Letters - 15 May 2026
To the letter
To the letter
I note from the charitable purposes of The Friend Publications Ltd that it aims to act as ‘Important stimulus to Quaker thought in matters of concern to Quakers including religious controversies, on Quaker testimonies of Peace, Social Justice and Equality’ – and, we should assume, to Truth. Our trust, as readers, is that editorial discretion is used to consider letters for publication, and that we can at least count on a commitment to verifiable evidence.
To be honest, it has begun to feel as though on the matter of Palestine and protest, the editor is more interested in stimulating controversy than Quaker reflection. I feel that the letter from Mark Frankel (1 May) crossed several ethical lines, did not reflect our testimonies, and should never have been published.
Nicola Grove
As Friends, we surely need to be mindful of the equality, truth and peace aspects of our testimony, but we find none of these in the letter from Mark Frankel.
While pouring scorn on our Friend, Jean Zaru (Ramallah Meeting), for advocating nonviolent resistance to the occupation, Mark claims that only Israel has a right to peace and security, and that the many thousands of victims must be responsible for their own genocide, as ‘the blame rests with the Palestinians, their intransigence and their false narrative of victimhood’.
There is no mention of the UN resolutions that Israel has ignored, nor of the apartheid system, nor of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, which accords specific rights to protected persons – that is, indigenous people under hostile military occupation; it also expressly forbids the transfer of populations into occupied land to establish settlements.
Quakers recognise that there are differing narratives, and that huge numbers of people have suffered the pain of displacement and loss over many decades. Supported by several Yearly Meetings, including Britain Yearly Meeting, we continue to witness for peace and justice in Palestine and Israel, where Friends have worked for more than 100 years. Of this there was no mention in the letter, even though, according to the Charity Commission, the Friend exists to propagate the religious teaching of the Society of Friends and to promote interest in its work.
Patricia Cockrell and David Somervell
