I note with interest a couple of items concerning our cousins from across the Pond.
Britain's Foreign Secretary, William Hague weighed in today on the hideous specter of Jews in Israel building homes on property they've owned for decades in a long time Jewish Neighborhood in Jerusalem, Gilo:
“I condemn Israel’s decision to approve more than 900 settlement units in the East Jerusalem suburb of Gilo and the retrospective approval which has been given for construction in five West Bank settlements. This is not disputed territory. It is occupied Palestinian territory and ongoing settlement expansion is illegal under international law, an obstacle to peace and a threat to a two state solution. We call on the Israeli authorities to reconsider this decision, which undermines the prospects for peace. All those who support a secure future for Israel and a future Palestinian state should be working urgently to restart peace negotiations, not taking steps which make this more difficult.”
Yes..'occupied Palestinian territory' when no settlement has ever been made, 'Palestine' doesn't exist and the area in question was Jewish owned property before the residents were ethnically cleansed by the Jordanians (with British assistance, I might add) in 1948 and has continued to be a Jewish neighborhood since 1973, when the original owners returned! Oh, and strictly speaking, it's in Southwest Jerusalem, not East Jerusalem.
No matter. Apparently the British concept of property rights doesn't apply to Jews.
But wait, there's more.
In spite of Judge Goldstone's recent recanting of the bogus report accusing Israel of war crimes that bears his name, a British foreign office spokesmouth emphasized today that just because the author has finally admitted it's a pack of lies is no reason to support the retraction of such a convenient document!
So what does all this mean? Not much. Because of the almost reflexive 'anti-Zionism' and catering to the UK's Muslim voters, the Brits have pretty much dealt themselves out of this game.
They've had a de facto arms embargo on Israel for years, even to the point of not allowing anything that could remotely be considered useful by Israel's armed forces to be shipped through their ports or airspace, not even something like parts used in the ejector mechanisms of airplanes, something solely designed to save lives.
No Israeli with any connection to Israel armed forces or security services dares travel to Britain for fear of getting arrested on a universal jurisdiction warrant issued on the say so of pretty much any 'anti-Zionist' with a grievance.
Anti-Semitic instances are becoming increasingly common and accepted in the UK, and businesses with even a slight Israeli connection are now unwelcome in many areas..too much trouble, you know.
Direct trade is becoming increasingly marginal and subject to restrictions, the UK does not support Israel in the slightest in any international forum, and constantly sides with its enemies.
About the only thing Britain hasn't done yet is to declare war on Israel,and that's probably because of the vestigial, weakened state of what's left of Britain's armed forces after years of cutbacks.
And none of it ultimately matters. The UK, by pretty much cutting almost all ties with Israel , has made itself irrelevant in the grand scheme of things where having any voice in the Arab-Israeli conflict is concerned. They lost even a vestige of any influence or moral authority long ago where Israel is concerned..or pretty much anywhere else.
Like much of Europe, the UK made a choice a long time ago about where its priorities and loyalties lie, and at this point, they'll be doing well simply to avoid becoming part of the New Caliphate.
There's an odd historical pattern involving once mighty powers that aligned themselves against Israel and the Jews.
The Brits were at the height of their power when they became quite active in trying to keep Jews out of Palestine during the period when they ruled it during the Mandate, contributing largely to the death toll from the Holocaust.
Afterwards, they did their very best to destroy Israel at its birth, arming and training the Arab armies in 1948 that were sworn to a second Holocaust. And in view of that old historical pattern, it's fascinating to note that after that, they lost their Empire and much of their international influence.
It will be interesting to see if this latest attempt to side with Israel's enemies costs them their country.
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