But some Orthodox Jews were equally infuriated when the Chief Rabbi attended a memorial tribute to Rabbi Gryn last month. Yesterday Dr Sacks said the letter - leaked last week to the Jewish Chronicle - had been misunderstood. The differences between himself and Rabbi Gryn were "painful and intense" but should not be allowed to get in the way of "our common humanity, our common heritage"."We have to work out a way in which we can speak and live in reasonable mutual respect and peaceful co-existence. We're just too small as a community, we've suffered too much at the hands of others, to inflict this suffering on ourselves.". John Hume, the SDLP leader, would be a popular choice to succeed Irish President Mary Robinson, according to a weekend opinion poll. Mrs Robinson announced last week that she will not run again when her present seven-year term ends in December. Speaking on Irish radio yesterday, she said the Irish government had indicated its support for the idea "of my going forward for the position of UN Commissioner for Human Rights". Mr Hume was backed by 19 per cent of those questioned in a poll for Dublin's Sunday Independent newspaper.
Other names mentioned included the former Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, with 14 per cent; and his predecessor Charles Haughey, with 11 per cent. The former foreign minister, David Andrews, tipped to be the candidate of Fianna Fail, the largest party in the Irish Republic, polled just 8 per cent. No candidates have declared at present.Mr Hume appeared to rule himself out of the running for the presidency last week when he insisted his priority was to stay in politics in Northern Ireland to help achieve peace and stability there.. A barber who has been cutting the hair of prime ministers, archbishops and all who work in the Palace of Westminster for a quarter of a century, may be in danger of losing his job, MPs fear. More than 100 parliamentarians, political journalists and others have signed a petition to save the job of Stephen Silverne, 58, who has become an institution at Westminster. Mr Silverne declined to comment on his position, but MPs fear he is in jeopardy because of plans to introduce a "unisex" salon in the Commons. Leading the campaign to keep him in his job is Denis MacShane, Labour MP for Rotherham, who said: "Paris couturiers would die to have the sharp post-classical haircut service Mr Silverne provides.
He should be given a peerage, not the sack." He was backed by David Young, Labour MP for Bolton South-East, who said: "I do not think it is right for a Labour or any other government to get rid of people who have served the House so well for so many years." Mr Young said he would not himself patronise a unisex salon. "I feel strongly that as more ladies come into the Commons they should have the right to have their own hairdresser. But there are male rights, too, for those who do not want a unisex salon."When Mr Silverne arrived in 1970, there still existed the barber's chair in which Gladstone sat But now his saloon has been thoroughly modernised. Some women have used his services, including Virginia Bottomley, before she became a minister, and Labour MPs Harriet Harman and Ann Clwyd.. The Independent Television Commission has partly backed viewers' complaints concerning ITV's debate on the future of the monarchy. Screened in January, it involved 3,000 people at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre and thousands more in a telephone poll. It sparked a storm of criticism, including 85 official complaints.
