Accusations of anti-semitism against Dr Taj Hargey signal an end to civilised debate - Yorkshire Post Letters

I read the comments of Dr Taj Hargey, headlined in the edition of Saturday, April 27, with interest. I turned to the editorial and was surprised and disappointed by its tone.

Despite your endorsement of him as a known liberal imam, his comments were described as racist.

For me, in this respect, I appreciate the stance of Dr Hargey; the principal point made by him was the difference between being Jewish and ‘pro-Zionist’.

Although it is completely understandable that the majority of Jewish people value and need a homeland, it seems to me that any criticism of the policy and actions of the State of Israel means being accused of anti-semitism.

I am no more anti-Jewish than I am prejudiced about ordinary Russian people, who have the misfortune to live in an autocratic and oppressive state.

The saddest thing is that this approach appears to have made an end of any civilised debate, as demonstrated by the overuse of terms such as ‘racist’ and ‘terrorist’.