Labour candidates’ inconsistencies

Attendance at the recent hustings at Finchley Synagogue was rather like being in some Orwellian parallel universe.

In this universe, the Labour candidate sought to convince the audience that voting Labour in the forthcoming general election was the only way to ensure Jeremy Corbyn’s downfall!

Citing his utmost abhorrence and opposition to the leader and senior leadership of the Labour Party, with whose policies he claimed to vehemently disagree — even quoting the deletion of unacceptable and unpalatable wording in Labour’s draft manifesto as a result of his lobbying — Jeremy Newmark insisted that he came to bury Corbyn not to praise him and that the only way to change the Labour Party was to elect more Labour MPs.

The honourable course of action for someone who so patently disagrees with the current leadership and policies of the Labour Party with regard to the Jewish community surely is not to seek support for it.

To make matters even worse, by standing in Finchley & Golders Green, he is asking the local electorate to reject Mike Freer, a proven, steadfast, honest and hard-working MP who is and always has been there for all of his constituents — whatever their race, religion or political affiliations.

Mr Newmark, you should hang your head in shame! Helena Hart,

London N3

It is slightly awkward that, immediately after the JC’s fawning interview with Luciana Berger, we read about Jeremy Corbyn’s further explicit support for anti-Israeli terrorism. again, we see Jewish leaders asking Corbyn to clarify his views on Palestinian terrorism.

You would have to be deaf and blind not to know the answer to that question. He is in favour of it — as he was of the IRA.

One is reminded of Disraeli’s comment about an opponent, that one could see how the ancient Egyptians worshipped an insect. Sadly, so do some contemporary Jews it seems. also by Israel’s Supreme Court. According to the judges on both sides of the Kasztner case, even though he had no subjective intent to kill, Kasztner’s conduct objectively helped the Nazis to carry out the destruction of Hungary’s Jews.

Without any basis in fact, Mr Donath attributes the US bombing of Budapest and the order to stop the deportations to Kasztner’s letters abroad.

Those messages actually camouflaged the victims’ terrible fate.

The very letter cited by Mr. Donath claimed that Hungary’s Jews were being sent not to Auschwitz but to a non-existent work site, where they had supposedly written 750,000 optimistic postcards.

Mr Donath’s historical “consensus” that Kasztner was a hero is imaginary. In addition to my book, recent studies by Ayala Nedivi and Eli Reichenthal have documented Kasztner’s guilt.

Paul Bogdanor Bournemouth