Funny how "compassion" is so often an excuse for monumentally shitty behaviour - take Dr Marsha Levine (please!)

Dr Levine - formerly an academic at Cambridge - is apparently a world authority on horses. Last week, she received an email from a 13-year girl, Shachar Rabinovitch, asking for some information. It was a very respectful email: “I know you are a very important person and I've read your article about horses (Domestication, Breed Diversification and Early History of the Horse) and I love horses very much and it will be an honour if you will answer my questions.” The problem was that Miss Rabinovitch is - an Israeli! Which Dr Levine apparently felt justified the following bizarre response:

“I'll answer your questions when there is peace and justice for Palestinians in Palestine.

“I am a member of Jews for Justice for Palestinians. I support boycott, divestment, sanctions. You might be a child, but if you are old enough to write to me, you are old enough to learn about Israeli history and how it has impacted on the lives of Palestinian people.

“Maybe your family has the same views as I do, but I doubt it.”

Or maybe, Dr Levine, you'll answer Shachar's question when you turn into a decent human being (in the unlikely event of that ever happening, of course).

Meanwhile, shame on you. (You can read the whole, awful story here.)

Never mind, Shachar - I'm sure there are plenty of other horse experts who'd be only too happy to answer your questions, especially if they knew how shabbily you'd been treated by a former member of their trade purely because of your nationality.