2 min read
I’ve just spotted a piece of fairly foaming invective published by the Palestine Chronicle.
Written by Stuart Littlewood, author of the book Radio Free Palestine, the open letter to the Liberal Democrats lays out opposition to the planned alterations to the universal jurisdiction legislation of which we all know so much.
I do not intend to link to the piece, should you wish to read the whole thing I’m sure you will be able to find it with some quick Googling, but below are some excerpts which lay out quite clearly the furious and enormous opposition that can be expected when/if the coalition government finally moves to change the law.
It makes for relatively unsurprising reading, but stands as a clear warning of what is to come in this seemingly never-ending episode.
Littlewood writes:
“For these vilest of criminals there should be no hiding place.”
“Your Coalition partners the Conservatives, 80 percent of whom are claimed to be signed-up Friends of Israel, plan to interfere with our laws of arrest in order to protect those criminals they count among their friends.”
“Has everyone forgotten that Tzipi Livni, Israel’s former foreign minister, was largely responsible for the terror that brought mega-deaths and unimaginable destruction to Gaza's civilians nearly 2 years ago?”
“Hague wants [Lieberman] freely walking the streets of London with Livni and the rest of the world’s psychopaths.”
“Whatever happened to the Liberal Democrats’ pledge to 'reject all prejudice and discrimination based upon race, colour, religion, etc...' and to 'fight poverty, oppression, hunger, ignorance, disease and aggression wherever they occur and to promote the free movement of ideas, people, goods and services'?"
“Who would have believed that any senior Liberal Democrat would support a move to undermine our justice system in order to make the UK a safe haven for blood-soaked foreign leaders whose policies and unspeakable crimes are alien to LibDem principles, disgusting to the British public and condemned by international law?"
“If we allow the warmongers to come and go as they please, civilized people will never be able to take back their world."
“If Parliament passes measures to undermine the important principle enshrined in the Geneva Conventions and weaken the law to enable those wanted for crimes against humanity to evade arrest, wouldn’t that make the whole British nation an accessory to those crimes?"
"And please reflect on how nodding it through would be just about the lowest thing anyone could do."
As the universal jurisdiction row rolls into its third year, it is worth remembering that for all the campaigning, all the front pages, all the behind-the-scenes meetings, the issue remains unresolved, and those with opposing views to those of the majority of the Jewish community in Britain remain as steadfast and as vicious in their anti-Israel, pro-arrest warrant campaigning as ever.
This issue will not be quickly solved – regardless of the government’s repeated promises - and if indeed it ever is concluded in Parliament, the problem on the ground will still not go away.