Equal rights
Re: Agony Uncle, NI 531, Anything that assumes that all Jews think the same, believe the same or act the same can accurately be called antisemitic. Jewish people may belong to a wide variety of Jewish communities, synagogues, organizations or, indeed, none. I totally agree that antisemitism must always be opposed and we all must be aware of the centuries of dreadful antisemitism endured by Jewish communities which culminated in the utter inhumanity of the holocaust.
However, just because it is possible that an anti-Zionist can also be antisemitic, it does not follow that an anti-Zionist is by definition an antisemitic racist. Many Jewish individuals and Jewish organizations oppose Zionism and anti-Zionism is a political not a racial perspective.
I have Jewish heritage but cannot accept the Universal Declaration of Independence of 1948 which so violently established a racist state. The two-state solution is a distraction which enables Israel to steal more and more land. A single secular state is the sole sustainable solution with equal rights for all. It is time for Israel to abandon the goal of Jewish–Palestinian separation and embrace the goal of Jewish–Palestinian equality.
Free for all
Vanessa Baird (What if …, NI 531) argues for wage equality, in order to do away with the extreme inequalities between what average workers earn and executive pay.
But this would do nothing to stop the main obscenity mentioned, of 28 people owning as much as the poorest half of the world’s population. The wealth of these billionaires comes from rent, interest and profit (in a word, exploitation). The income of most executives is not truly a wage either, as it also comes from the unpaid labour of workers.
The solution is not equal wages or higher taxes on the super-rich. Instead, abolish the system of wage labour and profits, allowing free access to the goods and services produced.
Clarity and compassion
‘Barefoot surgeons’ by Neil Singh (The Long Read, NI 530) is amazing. I am a retired physiotherapist in New Zealand/Aotearoa, a country with high-quality surgical and medical services and mostly free access. Neil discusses both sides of this issue with such clarity and compassion. I am still conflicted, but also encouraged by his article. Do we fill the gap with these wonderful and obviously skilled clinicians and enable most to have access to help, or do we just get on with intense training for surgeons across all countries? There is no simple answer, which is the case for most of these ethical challenges.
Top up
The in-depth look at Finland (The Long Read, NI 529) was an encouraging read. There is hope for a fairer world. But regarding a Universal Basic Income, what is to stop that payment being hijacked by businesses who will just pay workers lower wages knowing they will be ‘topped up’ by a UBI?
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Why I...
...plant trees.
I transform my climate crisis anxiety into tree planting with my five-year-old son and other members of my community. Anyone can form a group like ours – Banbury Trees, part of Oxfordshire Trees for the Future, which has grown from a few friends to 390 members and counting. We’ve learned how to grow trees from seed and have planted over 3,500 saplings. A thousand more potted seedlings are being looked after in our gardens until they are ready to be planted out. The thought that one day our children and grandchildren will be able to walk in the woodlands that we are sowing today gives me some hope for the future.
