Sir – It seems that Jesmond Blumenfeld (Letters, November 21), with no first-hand knowledge of the situation whatsoever, is motivated purely by familial loyalty than by any impartial factual evidence in seeking to absolve Israel Aaron Maisels, his late father-in-law, for the latter’s leading role in denying me a Rhodes Scholarship during the 1970s.
It is a great pity that the Rhodes secretary is not alive today to verify what actually happened under the aegis of Mr Maisels, acting as the then chair of the Rhodes selection panel. My own vivid memory of Israel Maisels’s Zionism and anti-Palestinian hostility remains undimmed particularly as to what followed.
Stemming as a direct consequence of Maisels’s view and the resultant injustice in refusing me a deserved scholarship, the Rhodes committee made spectacular amends by taking unprecedented steps to secure an Oppenheimer bursary for me to attend Oxford University.
This is proof positive that they distanced themselves from the Maisels-led decision and his position in opposing my candidacy for solely ideological reasons.
Mr Blumenfeld harps on the part played by Israel Maisels in the anti-apartheid struggle.
Whatever he may have contributed in the fight against institutionalised racism in South Africa, it cannot be any excuse or justification for his position in relation to justice in the Holy Land.
To draw a line under this matter and not inflict any further imposition upon your readers, I am prepared to meet with Mr Blumenfeld in public to present evidence and try to settle this issue amicably.
Dr T Hargey, MECO director, Oxford
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