Talking about jewish friends or the threat of antisemitism I have no issue with whatsoever, but in this context it promotes the false talking point that this is a conflict of religions which it most definitely is not. For people who want to make comments or wish to engage on this issue of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict it is best to begin by understanding a few things a) where antisemitism began, b) the history of the mideast region pre and post the foundation of the state of Israel – not political history but the anthropology of the region (social, ethnic and religious groups that are inhabitants of the region) and c) a little about the islamic religion and how/why it is part of the Abrahamic religions which – following from previous point – is why people of different faiths have always co-existed in that region. In fact try and find out where European/Asian jews choose to flee at the hype of antisemitism in Europe during the 30’s and 40’s? It’s truly amazing for me to watch talk show hosts on LBC and other networks – and I do not include Andrew Marr in this list as he’s someone I do actually trust – who (on this particular subject) don’t know what they’re talking about and make it simple for themselves by just looping around a few talking points. As for the threat of antisemitism which I do agree is a threat that cannot be ignored, it can not/should not continue to be paid for with Palestinian blood because their suffering is due to an illegal/brutal occupation NOT religious antagonism and unfortunately foreign meddling continues to cause more of it.
Finally, in terms of the blowback for the British government’s decision here’s what I would say; does sovereignty count? Is it the norm now to cave in to foreign pressure or pressure by local lobby groups when it comes to national or foreign policy, is this how it works? Remember if you consider this conflict at its bare/simplest level you may find that this decision is not only utterly uncontroversial (except to “some”) but totally consistent with values and more importantly with international law unless I’m missing something here. More importantly – and a bigger question is this – does the UK have a moral duty/responsibility to address failures of the past that have been ignored for decades to finally try and help resolve a conflict that has cost millions of lives throughout the years and created misery, displacement and economic/logistical bottlenecks and instability felt the world over?There is a better, for sure there is one and many already know it but ignore it because they consider some lives are cheaper than others, its as simple as that…sadly.
Just a thought….