13 JANUARY 2001, Page 34

Jesus the Jew

From Mr Ronald Irving Sir: The gracious Christmas greeting by the Queen to her subjects refers to 'the Bible, the Koran and the sacred texts of the Jews and Hindus'. Her speechwriter seems to be suggesting that the Jews have sacred texts which are not contained in the Bible.

The sacred texts of the Jews are the New and Old Testaments. The New Testament is, of course, a sub-division of Judaism known as Christianity whose source was a Jewish preacher called Jesus. Perhaps her speechwriter is unaware that the Bible was written entirely by Jews (except Luke and possibly Mark!).

Ronald Irving

London W1