Madam, - In supporting the 60 Irish academics passionately calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, Cathal Kerrigan (October 17th) cites the example of his friend Simon Nkoli, a black gay South African who, shamefully, was tortured and imprisoned for his anti-apartheid activities.
The irony is that pretty much the only place in the Middle East where a black gay such as Mr Nkoli can today live openly and at peace, without fear of attack or prejudice, is the hated Israel, and certainly not the areas known as Palestine. In fact, Israel outlaws discrimination on the basis of race or sexual orientation. It is odd, therefore, for Mr Kerrigan to favour Palestine.
Incidentally, I am still awaiting a response to a challenge I twice posed in these pages (October 6th and 13th, 2004) to "name a Middle East state other than Israel. . .with the freedom to establish bodies which are openly ... pro-gay". - Yours, etc,
TONY ALLWRIGHT, Killiney, Co Dublin.