Sir Tony Blair has said that the film Schindler’s List inspired his approach to politics, teaching him that "you cannot be a bystander".
Steven Spielberg's lauded 1993 historical drama starring Liam Neeson chronicled how the German industrialist Oskar Schindler saved the lives of more than 1,000 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories, saving them from transport to the concentration camps.
Reflecting on his political career, the former prime minister, who led the country from 1997 to 2007, said learning not to be a bystander “can lead you to right judgments and wrong judgments but it is not just your job to look after your country...you owe some responsibility to the bigger world.”
Blair, whose involvement in the politics of the Middle East stretches back decades has earned both plaudits and intense criticism for his actions there, notably drawing intense criticism that persists over the 2003 Iraq War and his use of flawed intelligence to justify the invasion there.
Speaking about Blair in 2007 as the prime minister left office, Henry Grunwald, the then-president of the Board of Deputies called the Labour Party leader a "friend and ally," to the Jewish community, citing the establishment of 14 government-funded Jewish schools and expanded Holocaust education, as well as his support for Israel.
Jane Kennedy, the then-chairwoman of Labour Friends of Israel, echoed Grunwald’s praise, saying: "Tony Blair has demonstrated a deep personal commitment and has been hugely courageous in defence of Israel, doing the right thing even when it has lost him support among the British public.
However, Blair’s decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq continues to dog him.
Now, in the wake of the 2023 Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, and the subsequent war in Gaza, Blair might find himself at the centre of the proposed peace process there. His was one of the first names revealed to be US President Donald Trump's “Board of Peace”, which intends to govern Gaza following the war.
Blair is is expected to have his own portfolio on the governing body, one of several that will, according to the White House be "critical to Gaza's stabilisation and long-term success".
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