Here in Britain, it might be a crime to tell the truth.CHARLES DUFFLONDON NW6 Smoking proposals will harm the poor Sir: In your leading article "A sensible and liberal compromise" (27 October) you say no one is compelled to work in a pub or club. What is worse, to kill ten people with a suicide bomb or to demolish a hundred homes leaving a thousand people homeless? What is worse, to rob millions of their land, their homes, their food and water supplies, and their freedom, or to kill a hundred with suicide bombs? Suicide bombs are a last resort, when no alternative is available. They are bad, but what has been done by the Israelis to the Palestinians is a thousand times worse, and for the Israelis and the Americans to talk about "terrorism" as though they had in some way been victimised is hypocrisy gone mad.Soon, here in Britain, it may be a criminal offence to suggest that suicide bombs are justified even when the facts make it clear that they are. I wept when I read that article: is there really nothing we can do to put and end to this evil?EVANGELINE EVANS,JORDANS, BUCKINGHAMSHIRESir: Former Ambassador Craig Murray's article was a salutory warning about what happens when human rights principles are overlooked by the exigencies of political pragmatism in the so-called "War on terror".DR DAVID LOWRYSTONELEIGH, SURREY Keep 'terrorism' in perspective Sir: For Tony Blair nothing can be worse than terrorism That seems to be his opinion and many share it But it is only an opinion and many do not agree with him. If it shouldn't, then Muslim organisations must now say so in the clearest terms.ERIC HEINZELONDON E1Sir: President Ahmadinejad calls for Israel to be wiped off the map, but Israel effectively wiped Palestine off the map 57 years ago, and where's the indignation over that?JAN HOSSIENZADEHABERYSTWYTH, CEREDIGION Can we stop this terrible practice? Sir: I really wish I hadn't read the article by Craig Murray, the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan ("The reality of Britain's reliance on torture", 27 October). I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that such vile things can happen in our name, but I am: when it has been spelt out so clearly one cannot but face the scarcely believable truth.The really appalling thing is that ordinary people are powerless to stop this hideous trade We can protest until we are blue in the face, to no avail.
They now have a chance to show it, by publicly condemning the Iranian President's statement. Otherwise, few situations would so clearly illustrate the maxim that silence is complicity. Many moderate Muslim organisations rightly advocate compromise solutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but there can be no compromise on the question of whether Israel should be utterly destroyed Either it should or it shouldn't. Given the EU's stated commitment to a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, which includes a secure Israel, it is perhaps surprising that it has taken the threat of a nuclear Iran to persuade European leaders that something must be done about a country that arms and finances terrorists dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state.PAUL GROSSHARROW, MIDDLESEXSir: The President of a highly influential Muslim state, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has in effect called for the next Jewish Holocaust - not in the sense of eliminating every single Jew, but of destroying a place that is the only sacred land for many Jews, as sacred as are Mecca or Medina to Muslims.Britain and Western Europe host many Muslim organisations which proclaim that they adopt moderate political stances. Today there are 58 integrated schools educating almost 18,000 pupils.Segregated education is not the sole cause of the "Troubles" and integrated schools cannot by themselves overcome the distrust of generations, but they are a vital part of the equation.DEBORAH GIRVANNORTHERN IRELAND COUNCIL FOR INTEGRATED EDUCATION BELFAST Iranian President's threat to Israel Sir: Although the starkness of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks has ensured that they make the headlines, they should surprise no one ("Iran's leader says Jewish state 'should be wiped from map'", 27 October).Iran has long been avowedly opposed to Israel's very existence and is the most consistent supporter of anti-Israeli groups such as Hamas.
The system means that the vast majority of our children never get to meet people from the "other side" until they leave school. How can people learn to understand, respect and tolerate difference when they have little opportunity to learn, live and play together during the most formative years of their lives?However, the Government should take a closer look at another social phenomenon which is gathering momentum The first integrated school, where Catholic and Protestant children along with those of other faiths and none are educated together, opened in 1981 with 28 pupils. One does not have to look much further than Northern Ireland where 95 per cent of children have little choice but to attend schools which are either entirely or largely Catholic or Protestant. He is no more accurate with his claim that schools practice social selection: the proportion of children eligible for free school meals in Catholic secondary schools is in line with the national average. This summer's exam results demonstrated what thousands of parents already know: Catholic schools provide a high quality of academic education, while encouraging students to reach their full potential as tolerant, outward-looking members of a good society.OONA STANNARDCHIEF EXECUTIVE AND DIRECTOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION SERVICE LONDON SW1Sir: Your columnist Johann Hari rightly says that segregating children according to religion helps create "a chasm of mutual incomprehension". The approach is founded on the Church's belief that self-respect and respect for each other must underline all human relationships.