GIVEN Eithne Tynan's claim that critics of Israel are "always" accused of antiSemitism, I should say at the outset that, despite the mocking tone of their delivery, I accept the sincerity of her declarations that she is "certainly not antiJewish". For making light of Holocaust denial, invoking the spectre of sinister 'Jewish power' and demonising the Israeli state - once the exclusive preserves of traditional Jewhaters - are now so mainstream that it is perfectly possible to include examples of all three in one 700-word article without being branded anti-Semitic, per se. Indeed, the demonisation of Israel in particular seems practically de rigueur today amongst certain sections of the avowedly unbigoted Irish media elite, and the accusation of 'Israeli Apartheid' has replaced the 'Nazism' analogy as their anti-Zionist libel of choice.

Tynan is an enthusiastic proponent, equating Zionism with racism and describing Israel as an apartheid state.

However, Zionism is a form of nationalism, no different to any other. The manner in which Israel grants citizenship to Jews based on descent is no different to that in which many countries do so, Ireland included, and non-Jews can become citizens through normal naturalisation processes. In 1991, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly rejected the 'Zionism is racism' charge and, 10 years later, Kofi Annan declared it "a dead issue".

The Israel-South Africa equation is equally flawed.

Unlike apartheid-era South Africa, where the white minority used the legislative, judicial and military apparatus of the state to denationalise and subjugate the black majority, Israel is a multi-ethnic society whose Declaration of Independence pledges to "ensure the complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants, irrespective of religion, race or sex". Under Israeli law, members of the nonJewish minority are full citizens of the state, enjoying full civil and social liberties, voting rights, political representation and recourse to the courts and the same rights to education, healthcare and social benefits as the Jewish majority.

This is not to deny that real inequalities exist in Israel, nor that, like all countries, it has its fair share of racists. But nothing there can justly be compared to the institutionalisation of ethnic separation and discrimination through parliamentary law based on a philosophy of racial superiority which defined apartheid. To argue otherwise is to engage in a slovenly form of ahistorical analogising which essentially trivialises the suffering of an entire generation of black South Africans.

The situation is different in the West Bank and Gaza. But the practices described as "apartheid-like" in John Dugard's recent report such as the restrictions on the freedom of Palestinian movement, bypass roads and the building of the security fence, are not acts of "racial domination" or "social engineering" but legitimate, proportionate and effective security measures employed to prevent attacks on Israelis, attacks which have killed over 1,000 people in the last six years alone. The only 'apartheid' they seek to enforce is between Palestinian terrorists and their prospective victims, Arabs and Jews.

Se�n Gannon Chairman Irish Friends of Israel 10 Ontario Terrace Portobello Dublin 6

THOSE who use the fence and the 40-year presence of Israel across the 1949-67 Armistice Line as excuses to beat Israel disproportionately forget that the conflict has been well-fired since 1947, when all Arab parties rejected violently the UN partition policy of UN 181 - then failed to create their own Arab state prior to 1967, despite declaring on 15 September 1948, in Gaza, a Government of All Palestine that Nasser kicked into touch about 1958.

When is Eithne Tynan and others going to berate Hamas and the other Arab states that refuse to accept and make peace with Israel, on principle, in ANY boundary? Otherwise, why was there an Arab war on Israel between 1947 and 1967, when there was no occupation of the Jordanian West Bank and Egyptian Gaza Strip?

Frank Adam 14 Hartley Avenue Prestwich Lancashire I WOULD like to respond to Eithne Tynan's claim that it is absurd to apply the term "antiSemitism" in connection with Jew-hatred, on the grounds that Arabs are Semites too.

The term "anti-Semitism" came into being in Germany in the 19th century specifically in connection with Germans of a "Semitic" (ie Jewish) background. In 1879, it was brought into the wider public domain by the journalist Wilhelm Marr and his Anti-Semitic League, in the context of the so-called 'Jewish Question' in Germany.

The definition of 'anti-Semitism' covers those bogus racial theories regarding Jews. The meaning of this term is clear, and it should be used with caution, both by supporters of Israel and its critics.

Natalie Wynn nwynn@tcd. ie I DON'T think Eithne Tynan's article accomplishes what she set out to achieve because of her nasty, rotten and totally unnecessary provocative language about not being antiJewish, joking about the Holocaust and being a denier and things of that ilk.

If she wants to talk about the Palestinian/Israeli problem, then talk about it. Cut the crap and nastiness. There are many Jewish people not happy with the way the Palestinians are treated in certain instances by the Israelis and are working to change that policy.

Dr Penny Botel morton. botel1@verizon. net

I'M GLAD Eithne Tynan likes Jews, or heavens knows what she might say. She would be right to say that criticising Israel is not the same as being anti-Semitic; but if she can't muster up the moral courage to defend Israel in the face of the most widespread barrage of anti-Jewish hate speech, imagery and violence since the Third Reich, she's not much of a friend to Jews. Zionism, which she calls racist, is simply Jewish nationalism. Does that mean I have to give up thoughts of a united Ireland in case it's racist?

Those who threaten Israel with extinction don't just hate the country: they hate Jews with a depth of loathing only a Hitler can really understand. It's a deep-seated, undying hatred, and I for one will never cease my support for the one democracy in the Middle East against the fascist thugs who currently surround it.

Dr Denis MacEoin 15 Erskine Court Lindisfarne Close Jesmond Newcastle upon Tyne

Election will end compulsory Gaeilge

SINCE Latin was dropped as a requirement for entry to university, how many people are out there working to better themselves and society who otherwise would have been denied the opportunity?

It is time we looked at the denial of opportunity that compulsory Gaeilge is causing a section of the population. The children who find Latin, French, Gaeilge and trigonometry irrelevant. The children who are outside the points system end up illiterate, long-term unemployed, in prison, etc.

The education system needs to be flexible enough to cater for the student who wants to learn English and arithmetic and will only learn what they feel is relevant to them. We should remember that stubborn tunnel vision is the characteristic of many of our entrepreneurs, big and small.

I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever vote for Fine Gael, but many progressive voters will switch to FG on this one occasion to secure this educational reform.

There is no debate on this issue because people do not want to be mauled but, in the privacy of the ballot box, people will vote for Fine Gael to end compulsory Gaeilge.

L Grant, Dublin 6W

Premiership supremacy claim doesn't stand up

MIGUEL DELANEY'S claim that the Premiership has surpassed Serie A and La Liga doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Two tests to subvert this is true competition domestically in a diversity of teams winning leagues and finishing top four as well as in Europe clubs reaching the final of the Champions League.

As regards the first, in the 10 years between the 1995-96 to 2005-06 season, five Spanish and Italian clubs won their domestic title compared to only three English clubs winning the Premiership.

In the same time-span, nine different Italian clubs and 14 different Spanish clubs finished top four in Serie A and La Liga respectively, compared to eight in the Premiership.

On the second account, in the last 10 years, on six occasions the finalists in the European cup have come from Spain and Italy separately, compared to three times from England.

Daniel Kelly, 14 Foxfield Crescent, Raheny, Dublin 5