Walk a mile

If pro-Palestinian groups want to stage a peaceful protest against an Israeli dance group outside the Playhouse that's absolutely fine - they are entitled to do so. Protesting inside the theatre and disrupting the performance is another matter and Calton agrees with UK Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt who is reported as saying that he "strongly supports the freedom of Batsheva to appear at the festival, and deeply regrets the attempts to disrupt them". After all, isn't that what the Edinburgh International Festival is all about? It is hard for us as an island nation to understand what it is like to be a tiny country bounded by the sea on one side and a host of undemocratic, potentially hostile nations on the other. We do not know what it feels like to be a Jew, with centuries of persecution in their collective memory. We can go about our business without fear of rockets landing on our homes. Does Calton think Israel is always right in what she does? No, he doesn't, however he thinks that we should walk a mile in their shoes before condemning them.