Sir, \u2013 I write as a Jewish Australian who has lived in Ireland for the past 30 years. In recent days I have been deeply touched by the kindness of Irish people of all backgrounds \u2013 Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, atheist \u2013 who have contacted me to offer condolences and support in the wake of the Bondi massacre. <\/p>\n
These messages have come from people I see every day, and from others I have not seen for years. They matter more than I can say. <\/p>\n
They matter because the global Jewish community is feeling unusually lonely and vulnerable right now. Simply reaching out \u2013 sending a message, making a call, saying \u201cI\u2019m thinking of you\u201d \u2013 helps us feel less alone.<\/p>\n
It affirms a shared belief that violence against anyone, on the basis of religion, race or skin colour, is wrong. <\/p>\n
Ireland rightly prides itself on warmth and welcome. Yet it would be dishonest not to acknowledge a very real increase in racism here in recent years. We have seen attacks on members of the Indian community. <\/p>\n
Muslim friends have told me of being harassed on the street and during quiet family meals out. In my own small town in Co Clare, where there is a tiny but active Jewish community in the Shannon area, swastikas have appeared in our local supermarket and in the university where I work. <\/p>\n
When I mention this to non-Jewish friends, some respond that it is \u201cjust idiots\u201d and that it means nothing. But for Jews, it does mean something. A swastika is not a prank or a doodle; it is a symbol historically and explicitly associated with the elimination of Jews. When we say we feel unsafe, we need to be believed. <\/p>\n
I understand that many people in Ireland are distressed by the situation in Gaza, and I strongly defend everyone\u2019s right to express political views and to stand in solidarity with civilians who are suffering. <\/p>\n
At the same time, words matter. When chants of \u201cfrom the river to the sea\u201d are heard in small Irish villages, many Jews experience this not as a call for peace, but as a phrase that originates as a Hamas call for the destruction of Israel and the Jews who live there. Whatever the intent of those chanting, the effect on Jewish neighbours is fear. <\/p>\n
It is possible \u2013 indeed necessary \u2013 to support the rights and dignity of Palestinians without using language that others hear as calling for their destruction. If you want to help your Jewish friends and neighbours, please choose your words carefully, listen when we explain why certain symbols or slogans alarm us, and reassure us that we belong here too. <\/p>\n
I continue to believe in the fundamental decency of people. The compassion shown to me after the Bondi Beach attacks reminds me of that. Reaching out, speaking thoughtfully, and standing clearly against all forms of racism is how we look after one another. \u2013 Yours, etc,<\/p>\n
DR KARNIE RODEN,<\/p>\n
Co Clare. <\/p>\n
Sir, \u2013 Fifty years ago I started my medical education in the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin.<\/p>\n
What a place for a young student from very rural Ireland. I failed Irish in my Leaving Certificate so I couldn\u2019t go to any Irish university.<\/p>\n
I entered this amazing place full of people from all over the world and every religion you could think of, Christian, Muslim, Jew etc etc.<\/p>\n
In the six-plus years I spent there I never heard one word of any racist comment, whatsoever. <\/p>\n
In fact, in the latter part of my stay there was a Christian chapel in the basement and they turned it into a mosque because there were more Muslims than Christians in the college. Nobody said a word that I heard.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what kind of medical education I got but I learned a huge lesson: we are all the same. \u2013 Yours, etc,<\/p>\n
DR DAMIAN DOYLE,<\/p>\n
Carnew,<\/p>\n
Co Wicklow.<\/p>\n
Ghosted by buses<\/p>\n
Sir, \u2013 I wish to report a series of disturbing hauntings in Dublin.<\/p>\n
I was recently visited by three consecutive ghost buses in the streets of our fair city. They were all phantom 15Bs.<\/p>\n
The first was the ghost bus of journeys past. It tormented me with stories of successful journeys that have been happening for decades in other first world countries (that don\u2019t have fourth world public transport systems). <\/p>\n
The second was the ghost bus of journeys present. It fooled me into believing that it had \u201creal time\u201d information which guaranteed that my present journey would begin imminently.<\/p>\n
The third was the ghost bus of journeys future. It conjured up nightmarish vistas of streets clogged with even more motorists if the city does not change its ways.<\/p>\n
And the fourth ghost bus? It was the ghost bus of Christmas truth. <\/p>\n
It whispered to me that Dublin Bus\u2019s \u201creal time\u201d misinformation system is itself haunted and is actually based on nothing more than a series of AI-generated hallucinations. <\/p>\n
I replied, \u201cWell, the 15B should be renamed the 15G!\u201d \u2013 Yours, etc,<\/p>\n
ROB SADLIER,<\/p>\n
Rathfarnham,<\/p>\n
Dublin 16.<\/p>\n
Treating older people<\/p>\n