Anti-haredi sentiments

Reader Natalie Gilbert (“Stuck in traffic,” Letters, October 22) wrote that “the haredi community is quite happy to take all that is offered them by the government whilst giving nothing back in return whereas the rest of the country gives up their time, family and sometimes their lives to serve the country.”

Similarly, reader Judy Prager wrote in the same section to “suggest a very quick way to stop all these demonstrations: Anyone not prepared to do their national duty either in the army or other ways, such as driving ambulances, should not receive child allowance or other financial help from the state.”

I would like to suggest that their complaints would carry more weight if they were directed also at the Arab sector, whose non-enlistment seems to be considered entirely acceptable.

Also, reader Yehuda Gross (“Enough is enough,” Letters, October 23) says he doesn’t like “what the Jerusalem haredim are doing,” but would anyone “dare attack the handicapped people who are doing exactly the same thing, blocking the roads?”

To paraphrase reader Asher Resnick (“Distortion of truth,” Letters, October 22), who was referring to another issue entirely, “maybe if we had a bit more common sense and respect for Jewish law, as opposed to marginalizing and ridiculing it, we could make some real progress in eliminating the terrible phenomena” of anti-haredi incitement. MARTIN D. STERN

Salford, UK