2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Letters: Not all members of Jewish community oppose Trinity College Dublin's decision to cut ties with Israel
This is untrue. It ignores the many Jews in Ireland who support this action and those who worked towards it – the Jewish student activists, including a past chair of TCD's Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) society, and the Jewish members of Academics for Palestine. It also ignores Jewish members of Trinity College's board which approved this decision.
The assumption that 'the Jewish community' supports Israel is false. To conflate Jews and the Israeli state is false, and the biggest lie of all is that the boycott of Israel is antisemitic, as per the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition. This is why many Jews, Holocaust scholars and groups such as the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Irish Network Against Racism, oppose the IHRA and its use to silence criticism of Israel.
Alan Shatter and Maurice Cohen, in their open letter to the chair of TCD's board, also fail to refer to the Jerusalem Declaration, signed by over 200 scholars worldwide, which specifically states that peaceful methods of protest such as BDS are not antisemitic. Just as the IHRA definition protects Israel, but not Jews, so too does the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland protect Israel. It does not represent the diversity of Jews when it represents the apartheid state and stays silent about genocide.
Sue Pentel, Jews for Palestine Ireland, Belfast
Where are international leaders calling out act of piracy on Madleen ship?
The seizure by Israeli forces of the aid boat Madleen carrying Greta Thunberg and other campaigners, in my opinion, should be considered an act of piracy. However, there seems to be no inclination by leaders of the democratic world to hold Israeli leaders accountable for their actions.
Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Co Cork
People need to curb their expectations – there are no quick fixes for anything
We live in a world of growing and sometimes unrealistic expectations, with people seeking a silver bullet to solve issues. Alas, it's not so simple.
Looking at our housing shortage there is no quick fix. Given the complexities of development – from rules and regulations to putting funding in place – a dramatic increase in supply is unrealistic.
Our infrastructure – from sewerage to water and energy – also needs upgrading. As regards the health service, the issues of bed shortages and delays in treatment are never-ending. There is no magic formula to fix this.
The best that can be achieved is a 20-year plan with incremental changes leading to the graph becoming positive.
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And if we looks beyond our shores, Jews and Arabs have been fighting for centuries. A solution will take years of slow, painstaking work.
Russia will not put the interests of others before itself any time soon, but perhaps if they feel the chill winds from the rest of the world for long enough, another generation of Russians might see the folly of their ways.
In people's own personal lives, change is slow and gradual. There is no such thing as the quick fix or shortcut, though modern society tries to sell us this old snake-oil mantra. Most successful people, be they from the world of sport, entertainment, or business, talk about the slow grind, the hard graft, the many years of failures before achieving their goal.
Joseph Kiely, Letterkenny, Co Donegal
Government must control public hospital capacity and ditch two-tier system
Almost €2bn has been spent on the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) since its inception. Intended to reduce waiting lists, the NTPF has been a total failure, especially if you reside in the wrong part of the dystopian Irish health landscape.
Many hospital consultants, employed by the State, continue to split their time between public hospitals and more profitable private practice.
This 'have' and 'have-more' model diverts capacity away from public patients and fuels the two-tier system, where access is based on the ability to pay. The NTPF was supposed to provide a solution. Instead,it rewards private providers for doing work that should be performed within the public system.
Worse, it creates a perverse incentive: the longer public lists grow, the more private work is generated, often by the very consultants whose time is being lost to the public service.
If the Government is serious about delivering on Sláintecare's promise of universal, single-tier healthcare, it must re-assert control over public hospital capacity, reform consultant contracts and end the parallel system funded by the NTPF.
We cannot buy our way out of this crisis. But one thing is certain, the most effective trade unions to operate in Ireland, those representing doctors, along with the private insurers, will absorb the current pressure, exert influence and the horror show will go on.
Declan Doyle, Kilkenny
US has clearly lost its way when reporter is shot from behind while doing job
America used to be the country of the TV westerns where the good guys never shot the bad guys in the back. But those days are forgotten.
We saw an Australian reporter in LA shot in the leg with a rubber bullet from behind. The Lone Ranger, a past symbol of what Americans thought they were, would be horrified. How far can they sink into the swamp that Donald Trump promised to drain.
Fortunately the reporter is OK and back on the job.
Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia
LGBTQ+ community knows how to celebrate its diversity, as we all should
Fair play to the LGBTQ+ community. They celebrate their status with the likes of 'Pride Month', 'Gay Week' and even 'Dyke Day'. Heterosexuals haven't even as much as a coffee morning. How about we start our own week. We could call it the 'Hetero Hullabaloo' or the 'Hetero Hooley'.
P Canning, Address with editor
Rescuers who captured runaway zebra Ed earned their stripes for sure
Well done to the people who captured Ed the escaped zebra ('Ed the zebra airlifted home after week on run is ended,' Irish Independent, June 9). They certainly earned their stripes! Noel Kelly, Doonbeg, Co Clare
