ANTI-SEMITISM
SIR.—What I find distressing in the correspondence concerning remarks attributed to members of the
Cambridge University Appointments Board is the oversensitiveness of people like Messrs. Frederic Raphael and P. S. C. Davis.
Fifty per cent, of me, the paternal half, came from the Emerald Isle; and is well used to such remarks as 'Don't take any notice of him, he is a mad Irishman.' We don't mind. We only shout a little louder when our horses show marked
superiority at Liverpool and Cheltenham. We are accused of telling 'whoppers'; perhaps we do, but in the nicest possible way.
When certain natives of the British Isles sing a song about Taffy being a Welshman, a thief and an
uninvited guest in search of a leg of beef, the valleys do not ring with the cries of an oppressed Celtic minority. -
There have been no reports of war .like gatherings of the clans preparing to march on London to avenge the reputations of Aberdonians accused of a lack of generosity.
It is said to the point of triteness that there are good and had traits in all races, so why must we ban adverse criticism of some whilst allowing it of others?
Toleration is one of the popular themes of the day, but it must be reciprocal. In addition to toleration of minorities, there should be tolerance by the minorities of a reasonable amount of criticism, at the same time making quite sure that it stops well short of per- secution.
It is quite understandable that Jews should be on the lookout for persecution, the most horrible
examples are fresh in all our memories. Surely this Commonwealth is the last place for them to expect to find it; less likely, even, than an earlier Common- wealth which readmitted them after an exile of nearly
400 years, in spite of its propensity for removing divine heads from regal shoulders.
Unfortunately I do not keep back issues of your excellent publication, but if my memory is to be relied, on there was no mention of the objects of these comments having suffered in the slightest degree.
Finally, I would like to recommend a prerequisite for toleration which is exported from Ireland in large quantities. A sense of humour.—Yours faithfully, ROBERT P. scarr
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