The rage is understandable, but it cannot dictate government policy

Rage may be understandable in individuals, but it should not dictate policy at the highest levels of government. Israel’s war policy to eliminate Hamas is as impossible an objective as the Hamas one of eliminating Israel. Even if every Hamas leader and fighter is killed, there will be Hamas 2 under another title – the Lion’s Den young group in Nablus perhaps, where they and Israelis are already killing each other.

In a previous letter I noted the abysmal Palestinian leadership, but the same could be said of the Israelis. Their leaders have acted on the belief that Israel could gain security by a forever occupation of the West Bank, annex more and more land through illegal settlements and so effectively deny the Palestinians a state, all accompanied by humiliation, repeated killings and contempt for United Nations Security Council resolutions (see UNSC 2334 as an example).

Security for Israel and its people cannot be obtained without the end of occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state. That cannot be accomplished until there is a significant change in the leadership of the Palestinians and Israelis. The former need a leader of stature who will tell his people an unpalatable truth: Israel is here to stay, and will never be eliminated. The latter need one who will advise Israelis to admit their state was founded by a dispossession catastrophe for Palestinians, causing them decades of sorrow, misery, and poverty which now requires acknowledgement of their right to a state and dignity.

That may seem a tall order, but Netanyahu’s days are numbered. For the Palestinians there is one man, Marwan Barghouti, jailed by a military court he refused to recognise. His leadership qualities and stature are the reason why Israel has excluded him from prisoner releases. An international campaign for his release is the most positive thing pro-Palestinian demonstrators could do for their cause.

Jim Sillars, Edinburgh

The diversity of Israeli society

Sometimes a single detail can tell an entire story. The name of the commander of Israel’s tank division is just such a detail, for Hisham Ibrahimi’s names are very obviously Arabic rather than Hebrew ones. Brigadier General Ibrahimi is not Jewish but is from Israel’s small Druze minority, who follow their own religion. Israel may not be perfect, but it is an open diverse society.

By contrast, every single member of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah is a Muslim, for these are Islamist organisations which are committed to the very darkest interpretations of Islam and to waging war against all non-Muslims.

Otto Inglis, Crossgates

£1.2m whisky is a reason for despair

In today's Herald I learn that a single bottle of malt whisky is expected to realise up to £1.2million at auction (The Herald, October 20). What does this obscene figure for a product that is meant to be consumed tell us about present day values? It demonstrates once more the grotesque imbalance between the super-rich and the rest of us, when an individual can purchase an object for such an amount to be "one up" on their fellow billionaires, very much as is the case in the art world.

How the young, many of whom now have little prospect of buying their own homes, must despair when seeing such examples of rich people's trivial indulgences. My late mother used to say "the world is ill divided"; little did she realise how much worse the situation would become as the years passed.

James Graham, Clydebank

A distorted picture of our society

Has reality television, with social media, really been "a levelling of the playing field"? ("Big Brother says as much about modern life as Booker Prize”, The Herald, October 19). I find much to contend with in Neil MacKay's optimistic paean to its now firmly embedded presence on our telly.

We can only hope the future historians he imagines will have the academic rigour to discern it's a reflection of our society only in the manner of a fairground hall of mirrors, distorted and grotesque, our participation manipulated and coerced, even where it deigns to reveal human kindness and nobility for us to coo at.

As for his softening on Channel 5 as improved and "grown up", it amused me recently that whenever I grudgingly settle on one of his recommended "nostalgia-free" historical news-archive clips and commentator programmes, the subject just happens to coincide with a year famous as a great Conservative election victory.

James Macleod, Glasgow

What will we make of them in 50 years?

An interesting article from Neil Mackay in today’s Herald. As a natural extension of his premise I wonder if, as we read in the obituaries section of the fascinating story of yet another war-time hero who has sadly passed away, in 50 years’ time your future readers will have to read about the exploits of Big Brother/Love Island contestants and wags?

Keith Swinley, Ayr

Another suggestion for our new bridge

Whilst sympathetic to having the new bridge between Partick and Govan named after Jimmy Reid, I can't help feeling that Reid Crossing sounds too much like a posh interior designer. It would surely be more appropriate to immortalise his famous 'no bevvying' speech by calling it the "Naebevvy" bridge. Calling it the Partick Govan Bridge is just going to confuse the Ordnance Survey people.

Robert Menzies, Falkirk

What about the 2040s?

Brian Logan’s recent mathematical diversion prompted the following sequel.

Brian used dates from the 2020s. Let’s move on to the 2040s, specifically, the years 2047 and 2048.

Finding the prime factors of 2047 is a bit tedious unless you have a calculator, but if you have read this far, you probably have one. With 2048, it is easier, and it gives an interesting answer.

More fun (!) is to be had converting each of these dates to its binary (or base 2) equivalent, as similar answers will not occur again until, respectively, 4095 and 4096. Enjoy!

Al Cowie, Milton of Campsie