John Scrivener, Main Arm
Zionist Israel and its Likud leadership are not synonymous with Jewish identity. Indeed some of the staunchest critics of the Zionist regime are themselves Jewish.
The self-described Jewish state treats its own religious Jews more harshly than any other nation, criminalising them for refusing military conscription.
It is important to clearly distinguish between Zionism and Judaism, since they are not at all compatible, according to many orthodox rabbis.
To equate criticism of the Zionist regime with antisemitism is not merely wrong, it is actually harmful to both Jews and non-Jews everywhere.
I believe that Zionist ideology is itself antisemitic and has been responsible for a great deal of the suffering that Jewish people have endured over the last century.
The fact that so little is well known or widely understood about the origin and history of Zionism, explains why the world today is teetering on the brink of catastrophic conflict in the Middle East; a conflict that threatens the existence of Israel as much as it threatens the rest of that region.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
