You report that far-right elements, upset by the march supporting Palestinians, waved the flag of St George (“Hate, intolerance and arrests as thugs hijack Armistice Day”, News, last week). The saint’s origins are unclear, but it is believed his mother was from Palestine. He is thought to have been buried at Lydda — now Lod in Israel — in what was the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. I wonder if the right-wing demonstrators pondered this complex history as they chanted.
Stephen M Ferguson, London SW1
Misguided chant
I had to smile at the subtle irony of far-right thugs chanting, “You’re not English any more,” at the Metropolitan Police — to the (approximate) tune of Cwm Rhondda. Not, perhaps, the most English of hymns. Suella Braverman must be so proud of them.
Iain Currie, St Chamassy, France
Braverman’s slur
You report that “Suella Braverman condemns ‘sick’ antisemitic protesters” (News, last week). This is an insult to more than 1,000 Jews, including me, who were on the march on Armistice Day. If anything is antisemitic, it’s the failure to acknowledge our presence, and the implication that all Jews support Israel.
We did not feel threatened. Muslims and others were pleased to see us. I did not see any Hamas supporters or antisemitic placards — but what some people consider to be antisemitism is simply criticism of Israel that they don’t like.
We were marching because more than 10,000 Palestinians had been killed by Israel. What more appropriate time than Armistice Day to call for an armistice in Gaza?
Deborah Fink, east London
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Voice of reason
A picture is worth a thousand words, the saying goes. I suggest that Louise Callaghan’s uplifting words on the pro-Palestinian march (“Away from the ugly scenes of the protests, calmer voices make a plea for decency”, News, last week) told us more than all your pictures of the event put together.
Robin Laurance, Oxford
Forgotten hostages
I really wanted to be reassured by Callaghan’s account of the day. I was disappointed, though not surprised, to read that among all the reasons that drove people to attend the march — which included “Kurdistan and Congo and veganism”, Callaghan told us — there was not one placard or voice calling for the men, women, children and babies being held by Hamas to be freed.
Cheryl Kuczynski, London NW11
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