Opinion

And so it begins

July 21, 2009 13:51
2 min read

Well it has, hasn't it? The boycott of Israel, i mean? The government's decision to ignite the first step towards a full scale boycott of Israel, on the grounds that some of the UK's military equipment was used illegally against Gaza as an act of 'internal repression' by Israel, is both baffling and indicative of the growing anti-Israel wave that is sweeping all corners of our Parliament. From Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, to Labour MP Gerald Haufmann, to our terrorist funding friend George Galloway MP, Israel is fast becoming the scapegoat for all in the middle east. Of course, there are those who defend the only democracy (elected into existence) in the middle east, but their voice is drowning at best. So, why is the government's decision baffling? Well, perhaps it's due to the fact that they described Israel's war on Hamas (in Gaza) as an act of 'Internal represssion'. Is it me, or did i imagine a withdrawel from Gaza? Is it me, or are there any Israeli civilians living in Gaza? Is it me, or does the seperate, Israel hating, antisemitic government of Gaza view itself to be part of Israel? How could anybody describe the most recent of conflicts as an act of internal repression? If our government has such a limited understanding of this, the most well-documented of world conflicts, then maybe the conservatives would be a better option come June 2010. Perhaps though, it is baffling due to the astonishingly contradictory and hypocritical going's on of the last week. On the one hand, Britain cuts its arms sales to Israel on the grounds that it used them illegaly in Gaza during acts of Internal repression, whilst on the other hand, facing public outcry that it hasn't provided enough weapons to its own army, on the other side of the planet which is doing exactly what the IDF did in Gaza; fighting terrorists in the name of freedom on more than one front, which sadly sometimes results in the deaths of innocent civilians in terrorist-dominated areas. Over 5,000 civilians at that-and that's not even including Afghanistan or Pakistan. So, for the sake of comparison, including the 2008/9 Hamas war, how many Palestinians have died since the intifida? 4,000. How many Israelis? Over 200. So, Israel has more casualties than the UK does in Iraq and Afghanistan put together, and less Palestinians have been killed by Israel since 2002 than Iraqis by the UK since 2003. Contradiction? I believe it is.

Let me clear something up though, I am not anti-Palestine. As someone who believes in the right of the Jewish people to self-determination, thus the right to a state of their own (Israel), i too believe that the Palestinians deserve that same right. Do i believe in the legitimacy of checkpoints or the legality of West Bank settlements? Of course not. Do I believe in the security barrier? Well...that could take a while. Let's shorten the question, so as to astound a fair few people who would probably not believe what will come next, due to the bias of the British media: Do I believe in the wall that makes up just 7% of the West Bank security barrier? No. And a firm no at that. However, would I argue that Jordan, historically speaking, was created to be the state for the 'Arab inhabitants of Palestine'? Yes. Is that feesible today? No.

I do not believe Israel is innocent of everything that is thrown at it. It clearly isn't. But, to isolate, demonise, condemn and, more importantly, boycott Israel for the same behaviour as the British Army, Nato and Obama's America, is as much of a crime against Israel, as Israel's against Gaza. And do i prefer the crimes of the west? I'm not so sure.