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End of a fiction
The supposed divide between Hezbollah’s political and military wings has only ever been a fiction — and it has been a stain on British governments of all parties that they have maintained it in the face of all evidence to the contrary.
In planning to proscribe Hezbollah as a whole, Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt are merely recognising reality.
But — as their predecessors’ refusal to do so shows — sometimes even recognising reality has proved too much for ministers. So credit is due to both the Home and Foreign Secretaries for their refusal to be party to a fiction.
It is difficult not to draw a contrast with the Leader of the Opposition, for whom Hezbollah are “friends”, and who has taken part in the annual Al Quds Day march in London at which the Hezbollah flag has been widely evident.
If you can judge someone by their friends and those they choose to spurn, no further comment is necessary.
Disconnection
The IHRA definition of antisemitism is not perfect — no one has ever claimed that it is.
But, with its practical examples of antisemitism, it is by far the best working definition available.
And it is not just the Labour Party’s mess this summer that highlights how important it is that public bodies adopt it. As we report, neither President Macron’s La République En Marche party nor Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (the former National Front) have adopted the IHRA definition.
France has a worse antisemitism problem than Britain has and, as Crif, the representative body for French Jews argues, needs a clear definition. France should act now and adopt IHRA.