From S. M. Calascione

While I sympathise with the intentions of those who wish to make Norman Lowell answerable to charges of inciting racism before a court of justice, I feel I should point out a factual error that seems to have escaped the attentions of all concerned, from the presiding magistrate to The Malta Independent’s own reporter as well as Mr Lowell himself and his legal team.

Contrary to what was reported in your otherwise informative piece (Court: Norman Lowell accused of inciting racial hatred – Friday, 1 July 2005), it is not the “dignity of a whole ethnic race is being attacked”.

To refer to Jews as a race is to belie the fact that the Jewish diaspora are exceedingly diverse in ethnicity. One may thus find English Jews, Russian, Dutch, Italian and German as well as Indian, Ethiopian and Sudanese, altogether ethnically diverse yet Jews nonetheless. Indeed there are Maltese Jews.

Furthermore, should Mr Lowell subject himself to DNA testing,

he might be surprised to discover that his genealogical lineage would point to none other than an African Eve.

S. M. Calascione