The Guardian’s slavery dilemma

When you read the Guardian free online, a yellow notice appears asking you for money (‘Will you invest in the Guardian?’) to support its fearless journalism. But now arises a donor’s dilemma. After two years’ work, the paper has just produced a full report on and apology from its current owner for its founders’ involvement in slavery. The historian David Olusoga, part of the project, says that what the Guardian owes the descendants of slavery for this is ‘an unpayable debt’. The paper is attempting to pay it, however, setting aside £10 million for the purpose of restorative justice over ten years. So for the conscientious Guardian reader (is there any other kind?) the question arises: ‘Which is the more important destination for my money – the current needs of the newspaper or reparations to the victims of its past complicity in a great evil? If the latter, should I not pay directly to that cause rather than rewarding a paper which has taken two centuries to admit its wickedness?’ Is the Guardian letting itself off rather lightly?

The current crisis in Israel is poorly explained.