It is appalling that a police officer used the phrase “openly Jewish” when trying to move Gideon Falter away from a pro-Palestine march (Met apologises for calling antisemitism campaigner ‘openly Jewish’, 19 April). But it’s also ludicrous to suggest that being Jewish would be provocative. There have always been lots of “openly Jewish” people at the marches calling for a ceasefire, carrying signs such as “Jews say ceasefire now”, “Jews against Israeli militarism”, “Jews for justice for Palestinians” and “Not in our name”. The drive to portray these marches as somehow anti‑Jewish is truly regrettable.
Dr Bob Banks
Grindleford, Derbyshire
Had this been a pro-Israel campaign, I wonder whether the police would have felt inclined to prevent an “openly Muslim” man or woman wearing a hijab from crossing the road.
Coral Ash
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
George Monbiot makes the point that there is no such thing as a carbon-neutral livestock farm (There’s no such thing as a benign beef farm – so beware the ‘eco-friendly’ new film straight out of a storybook, 15 April). However, that statement is broadly true of all farming. We could all go vegan, or at least eat less meat, but it will not solve the climate crisis. Perhaps what we really need to give up is having children. No more than two per family?
Luke Gaskell
Melrose, Scottish Borders
Like Simon Ashby and David Shannon (Letters, 19 April), I was offered a comforting thought on my hair loss – good turf only grows on soft sods.
Jim Grindle
Formby, Merseyside
Cuisse de Nymphe Emue (Let’s hear it for the true geniuses: the people who name paints, 22 April) is neither posh girl nor pony: it’s the name of a rose. So I expect the paint is that colour.
Jocelyn Rose
Fort William, Inverness-shire
The best guitarists in the world such as Django Reinhardt, John Williams and Andrés Segovia played acoustic guitars, not electric (Letters, 18 April).
Christopher Bocci
Freshford, Somerset