Letters - 19 September 2025
From revisitation to biology
Revisitation
I can’t help thinking the transgender issue being left open to debate by our Society would likely be the same for all Quaker testimonies, were they being
revisited today, by some Friends, sadly.
Gerard Bane
Currency of exchange
Quakers are not immune to the habits of times we live in, and one of these is that the exchange – often the shouting – of alternative facts takes the place of discourse and debate.
This characterises contributions in the Friend and elsewhere about events in Israel and Palestine. Some of us have urged the use of ‘genocide’ as the description of Israeli actions in Gaza. Others see the banning of Palestine Action not as the suppression of dissent from government policy, but as a response to the nature of their protests and statements about Hamas. There is an array of facts available to support either stance.
This is a zero sum game. My win is achieved by your loss. Yet we know that the ending of conflict always requires compromise. Each side understands the other’s needs. Both sides work to accommodate each other without letting go of their own objectives.
The only other outcomes are never-ending conflict or utter defeat for one side or the other.
In this most intractable of conflicts, I would hope to find Quakers engaged on processes that lead to ceasefire, compromise, reconciliation and peace. Surely this is better use of our energies than working out which set of alternative facts to adopt and promote.
Alastair Jackson
