SIR – The recent warnings from Ken McCallum, the Director General of MI5, about rising terror threats linked to Iran and Islamist extremists should serve as a wake-up call (“The West is sleepwalking into nuclear disaster”, Comment, October 10).
Far from being isolated, Israel’s struggle against terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah is closely connected with global security, including Britain’s. It is a continuation of the West’s war on terror initiated after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, when Islamists declared war on the world.
After 9/11, a global coalition formed to combat terrorism, recognising that the threats posed by groups like Al-Qaeda, and now Isis, cross borders and target democracies everywhere. In its battle for survival, Israel is confronting the very networks and state-backed terror groups – such as those supported by Iran – that also threaten British streets.
Sir Keir Starmer’s recent calls for a ceasefire (report, October 7) come after Israel has been brutally attacked on several fronts – a moment reminiscent of 9/11, when terrorists launched coordinated assaults on innocent civilians. Such calls only embolden the terror networks that threaten the West.
Instead of signalling retreat, the Prime Minister should stand firm with Israel in its fight, knowing that every victory it achieves against terror is a victory for Britain as well.
Eli Cohen
London NW11
SIR – Iran’s current position as a sponsor of terrorism can arguably be traced back to the decision by George W Bush, supported by Tony Blair, to invade Iraq in 2003.
Iran and Iraq had fought each other to a standstill over eight years in the 1980s. Leaving Saddam Hussein in power, albeit over a Sunni-minority population, could have been analogous to the 19th-century British policy of maintaining a balance of power in Europe.
Besides this, Mr Blair’s adventurism in 2003 almost crippled the British Armed Forces, which were already engaged in Afghanistan. Defence planning assumptions, personnel and resources did not provide for two such operations to be conducted simultaneously.
Maj Gen Philip Corp (retd)
Salisbury, Wiltshire
SIR – A friend’s daughter recently told me how she must run the gauntlet of viciously anti-Semitic, Hamas and Hezbollah-sympathising demonstrators every time she goes to her university in London. She receives no support from fellow students, nor, shockingly, from staff. Her situation is apparently “good” compared to her friends studying medicine.
Jewish resettlement in England began in the mid-1650s. My wife and I have lived here all our lives, and all four of our parents and seven of our grandparents were born here. Two of my three children still live in Britain, along with three of my grandchildren.
But for how much longer? With no tangible support and protection from the Government, the police or other authorities, for many Jews it is now a question of when, not if, we leave.
Brian Gedalla
London N3
SIR – The recent warnings from Ken McCallum, the Director General of MI5, about rising terror threats linked to Iran and Islamist extremists should serve as a wake-up call (“The West is sleepwalking into nuclear disaster”, Comment, October 10).
Far from being isolated, Israel’s struggle against terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah is closely connected with global security, including Britain’s. It is a continuation of the West’s war on terror initiated after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, when Islamists declared war on the world.
After 9/11, a global coalition formed to combat terrorism, recognising that the threats posed by groups like Al-Qaeda, and now Isis, cross borders and target democracies everywhere. In its battle for survival, Israel is confronting the very networks and state-backed terror groups – such as those supported by Iran – that also threaten British streets.
Sir Keir Starmer’s recent calls for a ceasefire (report, October 7) come after Israel has been brutally attacked on several fronts – a moment reminiscent of 9/11, when terrorists launched coordinated assaults on innocent civilians. Such calls only embolden the terror networks that threaten the West.
Instead of signalling retreat, the Prime Minister should stand firm with Israel in its fight, knowing that every victory it achieves against terror is a victory for Britain as well.
Eli Cohen
London NW11
SIR – Iran’s current position as a sponsor of terrorism can arguably be traced back to the decision by George W Bush, supported by Tony Blair, to invade Iraq in 2003.
Iran and Iraq had fought each other to a standstill over eight years in the 1980s. Leaving Saddam Hussein in power, albeit over a Sunni-minority population, could have been analogous to the 19th-century British policy of maintaining a balance of power in Europe.
Besides this, Mr Blair’s adventurism in 2003 almost crippled the British Armed Forces, which were already engaged in Afghanistan. Defence planning assumptions, personnel and resources did not provide for two such operations to be conducted simultaneously.
Maj Gen Philip Corp (retd)
Salisbury, Wiltshire
SIR – A friend’s daughter recently told me how she must run the gauntlet of viciously anti-Semitic, Hamas and Hezbollah-sympathising demonstrators every time she goes to her university in London. She receives no support from fellow students, nor, shockingly, from staff. Her situation is apparently “good” compared to her friends studying medicine.
Jewish resettlement in England began in the mid-1650s. My wife and I have lived here all our lives, and all four of our parents and seven of our grandparents were born here. Two of my three children still live in Britain, along with three of my grandchildren.
But for how much longer? With no tangible support and protection from the Government, the police or other authorities, for many Jews it is now a question of when, not if, we leave.
Brian Gedalla
London N3