If there was any doubt as to where Britain’s Tory led
government stood with regard to Israel it was removed when Prime
Minister David Cameron paid a visit to Turkey to hold talks with
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and announce his support for Turkey’s bid to enter to the
European Union. During this same visit, Cameron also
described the Gaza Strip as “a prison camp.”
It was a rather daft observation on the part of Cameron,
especially when one considers the luxurious mall opened earlier
this month in Gaza. This isn’t to say that life in Gaza is all
strawberries and cream. But that Cameron would pillory Israel
while holding the Hamas-run government blameless in this state of
affairs is very telling indeed.
By simultaneously describing Gaza as a prison camp on and
endorsing Turkish entry into the EU while on Turkish soil,
Cameron
effectively endorsed Turkey’s efforts to break Israel’s
blockade on Gaza through the flotilla campaign. In so doing,
Cameron has for all intents and purposes declared that Israel has
no right to defend itself. “The Israeli attack on the Gaza
flotilla was completely unacceptable,”
said Cameron.
To borrow an English term, Cameron’s statement is
absolute bollocks. For Cameron to suggest that Israel wantonly
launched an unprovoked attack the Mavi Marmara
on May 31, 2010 is an act of defamation. IDF forces
instructed the Mavi Marmara to dock in the
port of Ashdod where goods would be inspected and any
humanitarian supplies would be sent to Gaza through a convoy of
trucks. The Mavi Marmara told the IDF to “Go back to
Auschwitz.”
When the Mavi Marmara made it
clear it would proceed to Gaza come hell or high water, Israel
was left with no choice but to board the ship. It was only after
Israeli troops were bombarded with metal bars, stabbed and had
grenades thrown at them that they opened
fire, killing nine of their attackers. Had the Mavi
Marmara complied with Israel’s request (as had
the five other ships accompanying Mavi
Marmara) there would have been no loss of life.
Therefore, those aboard the Mavi Marmara
have only themselves and the Turkish government to blame in
their pursuit of martyrdom.
Let’s put it another way. What if the IRA had suddenly
resumed engaging in terrorist activities and had embarked on a
campaign to send flotillas to Northern Ireland full of weaponry
to be used against British civilians and Irish Protestant
activists under the guise of a humanitarian mission? What if a
Royal Navy commander had instructed the IRA flotilla to dock in
the Welsh port of Holyhead instead of Belfast? What if the IRA
flotilla told the Royal Navy commander, “Death to the Queen!!!”?
Do you think for a moment that David Cameron would hesitate in
sending Her Majesty’s Armed Forces aboard an IRA flotilla? And if
those aboard the IRA flotilla were to have attacked British
soldiers with metal bars, knives and grenades, would he have
expected those men not to defend themselves? Not on your bloody
life.
Cameron’s apparent ignorance of the intentions of
those aboard the flotilla is baffling when one considers the
recent statements of former British Prime Minister and now Middle
East Quartet representative Tony Blair. When a Lebanese flotilla
announced plans to set sail for Gaza last week Blair said,
“Such convoys are not helpful, do not resolve the
economic difficulties in Gaza and carry the risk of escalation
needlessly.”
Yet on the other hand Blair is no longer subject to the
pressures of elected office. The same cannot be said for Cameron.
It’s simple mathematics really. In the 2001 Census, there were
nearly six
times as many Muslims as there were Jews in the United
Kingdom. There’s every reason to believe the gap between the
number of Muslims and Jews in the U.K. will only widen with the
results of the next census which is set to take place next
year.
One must also consider the assertiveness of Britain’s
Muslim community with regard to the imposition of Sharia law in
the land of the Magna Carta. As of June 2009, there were 85
Sharia courts operating in the United Kingdom and their
decisions are legally binding. But for many British Muslims
that isn’t enough. They want all Britons
to be subject to Sharia law.
So when British Muslims are demonstrating outside of Number
10 Downing Street for Sharia law do you think David Cameron is
more likely to support the aspirations of a Muslim country like
Turkey (which under Erdogan is moving away from secularism) or is
he more likely to stick his neck out for the world’s only Jewish
state?
Under the circumstances, it is more politically expedient
for Cameron to vilify Israel and support Turkish entry into the
EU even as it acts as a sponsor for terrorism against Israel
while ignoring the transgressions of Hamas. Suffice it to say,
this isn’t Britain’s finest hour.
