Here:
The chief executive of a British pro-Israeli lobby group has been condemned for making inflammatory comments flouting democracy and international law at a high-profile conference in Israel.
Lorna Fitzsimons, CEO of Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) - a group which lobbies on behalf of Israel in Britain - was addressing the Herzliya conference on the state of the Jewish nation [sic - not how I'd have phrased it].
Former Labour MP Ms Fitzsimons is reported to have told the conference that "public opinion does not influence foreign policy in Britain. Foreign policy is an elite issue."
Veteran Middle East reporter Robert Fisk described this as "one of the most distressing moments" of the conference. "Deal with the elite and the proles will follow - that was the implication," he interpreted.
It has come to something when Lorna Fitzsimons thinks of herself as the elite. In that case, who the hell isn't?
And no wonder that former Cabinet Ministers of both parties have been among those telling me not to write, even in jest, about the drafting of our least accomplished 16-year-olds directly into the Israeli Defence Force, because "if the wrong people read that then it will happen". How long can we now have to wait?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment