As currently conceived, neither “Palestine” nor “Israel” existed at that time, and even Syria-Palestina ceased to exist by AD 390. In a lab class on another occasion, my request: “does anyone have a rubber?” had a similar effect (Letters, 14 January). Should I be worried or would buying a whole case improve my prospects (Letters, 15 January)? Valerie LewisWantage, Oxfordshire• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters• Do you have a photo you’d like to share with Guardian readers? Click here to upload it and we’ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition

Source: The Guardian January 15, 2020 16:30 UTC