
However, the intention of my letter (“One man’s xenophobia is another’s awareness”, April 30) is largely unaltered by that revelation.
My comments were confined to transnational Islamic extremists, and perhaps some of the gullible young people who fall under their sway.
Mr Martin is correct that a very small number of Jewish people committed acts of terrorism in the 1940s. However, the Stern Gang was disbanded 69 years ago and, while a small number of Jewish people engage in terrorism on rare occasions, they clearly are not a significant percentage of today’s transnational terrorists.
The spirit of my letter is interested not in what occurred 69 years ago, but rather more in what occurred 69 seconds ago. Let us not get side-tracked in minor details, when transnational Islamic terrorists are estimated to number about 5 per cent of the world’s population. Out of 1.5 billion, that comes to 75 million people, with some surveys indicating that up to 25 per cent of the Islamic population supports them.
I do not believe there is anything in Judaism that can rival that threat, but I concede Mr Martin’s point.
Jason A Jellison
Bangkok