Bertie Ahern must be a joker. I am surprised that Shane Ross, with all his experience, would believe such nonsense. Thomas Garvey, Claremorris, Co Mayo John Boyne’s critics should know better Madam — E Bolger (Letters, August 17) highlights how nowadays, particularly among younger people, there seems to be only one acceptable viewpoint on certain issues. The recent response to a Sunday Independent article (‘An ode to my friend JK Row-ling on her 60th birthday’, People & Culture, July 27) by John Boyne is a case in point. Over 800 “writers, editors, publishers and booksellers” have signed a letter both denouncing Mr Boyne for his “unacceptable” views and demanding that his book, Earth, be removed from the longlist for the Polari Prize. It is astonishing to me that people who work in the world of words are so opposed to free speech. Whether such behaviour is a result of ideological shifts in the education system, I can’t say, but it seems to me that we are seriously letting our young people down in their education if they think such behaviour puts them on the “right side of history”. Róisín Murphy, Rathgar, Dublin 6 Rugby chiefs can be confident in defence Madam — In his defence of safety in sport, Andy Hales (Letters, August 17) quoted Sinéad Lucey of FLAC as saying that the IRFU is subject to the Equal Status Acts (ESA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of being transgender. The implication from FLAC was that, by excluding males who identify as women from female rugby, the IRFU may be in breach of the act. Parents, schools and clubs seeking to protect their daughters and the female sporting category should be reassured by the IRFU’s stance, and by the notable silence and absence of legal challenge from those who condemned it for defending women and girls. The IRFU almost certainly sought independent legal advice and will be confident of the strength of its position. Sandra Adams, Baldoyle, Dublin 13 Follow UK’s lead on trans sportswomen Madam — Andy Hales highlights the conflict between trans rights and women’s rights that trans activists claim doesn’t exist. If a trans woman wants to play women’s sports, does their “right” to do so trump the rights of women to safe and fair sport? This is the conflict that the UK Supreme Court solved in April when it clarified that the term “woman” refers to individuals born biologically female. This decision clarifies that trans women, even those with a Gender Recognition Certificate, should not participate in women’s sports. We need similar clarity in Irish equality law. Such a move need not exclude trans women from sport. They should feel welcome to participate in men’s sports, and a move towards an “open” category (along with a separate women’s category) would be truly inclusive for all — trans women, trans men who take testosterone and non-binary male athletes. E Bolger, Dublin 9 Be grateful for Indian healthcare workers Madam — Following a number of letters to the Sunday Independent supporting our Indian health workers (August 17), I too wish to express my sincere thanks to these profess-ionals who contribute so much to our health services. Having recently experienced their care and support first-hand, I feel compelled to acknowledge the outstanding service they provide on a daily basis. From the moment one is admitted to a hospital, these nurses, doctors and support staff demonstrate a level of dedication that is truly inspiring. Their ability to offer clinical excellence while providing emotional reassurance and kindness makes a world of diff-erence to patients in extremely challenging circumstances. We are very fortunate to have them. Don Byrne, Raheny, Dublin 5 Luke O’Neill superb on ME breakthrough Madam — I wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude for the Sunday Independent’s coverage of the DecodeME study findings on ME/chronic fatigue syndrome (‘AI helping scientists solve the mystery of chronic fatigue’, August 17). The genetic findings from DecodeME represent a pivotal moment in our understanding of this illness. By bringing this to public attention, Luke O’Neill is helping to combat the stigma and misconceptions that have surrounded ME/CFS for far too long. This will help patients, families and professionals better understand the biomedical reality of this condition. Desmond Nunan, via email IRA weapons are no laughing matter Madam — The CNN journalist John King laughed when your interviewer Barry Egan asked him if his father had raised money to buy guns for the IRA (‘King and country’, Life, August 17). One wonders how he would react if another journalist were to laugh at the thought of a family member buying weapons for Al-Qa’ida. As someone who grew up in Fermanagh during the IRA’s campaign of sectarian violence there, I find nothing amusing about the thought of buying guns for that organisation. CDC Armstrong, Belfast