Voice of the Jewish News: An open letter to David Ward, MP

Dear David

We know you don’t care for Israel very much, or indeed  “the Jews” for that matter. But news of your unexpectedly long summer holiday has reached our ear, and we thought this may afford you the opportunity to go abroad. As such, we’d suggest trying to catch some ‘Jewish sport’ at Israel’s Maccabiah. If, however, that doesn’t appeal, the following may:

You could go to Myanmar, where the persecution of the Royingya Muslim minority is widely-acknowledged. You could then come back and Tweet about laws limiting the number of children such minority families are allowed to have.

You could go to China, where the persecution of Tibetan Buddhists is widely acknowledged. You could then come back and Tweet about sweeping detentions and allegations of torture.

You could take your pick of Russia, Ukraine or Belorus, where it is widely acknowledged that peaceful protesters are bundled into vans, investigative journalists ‘disappear’ and opposition leaders get thrown in jail for years on end on trumped up charges. All that, we’d suggest, is eminently Tweet-able.

As might be several examples of social justice in the Gulf, where only yesterday a Dubai man was arrested for posting a video of a wealthy Emirati beating an Indian immigrant over the head. With some swanky hotels and plentiful air-con, you may wish to consider the UAE as a potential holiday spot in the coming weeks, perhaps flying with Emirates.

Alternatively, and across the sea, you could take in the sights and smells of historic Persia – no doubt misunderstood over its nuclear programme – where you’ll find minorities routinely sentenced to death for demanding the same rights as everyone else in the country. A Tweet or two on that, perhaps.

It’s a big wide world out there, and we could go on and on, but we won’t, because we’d be here all day – as we would if we were to reflect on how many other places in the world there are besides Israel, and how many other problems and conflicts those places bear witness to on a daily basis.

Anyway, enough from us, we hope the above has given you some (other) ideas.

Kind regards,

The Jewish News