I was delighted to see the following in the latest weekly bulletin from Sarah Ludford, London's Lib Dem Member of the European Parliament:

"I’m pleased as a member of Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel to be attending today a reception to mark the 62nd anniversary of the creation of an independent state of Israel. I have my own strong criticisms of the policy of the current government of Israel - and indeed of many previous ones, though I part company with the present one more than those before. The present government is failing to do anything like enough to promote a 2 - state solution and is indeed undermining it through its outrageous settlement and other policies.

"But I separate government and state. I am consistent in my support for a secure Israel whose right to exist is universally recognised – which is not the case now - and that is why I will be there today to support and celebrate that existence."