From: Jeremy Hall, Crockernwell, Exeter.

“We are all harmed if we tolerate abuse of some of our fellow citizens by those who hold warped or extreme views”. This key sentence comes from a Government-backed report, co-authored by Penny Mordaunt and requested by the Board of Deputies, the largest Jewish community organisation in the UK.

How we respond to this report indicates our personal pre-judgements/prejudices. For some the fact that the Board of Deputies requested the report will invalidate it; for others P. Mordaunt's career as a prominent Tory MP and Minister will colour their reaction.

The report found anti-semitic prejudice in the NHS, the police, universities and in the arts.

Palestinians search for survivors and bodies amid the debris of a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. PIC: AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi

placeholder image — Palestinians search for survivors and bodies amid the debris of a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. PIC: AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi

Suggestions to reduce this hatred included: primary schools, trade unions and police forces to upgrade training of their members in recognising and resisting anti-semitism, this to be included in EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity) programmes. Does mention of EDI invalidate the findings of the report? Note that Mordaunt and her co-author were "stunned into silence" by the degree of anti-semitism they unearthed.

On a broader canvas how many of us are "stunned into silence" by the news coming daily from Palestine?

On July 10, 15 Palestinians including nine children, waiting outside a clinic, were shot by Israel Defence Force soldiers. The justification given: a Hamas individual had been hit. The International Criminal Court (respected by all readers?) states "the death of civilians must not be clearly excessive in comparison with the overall military advantage anticipated".

How many dead kids are "clearly excessive"? How much anger is "justified" about this guideline defining daily life for citizens hoping for nothing more than food and medical care?

For some the fact that this information comes from the BBC (amongst so many other internationally respected news structures and organisations) will immediately make it "propaganda". But the weight of information cannot be denied.

UNICEF, with such enormously brave workers present in Palestine, has termed this conflict 'The War on Children' - statistically one killed every hour since 7/10/23.

We all remember the horror of the Hamas attack against Israelis on that day. But how much deprivation is warranted? Palestine needs 500 lorries of supplies every day; 50 are let in. 85 per cent of Palestinian homes have been damaged or destroyed.

Energy supplies are now being interrupted and while sewage piles in the streets, water supplies have been cut...and 24 more shootings last Saturday by the Israeli Army, "the most moral military in the world"."Excessive"?

How can we diminish the "abuse of fellow citizens" in the UK? How can we play some role in resisting the callous intention of one nation to destroy a populace, the aggressor using spare parts for planes made in and exported by the UK? How to register that we are "stunned"?

71 UK citizens were arrested this weekend for "chanting, wearing clothing and displaying flags" in support of a pro-Palestine organisation. How reduced has become our right to demonstrate? Is only silent protest acceptable?

Should we make time to support "abused" human beings halfway round the world? And on the global issue, when do we protest and act over the financially dominant sectors of our societies who are money-making as they ignore/encourage destruction of our currently liveable world?