20 JANUARY 1967, Page 14

Symposium on 1967 SIR,—As a Jew and a citizen of

Israel I would like to express my emphatic agreement with Simon Raven's dictum (January 6): 'While it is true that the Jewish race has been savagely persecuted through- out history, this does not make it the sole repository of wisdom and righteousness.' As an illustration of that attitude of moral arrogance, which is rightly condemned by Mr Raven, let me draw your attention to the statement of Rabbi Solomon Goldman in the Jewish Chronicle of London (November 18, 1966) that the Talmudic Saying 'Kill the best of the Gentiles' becomes blameless by the addition of the words 'in time of war.' Could anyone imagine the row which will ensue, if a saying 'Kill the best of the Jews in time of war' would be pronounced 'blameless' by an Anglican Bishop?

Hebreis University, Jerusalem, Israel