Sabbah Report » MP

Stuart Littlewood: Israel’s ‘friends’ still shamelessly swinging from the chandeliers at Westminster

Stuart Littlewood — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:18:56 +0000

By Stuart Littlewood* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz

It's been one atrocity after another, so you'd think that Israel's cheer-leaders scattered about the upper echelons of the British Establishment would have the decency to keep quiet and "consider their position".

But no. In the wake of the Free Gaza flotilla hi-jacking this letter appeared in The Daily Telegraph...

We must not forget what Hamas, which controls Gaza, stands for: it is intent on violence, smuggles arms, colludes with other rogue states, and thumbs its nose at the international community.

To achieve long-term security in the region, Hamas must accept the Quartet Principles – to renounce violence, accept the existence of Israel, and abide by previous agreements.

Israel, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and the West have a shared interest in preventing Hamas from being strengthened, ensuring that a moderate national unity government is established in Gaza and the West Bank, and supporting ordinary Palestinians to secure a two-state solution.

The international community must be very careful not to do anything that emboldens Hamas to pursue its course of aggression and rejection. To hand such a propaganda coup to Hamas would pave the way for future conflict. Hamas needs to know that the British Government will not reward its terror tactics, and that getting it to abide by the Quartet Principles will form the core of our policy.

signed by:

James Clappison MP (Con)
David Amess MP (Con)
James Arbuthnot MP (Con)
Bob Blackman MP (Con)
David Burrowes MP (Con)
Douglas Carswell MP (Con)
Mike Freer MP (Con)
Robert Halfon MP (Con)
Gareth Johnson MP (Con)
Stephen Metcalfe MP (Con)
Matthew Offord MP (Con)

It's OK, of course, for the British Government to reward Israel for its terror tactics… These MPs would paint a much truer picture if they substituted Israel for Hamas.

Who are they anyway? Never heard of them? Don't be surprised. With 650 MPs in the UK parliament it is easy to vanish into the woodwork. Some have been there for years and never been noticed. But the name Robert Halfon gives the game away. He is former political director of the Conservative Friends of Israel. James Arbuthnot is chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel and, worryingly, chairman of the Defence Select Committee. It would seem therefore that the rest of the group are similarly allied to the Israel admiration society.

What they propose is certainly no path to peace but a sure way of keeping strife on the boil, which is Israel's true purpose, as we've seen these last 62 years.

They clearly don't respect Palestinian democracy or humans rights but they love Israel's racist ethnocracy. They still enthusiastically bat for Israel regardless of its long crime-sheet, even thought doing so puts British interests and British citizens in danger.

A hundred years ago people siding with a foreign power at British expense could have found themselves swinging by the neck. Three hundred years ago they risked their heads on pikes for what used to be called treason.

Lord David Trimble

And now Israel has invited Conservative Lord David Trimble to become an independent observer [suppressed laughter] in its self-appointed inquiry into the piratical assault on the Mavi Marmara, in which at least 9 aid workers were murdered. As it happens, Trimble has just joined the odious Bolton to launch the "Friends of Israel Initiative," a new project to counter attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel.

Trimble is remembered for his connection with the fanatical and extremist Orangemen Order in Northern Ireland. As a member of the Henry Jackson Society he now hob-nobs with the likes of Robert Halfon.

A flagship publication of the society, The British Moment, calls for a new way of thinking about British foreign, security and defence policy and argues that it is time for Britain, and indeed the rest of Europe, to reclaim the tradition of interventionism across the globe. This is generally taken to mean the bully-boys can cook up daft excuse (like a country not having western-style democratic government) to help themselves to the world's goodies – like Iraqi and Iranian oil and Afghanistan's mineral wealth.

The British Parliament now has so many Zionists and Friends of Israel that these admirers of the rogue state are still swinging from the chandeliers despite the non-stop killing sprees, mega-maiming and wholesale destruction.

Over in the Labour camp there's a struggle going on for the party leadership. Interest is centred on the Miliband brothers, front-runner David (former foreign secretary) and Ed. The prospect eventually of a Jewish prime minister after the Zionists Brown and Blair is too depressing. Is the Labour party really going to saddle us with that?

The Conservatives meanwhile are bulging with Israeli flag wavers. The prime minister David Cameron, has declared himself a Zionist. His foreign secretary and defence secretary are both leading Friends of Israel. Indeed, 80 percent of Conservative MPs and MEPs are thought to belong to the pro-Israel lobby, according to a recent Channel 4 Dispatches programme.

After recent scandals the British people have been promised a major clean-up of politics. In the pipeline are constitutional changes that will give voters power to force an MP who engages in serious wrongdoing to face another election. All they'll need is the backing of 10 per cent of constituents in a petition.

As well as the power to get rid of corrupt MPs, changes include a clamp-down on lobbying in Parliament, a statutory register of lobbyists and a clean-up of party funding.

But could any of this bring an end to infiltration by agents of a foreign power?

The three main political parties in the UK each have a 'Friends of Israel' lobby organisation that ensures pro-Israel members are embedded at all key levels in Parliament and government. These adherents to another flag inhibit the government when it comes to taking a principled stand on issues such as Israel's murderous and unlawful blockade of Gaza and continuing illegal occupation of the West Bank.

As the parties show no sign of cleansing themselves of these obnoxious groups, an obvious way of dealing with them would, in theory, be to engage the Committee on Standard in Public Life, a standing committee which says that 'Seven Principles' should apply to everyone in the public service. These are:

Selflessness

Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other benefits for themselves, their family or their friends.

Integrity

Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties.

Objectivity

In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.

Accountability

Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.

Openness

Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.

Honesty

Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.

Leadership

Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.

I produce them here in full because they are a beacon of good practice and a splendid basis on which to build solid and reliable government. These principles are now included in the Ministerial Code, a document setting out "rules" and standards for government ministers.

So why aren't they enforced? Especially the one about Integrity?

In 2005 it was reported that the UK Government was considering bringing prosecutions for treason against a number of British Islamic clerics who had publicly spoken positively about acts of terrorism against civilians in Britain, or attacks on British soldiers abroad. That does not seem a million miles away from speaking encouragingly about Israeli thugs carrying out acts of lethal violence against peaceful activists, including British nationals, in international waters.

The Standards Committee is essentially a parliamentary sleaze watchdog, but two years ago it turned down a request by a group of 20 top academics, surgeons and others to investigate the influence of Israel lobby organisations like Friends of Israel at the heart of British government.

The group maintained that "the man in the street is entitled to look at the Seven Principles of Public Life and say that the activities of lobbies like Friends of Israel are against the intentions, both in word and spirit, of those Principles".

No-one will be surprised to learn that the sleaze watchdog had itself been infiltrated by Friends of Israel. The Jewish Chronicle reported a "smear" on Israel lobby MPs, one of whom suggested that if the Committee failed to investigate it might be accused of being part of a Jewish conspiracy. But the then political director of Conservative Friends of Israel, none other than Mr Haflon, confidently predicted there would be no investigation, his cocksure attitude leading one to suppose that he and others of similar persuasion were a protected species within the Westminster village.

There wasn't an investigation; and they are.

At the time Liam Fox, now Defence Secretary, was quoted on the Conservative Friends of Israel website as saying: "...We must remember that in the battle for the values that we stand for, for democracy against theocracy, for democratic liberal values against repression - Israel's enemies are our enemies and this is a battle in which we all stand together or we will all fall divided."

Dr David Halpin, a trauma surgeon who had led a team of 7 UK doctors to Gaza, said: "Dr Fox presumably speaks for all Friends of Israel in the party that hopes to form the next government. He would have Parliament and the public believe that Israel's enemy, Iran, must become Britain's enemy. Such dangerous and irresponsible nonsense could lead this country to disaster."

That is even truer today. The group observed that British people should not have to tolerate dual allegiance in their Parliament and Government, since obviously it put national security at risk.

Today, the Jerusalem Post reports that a study by B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organisation, shows that 95 per cent of Gaza's factories are closed, 93 per cent of the water is polluted and Israel's blockade has caused an economic collapse. B'Tselem's executive director Jessica Montell sums up by saying that the ongoing occupation both violates Palestinian rights and poses clear dangers for Israel's democracy. "For this reason we as Israelis must demand accountability for actions taken in our name in the occupied territories and work to change policies that infringe human rights."

Words are simply not adequate to describe those who perpetrated this evil and those who encourage, support and cheer from the sidelines like the stooges hiding behind the respectable trappings of Westminster.

We'll have to see whether our bright new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government really means to abolish sleaze, as it says, or is just a 'big girl's blouse' – a bunch of wimps – when action is needed.

* Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation. Read other articles by Stuart, or visit Stuart's website.

“Cabbing” for Israel?

Stuart Littlewood — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:45:14 +0000

By Stuart Littlewood* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz

A question every voter should ask candidates in the coming UK general election

There can be few sights more pathetic than ex-ministers and chums of Tony Blair offering to use their government contacts to help influence policy on behalf of business clients.

"I'm like a cab for hire," said Stephen Byers when secretly filmed by a Channel 4 TV 'Dispatches' programme. Byers could be "hailed" for £3,000 to £5,000 per day.

And so a new expression was born into the sleazy world of Westminster: "political cabbing".

The latest revelations come only a few months after another Channel 4 'Dispatches' report, by Peter Oborne, showed how large numbers of MPs were stooging (or "cabbing") for Israel.

Mr Oborne reported that a majority of Conservative MPs and half the shadow cabinet are signed-up Friends of Israel, and £millions flow into the bank accounts of MPs and parties although only a fraction of these "contributions" are visibly accounted for. Sir Richard Dalton, a former British diplomat who served as consul-general in Jerusalem, observed: "I don't believe, and I don't think anybody else believes, these contributions come with no strings attached."

Mr Oborne showed how Labour and Conservative Friends of Israel take dozens of MPs on free trips to Israel, where they are guests of the Israeli government.

Few, if any, declare this interest when speaking in Parliament.

He showed how one of the Conservative Party's big donors has vested interests in illegal settlement development in the West Bank and in Bicom, an Israeli public affairs outfit, and how the party's leadership is subjected to foreign pressure.

What harm does "cabbing" for Israel do?

Large numbers of MPs (and many parliamentary candidates) are exposed to the Israel lobby's influence, and its message is carried through into parliamentary work causing great damage to our parliamentary democracy, harm to Britain's reputation throughout the world and risk to our security because a just solution in the Holy Land is prevented by such partisanship.

The majority of Conservative MPs and MEPs are Friends of Israel. The lobby also claims a very large number of Labour MPs and ministers. Membership is said to be a necessary step to high office.

The Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel website brazenly states that its first aim is to maximise support for the State of Israel within the party and Parliament, and develop and maintain a broad-based LDFI membership inside and outside of Parliament...

Conservatives Friends of Israel have a 'Fast Track' group for parliamentary candidates fighting target marginal seats.   

Senior Conservatives try to justify their support for the foreign military power by insisting that Israel is "a force for good in the world" and "in the battle for the values that we stand for, for democracy against theocracy, for democratic liberal values against repression - Israel's enemies are our enemies and this is a battle in which we all stand together".

This partisanship undermines a number of the Principles on which our standards in public life are founded. One of these requires holders of public office not to place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties.

Nowhere is this disregard for principle more dramatically demonstrated than in the appointment of Israel flag-wavers to the chairmanship of our most important security bodies – the Intelligence & Security Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee and Defence Committee.

Prime minister Gordon Brown told Labour Friends of Israel that they were "one of the great influences on the whole of the Labour movement... I will continue to do what I can both to defend Israel and to protect the security of Israel's borders... I count myself not only a friend of Israel but someone who wants to support the future of Israel.... we will do everything that we can to work with Israel."

Conservative opposition leader David Cameron has said: "The belief I have in Israel is indestructible – and you need to know that if I become Prime Minister, Israel has a friend who will never turn his back on Israel."

Both leaders are patrons of the Jewish National Fund, an organisation with a sinister purpose.

Lobbying will be the "next political scandal", says Cameron blissfully unaware of the irony of his remark.

"Cabbing" to change the law and protect Israel's thugs

When Tzipi Livni, leader of Israel's main opposition party Kadima and foreign minister during the murderous blitzkrieg on Gaza civilians a year ago, recently cancelled a visit to Britain after an arrest warrant was issued against her by a British court, Israel complained that "we have to put an end to this absurdity, which is harming the excellent bilateral relations between Israel and Britain."

Gordon Brown responded by insisting that Livni was welcome and promising to change the law that allows British courts to issue warrants for war crimes suspects.

Foreign secretary David Miliband reinforced this by saying the British government was determined that arrest threats against visitors of Ms. Livni's stature would not happen again. "Israel is a strategic partner and a close friend of the United Kingdom. We are determined to protect and develop these ties," he said. "Israeli leaders - like leaders from other countries - must be able to visit and have a proper dialogue with the British government."

Livni is not even a serving minister. And far from apologizing for the slaughter of Gazans a year ago, this odious individual declared: "I would make the same decisions all over again." For decent people she is beyond the pale and unwelcome.

Nevertheless the attorney-general has told the world that the government intends to protect high-ranking Israeli officials from arrest in the UK. Speaking at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Baroness Scotland said Israeli leaders should not face arrest for war crimes under the law of universal jurisdiction. "The government is looking urgently at ways in which the UK system might be changed to avoid this situation arising again. Israel's leaders should always be able to travel freely to the UK."

Why? There can be no hiding place for those accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, extra-judicial executions, war crimes, torture and forced disappearances.

States that are party to the Geneva Conventions – there are 194 of them, including Israel itself - are obliged to seek out and either prosecute or extradite those suspected of having committed "grave breaches" of the Conventions and "bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own courts. It may also, if it prefers, and in accordance with the provisions of its own legislation, hand such persons over for trial to another High Contracting Party concerned, provided such High Contracting Party has made out a prima facie case."

The Geneva Conventions are treaties, solemnly entered into, that contain universal rules limiting the barbarity of war. "Grave breaches" means wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, the causing of great suffering or serious injury to body or health, and other serious violations of the laws of war. Israel is well practised in all of these.

Brown and Miliband, "cabbing" like fury, are happy to dismantle our obligations under international law in order to save their unsavoury friends and allow Israel's worst thugs to walk the streets of our capital.

"Cabbing" for Israel even extends to making light of the theft by Mossad agents of the passport ID of several British citizens in a mission to assassinate a Hamas operative in Dubai. It was not the first time this sort of thing has happened. Mr Miliband announced the expulsion of an unnamed individual on the Israeli embassy staff. This feeble slap on the wrist was not nearly enough to wipe the smirk off Ambassador Prosor's face.

George Galloway MP called for a more robust response - the closing of the embassy. "Every British citizen travelling in the Middle East has been endangered by the actions of Mossad operating from the Israeli embassy in London. Protecting British citizens abroad demands nothing less than closing that centre of espionage at home."

That's more like it.

Miliband's and Brown's friends are not my friends... or anyone else's as far as I can see. The idea that Israel and the gangsters who run it have any value to us as strategic partners, is a figment of their tiny imagination. George Washington's warning of years ago seems all the more appropriate today: "The nation which indulges towards another a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave...a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils."

Who , if they had any integrity, would "cab" for a regime that thieves, murders, assassinates, carries out ethnic cleansing and shows utter contempt for international law, human rights, UN resolutions and the normal codes of human conduct?

Who would "cab" for a regime that, by using overwhelming military might, has systematically impoverished its neighbours and resorted to starvation tactics to make them submit?

Who, if they had a shred of honour, would "cab" for a regime whose leaders are wanted for war crimes?

Be warned, you parliamentary candidates, when you come a-knocking for my vote. The first question will be "Are you cabbing for Israel?"

* Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation. Read other articles by Stuart, or visit Stuart's website.

Video: UK Jewish MP – Israel acting like Nazis in Gaza

Haitham Sabbah — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:10:20 +0000

On 16 January 2009 the UK Jewish Member of Parliament, Sir Gerald Kaufman, spoke in the House of Lords on "Israel acting like Nazis in Gaza".

His full speech:

[Hat tip: Ann]