Israel Matzav

Hague's obsession

The Foreign Secretary of the country that did more than any other to prevent the State of Israel from being established at all is now claiming that the reason that Brits don't much care for Israelis is because of those darned 'settlements.' As if the average bloke in Birmingham or Liverpool can even find Beit El, Ariel or Haifa on a map. They're all 'settlements' as far as he's concerned.

Steinitz questioned why support of Israel among the British public is "much less" than in the other Anglo Saxon democracies the US, Canada and Australia. "When you think that all four are Anglo-Saxon democracies, why should people in America, Australia or Canada have different relations to or appreciations of the minuscule Jewish state than the people of Britain," the minister queried, adding that this difference may be reflected in the British Foreign Office and British government policy.

In response, Hague told Sky News that "Israel has lost some of its support in Britain and in other European countries over time - this is something I've often pointed out to Israeli leaders - because of settlement activity, which we condemn."

The British foreign secretary added, "We strongly disagree with settlements on occupied land. Israel is a country we work with in many ways but we do disapprove of settlements."

Here's an indication of just how obsessed with Israel Mr. Hague is: He's currently in Israel and Reuters' Dan Williams reports that Hague claims he spends 70% of his time on the Middle East. I wonder how much attention he pays to Europe. Maybe if Hague and his ilk weren't so obsessed with Israel and paid more attention to what goes on in their own backyard, Israel wouldn't be such an object of hate for Britons.

Labels: British obsession with Israel, William Hague

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:11 AM