14 OPINION
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OPINION
17 MARCH 2022
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Don’t take things for granted OPINION PIECE BY ROBERT FESTENSTEIN
voices demanding the banning of Israeli politicians? It is simple. Alex is dying. Earlier on this year he was diagnosed with an illness which it was thought could be treated and it turns out that it cannot. The detail is unimportant here, what is key is that shortly Alex will no longer be with us. A family man in his mid-40s by a cruel twist of fate will be taken from us, and it is that twist of fate that has made me think about the arguments presented by people who think it is smart to deny entry to countries, groups or platforms because they don’t like what they are going to say. The Ukrainians trying to escape with their lives and that of their families are unlikely to care about what might have been
There has been much talk said and words written over the last few months about attacks on Israel, is there any left-wing anti-Semitism and whether or not cancel culture has a place in the Jewish community. Some proponents have been thoughtful, others just ridiculous. Purim this year has a particular significance for Ukrainian Jewry who are facing losing their homes and worse. To some extent this puts the shrill cries about Israeli politicians into context. This week though and with a break from tradition, I am going to speak personally. I have been involved in the above arguments in this column and made my position very clear. What though has made a difference is a close friend of mine who has told me the story of his next-door neighbour, Alex. Alex is a good man. He spends time with his sons, goes with the family to the local football matches and is just a nice guy. So, what possible relevance does this have JAN to cancel culture HALF PAGE ADVERT 2020:Layout 1 and 09/01/2020
tweeted by someone 10 years ago, they have more important issues to deal with. Alex’s family similarly will have little interest in this self-indulgence as to whether you can judge someone now on what they might have said a decade ago. It is of no importance to those avoiding bombs and
The Ukrainians trying to escape with their lives and that of their families are unlikely to care about what might have been tweeted by someone 10 years ago, they have more important issues to deal with. 16:04 Page 1
those waiting for the inevitable in relation to their loved one. None at all. We take so much for granted, and Purim is fine time to recognise this. There have been many Purims in our people’s history, and we should remember these. We are so fortunate to live where we do on this island, amongst a community who by and large don’t bother with us. Certainly there is anti-Semitism and I have written about this often and will continue to do so. The anti-Israel voices are loud and often overbearing and the high-pitched tones from those on the left who claim to know better are as grating as they are patronising. So, amongst all this noise and against the background of Ukrainian people fleeing for their lives or for Alex facing an end to his, we should perhaps just take a moment to consider that not everything is bad, and we should not take life for granted. Robert Festenstein is a practising solicitor and has been the principal of his Salford based firm for over 20 years. He has fought BDS motions to the Court of Appeal and is President of the Zionist Central Council in Manchester which serves to protect and defend the democratic State of Israel.
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