Readers Letters: Horrors of Middle East cut both ways

Carolyn Taylor (Letters, 19 October) asks how you explain to a three-year-old Palestinian girl how her life has changed overnight. You can’t. However, when she is old enough to understand you can tell her how on 7 October children of her own age were murdered, some in front of their parents, by terrorists who originated from her homeland.

A man in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, displays pages of the Koran found in a search and rescue operation among buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on Thursday (Picture: Getty)

Hopefully by then the evil of Hamas will no longer exist and Palestinians will have chosen a peaceful existence alongside Israel.

Lewis Finnie, Edinburgh

Double standards

Carolyn Taylor goes into much detail describing the suffering and hideous loss of life among innocent Palestinians.

It is indeed appropriate to challenge the way Tel Aviv is conducting this war; obliterating civilian infrastructure and inflicting mass casualties on ordinary people going about their daily lives breaches international law and undoubtedly plays into the hands of Hamas.

However, speaking as someone of mixed Irish and Jewish heritage, it is disturbing that Ms Taylor doesn’t mention the 1,400 Israeli citizens tortured and mutilated by terrorists last week. Or indeed, the 200 men, women and children (including infants, the disabled and the elderly) abducted as hostages during this barbaric assault on the only democracy in the Middle East.

In another exhibition of double standards, the First Minister of Scotland talks a lot about justice and fairness but still can’t bring himself to condemn death threats made against one of his own MPs who recently quit the Continuity SNP. Quite understandably, Dr Lisa Cameron MP switched political allegiance after stating that she endured prolonged harassment and ostracism from her former parliamentary colleagues.

Such blatant hypocrisy in public discourse must always be called out, and those who practise it shamed.

Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh

Too late to talk

There are calls for a “proportionate response” by Israel against the Palestinian Hamas terrorist party (Palestinians voted Hamas into power). Would one of these academic politicians kindly enlighten us – what is a proportionate response? Child for child; body for body? There is no such thing as proportionality in war. Should kid gloves be worn or one hand be tied behind their back? This is ridiculous, wars are never half fought, because one or other of the participants will take advantage. It's either all-out war or it's put off for another time. Israel needs to finish this now while it has good and obvious reason.

Churchill said: “Jaw Jaw not War War”. Trouble is, Hamas has refused to talk despite decades of offers.

Stan Hogarth, Strathaven, South Lanarkshire

War winners

When the current crisis in Israel began too many people jumped in feet first and took one side or the other. If two of their neighbours were to start fighting in the street would they go out and join in on one side? Or would they try to calm the situation? Seventy-five years of taking sides hasn't solved anything.

Perhaps the people taking sides should pause and think. One of the first things I do when a geopolitical crisis arises is to check share prices. Shares in the US arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin rose from $400 to $433, and those of BAe Systems soared from £980 to a record £1,077, all within a days of the Hamas attacks.

Imagine if there was profit in peace.

Geoff Moore, Alness, Highland

Writing on wall

With Labour repeating their mauling of the SNP in Rutherglen and achieving equally fantastic results in two previously safe Tory seats in Middle England, the writing is on the wall for nationalism in Scotland. It would seem a whole raft of their MPs and MSPs will be receiving their P45s at the next election. Once Labour had shaken off the Jeremy Corbyn chains and the insidious far left influence, they re-emerged as the party of the people.

No amount of “colony” and latest made-up grievance talk will change the future course of politics in Scotland. The people simply do not buy it anymore. That ship has sailed.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Easy targets

Climate activist Greta Thunberg seems to be smug and enjoying the photo opportunity as she demonstrates outside JP Morgan's Canary Wharf offices (your report, 20 October). She and other climate activists would not be so smug if on being arrested they were held in custody until their cases came to court.

Climate zealots never mention that population causes greenhouse gases. In 1900 the world population was 1.7 billion, in 2000 it was 6.15 billion, today 8.1 billion and it could be 9.8 billion by Net Zero 2050.

Then there are the greenhouse gases created by Mother Nature and wars. Strange that Greta Thunberg and the climate demonstrators are not chaining themselves to the Kremlin and buildings and roads in other countries which are waging war and thus creating more greenhouse gases than we in the UK can ever save.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian

House of cards

For 14 years the SNP has myopically focused on independence to the exclusion of all else: National Debt and deficit increasing year on year; unemployment highest in the UK, 45 per cent of Scots not earning enough to pay income tax. Yet Yousaf’s solution is to raise tax level for high earners; which will surely drive many south of the Border.

Child poverty levels remain high – a serious problem given only lip service by the former First Minister. And drug deaths still the highest in Europe.

Humza Yousaf seems an honourable, decent man, although one with a lousy CV, who finds himself captain of a rapidly sinking ship

Apparently independence was – and is still – the “only way forward” for Scotland, a mantra trotted out by Party stalwarts on every conceivable occasion.

Yet nobody within the nationalist party has ever explained, in detail, exactly what independence is, or how Scotland would survive outside the UK. Years of catastrophic Nicola Sturgeon misrule, her policies – if they could be described as such – seemingly based solely on Scottish independence, should surely have proved that this very left of centre party has been attempting to sell the electorate a pig in a poke. Except that there is no pig.

It’s high time tthe myth of independence is exploded once and for all and the SNP’s duplicity exposed for what it is. Scotland needs responsible, competent, accountable government, something which it has definitely not got right now.

Humza Yousaf must be pressed (hard) in parliament to explain independence, which his predecessors signally failed to do.

Here’s the thing: I doubt there’s a nationalist anywhere who could explain The Masterplan. Because, quite simply, there isn’t one.

Doug Morrison, Cranbrook, Kent

Praise Yousaf

There has been a preponderance of letters in The Scotsman castigating Humza Yousaf for his decision to temporarily freeze council tax next year, with barely a word of praise for an action that will financially help many in our country currently struggling under the severe strain of the UK cost-of-living crisis.

Much of this criticism appears hypocritical. The Tory UK Government, following the introduction of a freeze by Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland, decided to follow suit and introduce a council tax freeze in England. The wannabe leader of a Labour UK Government not only argued earlier this year for the UK Government to reintroduce such a freeze in England, he and his party during the recent by-election sought to gain political advantage from the Scottish Government’s consultation process by using a suggested council tax increase to scare the voters.

Of course, this assistance has to be funded, and of course details have to be negotiated with Cosla, but to suggest that the First Minister has to wait for finalisation of every implementation detail of a policy before it can be announced is either naïve or disingenuous. While new taxes are generally not welcome, perhaps it is time to introduce a “land tax” that would supplement council funding that is currently below what is needed to maintain services, never mind improve them, across the UK (Birmingham city council is already effectively bankrupt). This could hopefully be introduced by the Scottish Government without intervention from the UK Government.

Stan Grodynski, Cairnsmore, East Lothian

Skewed priorities

Holyrood transport minister Mairi McAllan has said in an interview that the actions of renegade SNP MP Lisa Cameron aren’t high on her list of priorities, given Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel and the ensuing humanitarian crisis.

I’m not sure what the devolved Transport Secretary at Holyrood has to do with international affairs, beyond feeling the despair and anguish experienced by the rest of us as human beings. Should not the issues at the top of her list of priorities include the dualling of the A9 and the successful completion of ferries to serve the Scottish islands?

Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh

A little brightness

I should like to thank Andrew HN Gray for his letter of 19 October on the naming of storms. On a dreich day it cheered me up no end.

S Beck, Edinburgh

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