Not everything in the Middle East is bleak

You might have heard of the old tale: Two Jews, Shlomo and Joseph are sitting on a park Bench in 1930s Germany.  One is reading the Berlin Jewish Chronicle, the other Der Sturmer, the Nazi paper.  Shlomo says to Joseph “How can you read that Nazi propaganda?”.  Joseph replies:  “when I look at the the Berlin Jewish News, I read about misery: concentration camps, ghettos, poverty and starvation.  When I peruse Der Sturmer, I learn that Jews are supermensch,  run the world, own loads of gold and control all the banks. I feel quite good afterwards!”

I thought of this story, on a recent three day visit to Israel, earlier in the year for Tory Parliamentarians, hosted by Conservative Friends of Israel.  Can one be a pessimist or an optimist, about Israel and the Middle East?  Travelling around Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Sderot, the Gaza Border, and having discussions with academics, politicians and military officials, it can be quite easy to fall into melancholy.

Whilst Prime Minister Netanyahu warns of the existential threat to Israel from Iran, some academics suggest that it is virtually impossible for peace to be made with the Palestinians.  The argument goes that the Palestinians don’t really want a return to the 1967 border but the replacement of the whole of Israel with a ‘Palestinian’ state.  In other words, not 1967, but 1948. 

Moreover, the increase in birth rate amongst Arabs compared to Jews, means that in the near future, Israel won't be a Jewish state anymore.  Therefore, the only way for Israel to deal with this is to withdraw unilaterally from the West Bank (a la Gaza), and militarily pound the Palestinians in the event of missile attacks - just as happened against Hamas in 2009.  The same argument runs onto the so-called ‘Arab Spring’, noting that far from bringing peace and stability to the Middle East, regimes that had a ‘cold peace’ towards Israel, will be replaced by Islamists, in some cases backed by Iran, in others backed by Al Qaeda and other terrorist organisations.

All the above may be true, but.... I am reminded of the famous remark from Golda Meir, that: “pessimism is a luxury that no Jew can allow himself.”  I like this quote as, just like the Jew reading Der Sturmer, it is sometimes better to look at the brighter side of life.

First; the Arab spring.  Of course the Middle East is going through a post-French Revolutionary phase of future bloodshed and terror, but history shows us that enlightenment triumphs in the long run.  There are examples - the Kurdistan Autonomous Region in Iraq.  KRG has emerged from the Saddam Hussein bloodbath, as a beacon of democracy, rule of law and religious tolerance.  A progressive Muslim nation at its best.  The collapse of the Arab Dictators, whilst not without significant difficulties, could lead to a more enlightened Middle East in the long run.  If President Assad of Syria goes then this will severely weaken Iranian influence.  Finance and weaponry assistance to Hamas and Hezbollah, will not be easy to come by.  It is no accident that Hamas has removed itself from her Damascus HQ.  

Second; the Palestinians. Whilst the world’s media talk about checkpoints and blockades (sometimes even mentioning the missile attacks on Israel), another Palestine is beginning to emerge. It was William Cobbett, who observed “I defy you to agitate a man with a full stomach”.  In the West Bank, poverty has fallen by 23% since 2004, and economic growth rates are 9%.  Visiting Ramallah we saw a boom - brand new buildings everywhere and bustling shops and businesses.  We visited the state of the art Palestinian City of Rahabi, providing 8,000-10,000 Palestinians with jobs. Built literally out of the rock, this new City will be a source of aspiration and opportunity to Palestinians.  One young female Palestinian engineer I spoke to, suggested that her generation were fed up with war, and were more interested in making money for themselves and their families.  If the capitalist society really reaches the Palestinian Authority, it is unlikely that they will want to turn backwards - either to Arab nationalism or fundamentalist Islam.  What this means, is that peace might be possible with a new generation of Palestinians, who prefer fighting for better standard of  living than the bullet or the bomb.

Back in Israel, in the Northern Negev, where every citizen is just 15 seconds away from a shelter to protect themselves from missile attacks, there is the amazing Sepir Higher Education College - for Jews and Arabs - providing a source of skills, expertise and regeneration for Sderot and the surrounding area.  On the outskirts of Tel Aviv, going to A Better Place, the company that is likely - without exaggeration - to transform the world in terms of replacing cars dependent on oil, with automobiles run entirely by electricity, with batteries that last.   Even the surveillance technology behind the controversial fence, which has stopped suicide bombings by 95% is being used around the world, apparently including Buckingham Palace.

Why say all these things?  I accept that if there is one thing worse than pessimism, it is naive or foolish optimism.  Having worked for CFI before I was an MP, and visited Israel often, I have no illusions about the difficulties that she faces, or the internal and external realities.  But I firmly believe that not everything is as bad as it seems, and that there are some incredible things happening on the ground.  In Israel, democracy and innovation flourishes, in parts of the West Bank (and even in Gaza, where economic growth is 40%), capitalism is beginning its birth and in much of the Middle East, the populace has had enough of Dictatorships - even if they don’t get its replacement right in the short term.  This is all something to shout about, rather than be despondent and despairing.

Murder in Bulgaria

  

A tragic day in Bulgaria, as a bomb attack on an Israeli Tourist Bus, led to the death of six Israeli teenagers.  The attack bears all the hallmarks of Iranian backed Hezbollah, an extreme Islamist Terrorist network. Hezbollah has carried out terror attacks around the world, and eighteen years ago, bombed a jewish community centre in Argentina.

If Hezbollah is responsible, relations between Israel and Iran will reach a particular nadir. The Iranian President has already talked of wiping Israel off the map, and is close to having nuclear weapons.  Israel - and much of the Middle East cannot tolerate a nuclear-weaponed Iran.  Israel's retaliation will be determined.

This atrocity against Israelis, is all the more poignant, given that it was Bulgaria that did more to save her own Jews from Hitler, than virtually any other nation under Nazi rule.  Almost every one of the 50,000 Jews in Bulgaria during the Second World War, survived because of the King's refusal to allow the Nazis to send them to the Concentration Camps.   Modern Bulgaria won't tolerate being used as a terrorist base against Israel.

by Robert Halfon MP - Working Hard for Harlow.

Baroness Tong's conspiracy theories are more suited to Speakers Corner

As I wrote on my Blog a few days ago, I welcome the action taken by Nick Clegg - which led to Baroness Tong's resignation from the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords - following her comments about the de-legitimisation of Israel.  Tong has made extreme remarks in the past, which has led to her being disciplined by previous Lib-Dem Leaders, including suggesting that the world was in the grip of a 'pro-Israel Lobby'.  I welcome the fact that Ed Milliband also strongly criticised her remarks.  Baroness Tong is more suited to Speakers Corner than representing a major political party in the House of Lords.

You can read more on the Student Rights website about Baroness Tong HERE, or listen to THIS interview on the Today Programme, when I debated with her yesterday.

Further details are HERE.
 
by Robert Halfon - Working Hard for Harlow.

Praise for Nick Clegg for taking swift action

Nick Clegg did the right thing today, by asking Baroness Tonge - the rogue Lib Dem peer pictured above - to "apologise or resign".

Following a video of her making outrageous comments about the democratic state of Israel, I wrote the following open letter to the Deputy Prime Minister, earlier today:

Dear Deputy Prime Minister,

As you may be aware, several media outlets are displaying videos of Baroness Tonge, the Liberal Democrat peer. The video shows her making the following comments:

“Beware Israel,” she says. “Israel is not going to be there forever on its present performance. One day the United States of America will get sick of giving £70 billion a year to Israel.” The Lib Dem peer goes on to say that she thought of Israel as “America’s aircraft carrier in the Middle East” but that one day people in the United States would say “enough is enough”.

She added: “It will not go on forever, it will not go on forever and Israel will lose its support, then they will reap what they have sown.”

Baroness Tonge has an appalling record of strong anti-Israel rhetoric. Too often, her remarks carry an offensive anti-Semitic tone. You will know this from personal experience, as you were forced to ask her to resign from the Liberal Democrat frontbench in 2010 following similar comments. As the time, you said that her comments were “wrong, distasteful and provocative”.

I know that, like me, the Liberal Democrats are supportive of a peaceful two-state solution in Israel and Palestine. Baroness Tonge’s remarks are hugely damaging and disruptive to those efforts. On this basis, I would ask that you consider withdrawing the whip from her with immediate effect.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Halfon MP

Nick Clegg deserves real credit for acting so quickly on this. Nothing should be allowed to undermine the Coalition Government's efforts to support a peaceful, two-state solution in Israel and Palestine.

by Robert Halfon - Working Hard for Harlow.

Opposing the appeasement of Iran

On Monday there will be an important debate on Iran. John Baron MP has tabled a Motion opposing - under almost any circumstances - military action against Iran.

If passed, this would mean that the UK or Nato could not take action even if Britain was attacked by the Iranian Regime.

As I have written before on my Blog, Iran is the new Soviet Union of the Middle East. It represses its citizens at home and has expansionist aims abroad. The regime funds and supports terrorist movements around the globe and has been active in undermining stability in Afghanistan and Iraq - by supporting the insurgents. Iran's Leaders have also often declared their willingness to destroy the State of Israel. A nuclear Iran would pose a huge threat to not just the Middle East - but across the world.

With a number of other MPs, I have tabled an alternative to John Baron's Motion. As you can see, the amended Motion is signed by all-parties, including the former Tory and Labour Defence Secretaries.

You can see the Motion and Amendment below and HERE.

Main Business

1 BACKBENCH BUSINESS (unallotted day) [Until 10.00 pm]
IRAN
Mr John Baron
That this House believes that the use of force against Iran would be wholly counter-productive and would serve only to encourage any development of nuclear weapons; and calls upon the Government to rule out the use of force against Iran and reduce tensions by redoubling diplomatic efforts.

As an Amendment to Mr John Baron's proposed Motion (Iran):
Sir Malcolm Rifkind
Sir Menzies Campbell
Mr Bob Ainsworth
Richard Ottaway
Rory Stewart
Robert Halfon

Other MPs have since signed the Amendment:
Mr Stephen Dorrell
Malcolm Bruce
Dr Thérèse Coffey-
Mr Dave Watts
Albert Owen
Alun Michael
Andrew Miller
Jim Sheridan
Steve Rotheram
Mr Jim Cunningham
Lindsay Roy
Sir Bob Russell
Jacob Rees-Mogg
Bob Stewart
Mr Bernard Jenkin
Margaret Beckett

Line 1, leave out from 'House' to end and add 'supports the Government's efforts to reach a peaceful, negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue through a combination of pressure in the form of robust sanctions, and engagement led by the E3+3 comprising the UK, US, France, Germany, China and Russia; and recognises the value of making clear to Iran that all options for addressing the issue remain on the table.'.

Gilad Shalit returns to Israel

After over five years in captivity - since being kidnapped by Hamas in 2006 - Gilad Shalit was finally released today.


During his imprisonment, the soldier was allowed no visitors, no correspondence or contact with the outside world or even visitation from the Red Cross. In 2009, I visited the UK Red Cross, with Alistair Burt MP, who was then an officer of Conservative Friends of Israel.  We asked the RC to do all they could to use all the channels available, to allow some access to Corporal Shalit.  Sadly, nothing improved and Shalit continued to be kept in solitary confinement.


In order to secure his release, Israel agreed to release over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were involved in terrorist atrocities - such as the bombing of a Jewish Passover dinner in Netanya in March 2002.  As I said in the Commons last week, the fact that Israel was prepared to release so many terrorists, in return for just one, not only showed her commitment to the lives of her soldiers, but also her commitment to bringing about peace.


My question in the Commons went like this:
13 Oct 2011 : Column 507

Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con): I commend my right hon. Friend and, particularly, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon.  Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) on their work over many years to secure the release of Gilad Shalit. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the fact that Israel has released more then 1,000 prisoners, many of whom were involved in horrific terrorist atrocities, shows that it is willing to negotiate and to make some moves towards peace?
Mr Hague: Yes, I do agree, and I thank my hon. Friend for his remarks, as does the Under-Secretary; we are grateful for that. The release does show such willingness, but it is now important to replicate it in other negotiations.  In this case, Israel has made, as my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) suggests, a decisive offer to bring about the release of Gilad Shalit; we now need Israel to make decisive offers on a much grander scale in order to bring about a two-state solution. That is what we urge it to do in the coming weeks. It will be necessary for Israel to do so if we are to arrive at that two-state solution, because without that solution Israel will be in a steadily more isolated and dangerous international situation.

Conservative Friends of Israel have put the following announcement:

The Prime Minister made the following statement:

“I know that people across Britain will share in the joy and relief felt by Gilad Shalit and his family today. I can only imagine the heartache of the last five years, and I am full of admiration for the courage and fortitude which Sergeant Shalit and his family have shown through his long cruel and unjustified captivity. I congratulate Prime Minister Netanyahu and everyone involved for bringing him home safely, and hope this prisoner exchange will bring peace a step closer.

“Britain will continue to stand by Israel in defeating terrorism. We remain strongly committed to the cause of peace in the Middle East – with Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side in security. We will continue to work for direct negotiations to achieve that end.”

Parliamentary Chairman of CFI, Rt Hon James Arbuthnot MP said:

“Captured in a cross border attack from inside Israel and imprisoned for over 1000 days the release of Sergeant Gilad Shalit has been a very long time coming. It is impossible to imagine the hardship and suffering that has been endured, but throughout, Gilad and the Shalit family have shown resilience, strength and astonishing determination. I congratulate Prime Minister Netanyahu. Like every good Prime Minister he listened to what the people wanted and he made the tough decisions. He did the right thing.  We must however not confuse this victory for humanity as a victory for Hamas. As Israel and the Palestinians continue to work towards peace and two states for two peoples it remains as clear as ever that Hamas cannot play a part in this process with their ideology intact. The UK must continue to ensure that the Quartet Principles are upheld and re-enforced.”

P.S. James Arbuthnot has written an article for Conservative Home which explains why Israel puts such a high price on the lives of its soldiers and emphasises the importance of maintaining pressure on Hamas. You can read the article on the link HERE.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

We Must Not Negotiate With Terrorists

Yesterday at Party Conference, I spoke about terrorism and extremism in the UK.

The key points that I made were:

- The story of Islamist extremism in the UK is one of Danegeld, and King Canute. Danegeld, because for too long we have thought that if we appease extremists, this will stop the violence. As the Prime Minister said in his Munich speech: “When a white person holds objectionable views – racism, for example – we rightly condemn them. But when equally unacceptable views have come from someone who isn't white, we've been too cautious, frankly even fearful, to stand up to them. The failure of some to confront the horrors of forced marriage is a case in point.” We see this manifested in our universities, our approach to extremists in the UK, and in battles within Government about who should be banned from Britain. As with all Dane-geld, the policy has failed.

- Second, I want to mention King Canute, because I am not a pessimist. I believe we can turn back the tide. By the end of the Labour Government, Ministers like Hazel Blears and Tony Blair himself had started to take the right approach – although too often they had to fight the status quo, the prevailing logic of the Establishment, which said that Britain’s only hope was to appease the problem. But thanks to the work of many people here, the new Prevent Strategy and the David Cameron’s Munich speech have changed the rules of the game. This Government accepts that appeasement doesn’t work.

- Even Muslim nations think we have let extremism go too far. One story crystalises the problem for me. On a visit to Kurdistan, the Kurdish Prime Minister told me he had been to England, visiting a mosque in the north. He said if he had seen that kind of mosque in Kurdistan he would have shut it down overnight, because of its radicalism and aggression. When a Muslim leader, of a progressive Muslim nation, says that he is uncomfortable with the extremism of some British mosques – Surely, there can be no better description of the problem we face.

ACKNOWLEDGING THE PROBLEM
- There is evidence of radicalisation around us. One of the biggest challenges in this debate, is the inertia of many people who are blind to what is happening, because it has not directly affected their lives. We need to show them that this is not a new problem. In 2006, the Education Secretary set out in Celsius 7/7 how the West had failed to stand up for its liberal values, saying: “The British State does not have the courage to face down the advocates of political Islam. Islamists in Britain scent weakness.” Sadly, evidence of radicalisation on University campuses is old news: in 1997 the Committee of Vice Chancellors warned us about it; in 2006 Anthony Glees warned us again; and last year, MI5 identified more than 39 university campuses as “vulnerable to violent extremism” (according to research by Student Rights and the Henry Jackson Society). For nearly 15 years, the problem has been getting worse.

- This is not just a battle against terrorism. It is a battle of ideas. On one side there is freedom, democracy, religious tolerance, equality for women, property rights, a free press, and the rule of law. And on the other side there is holy jihad, the subjugation of women and minorities, and the aim of re-establishing a Caliphate regime. This is what we have to recognise, that there is a fifth column in our midst.

WHERE THE UK HAS APPEASED EXTREMISM
- Some of our universities have become ‘outposts’ for Middle Eastern dictators. For too long, we have done deals with barbaric regimes, like Saudi Arabia and Libya, for the sake of so-called security and commercial interests. This has slowly crept into a tolerance not just of them, but of their values and ideas: it has become a vicious circle. Student Rights has set out much of the evidence HERE. As the Guardian has said: in 2009, Durham signed a ‘memorandum of understanding’ with Iran, and Dr. Colin Turner, a member of Durham’s Iranian Studies Centre, later admitted to the Guardian: “Iranian money comes with strings attached, as we have found to our chagrin.” 

- This is classic Entryist tactics. We have to ask: what is in this deal for them? Is it to promote their extremist ideology? What kind of legitimacy are they buying? The amounts of money may be small in comparison with British GDP, or the Defence Budget, but so much of this is about symbolism.

- One of the results is that the UK now exports terrorism, as the new Prevent Strategy notes. Since 1989, terrorism has become one of our most infamous exports, and around 70 British students have been involved in terrorist attacks. Waheed Zahman and Umar Farok Abdulmutalab were both Presidents of Islamic Societies at London Universities. The suicide bomber in Sweden last year was a British university graduate. Prevent paragraph 10.61 says that ONE THIRD of people jailed for Al Qa’ida crimes in the UK have been university graduates. In paragraph 10.66 it goes on to say: “Hizb-ut-Tahrir target specific universities and colleges with the objective of radicalising and recruiting those students.”

- Inevitably some of the old Prevent strategy was hijacked by well-intentioned but ineffective groups. Now, moving on to the extremist groups that surround our universities, I accept that Tony Blair and others had begun to get a real understanding of the problem. But it was wrong to give them taxpayers’ money. In fact, much of the Prevent money was simply wasted: in the Wall Street Journal, Douglas Murray noted how a multicultural food-festival in Oxfordshire received Prevent funds, “as though the residents of Banbury were but one Balti away from detonation”.

- We have allowed extremist groups, or their front organisations, to operate too freely. I welcome the Government proscribing many of the 50 groups on the Home Office list – although there is the problem of hydra’s head, where they change names and pop up again. Too many of these groups are apologists for terrorism: part of the conveyor belt that is not serious about opposing extremism, alongside radical groups like Hizb-ut-Tahrir.

- Whitehall Officials have sometimes been too willing to side with hate-preachers. A year ago, in September 2010, the Daily Telegraph reported that Charles Farr, Director-General for Security and Counter-Terrorism, pledged support for Zakir Naik to enter Britain. This was against the judgement of the Home Secretary (who has taken a firm line), and Mr Farr was suspended following a row in the media.

WHAT IS TO BE DONE
- I welcome the revised Prevent strategy, for two reasons. First, it makes a much clearer distinction between counter-terrorist work, and cultural integration, which is right. Second, it stops the taxpayer funding of extremists. Public money will NO LONGER be provided to extremist groups that do not support the values of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and tolerance.

- If I have one concern, it is that there must be no excuses for inaction. There is a famous saying, that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. Sometimes there is a criticism, that the Prevent strategy can read like one of Sir Humphrey’s committees: page after page of debates, discussions, forums, learning seminars, general education, conferences, training... Yes, it is important to consult people. But this must not become an excuse for inaction.

- We now need zero tolerance. No more appeasement. If Prevent is to mean anything, we need no more invitations to hate preacher Raed Salah, to speak in Parliament. No more “indefinite leave to remain” for Mohammed Sawalha, who the BBC say is currently in London, fundraising for Hamas, although I understand that he has denied this. To those who oppose zero tolerance, I say two things: First, we cannot stop burglary, but we still chase thieves. Crime is crime. We must not appease it. Second, symbols are important. If we are determined, extremists will get the message. For example, it is incredible that Pakistan and the Palestinian Authority are now cracking down on Hizb ut-Tahrir (according to their own website) but we still allow it to flourish here in the UK. 

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

You can't negotiate with a gun to your head

Today, there was a short debate about the possible vote for a Palestinian State in the United Nations.  I made the point, that whilst Israel supported the establishment for a Palestinian State through negotiation, it was difficult to negotiate with a partner (Hamas), that is part terrorist, refuses to recognise Israel, and fires missiles onto Israeli Towns, to cause maximum damage to civilians.

My question is below:

Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con): Does my hon. Friend acknowledge that when Netanyahu visited the United States in May 2011 he said that he wanted to negotiate with the Palestinians and that Israel would not be the last country to welcome a Palestinian state? However, does he not also agree that it is difficult to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority when its main partner is Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel or renounce terrorism and continues to fire missiles on Israeli towns?

Alistair Burt: Our position on Hamas is well known and we have no contact with it. However, as we know, there are difficulties on all sides, and each side has reasons why it has not wanted to proceed to negotiations or why it might rebuff others. Equally, each side knows that if it really wants a settlement, it is in its power to try to overcome those difficulties, seek confidence and assurances from each other and move on. What is different now—this may come through next week—is the urgency of the situation, as conveyed by the whole international community. We need to make progress and that requires all sides to be prepared to take the steps to help that happen, difficult though they may be.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

The cultural vandals at the Proms

As you will see from this Video I found from YouTube, last night, the Proms were disrupted by protesters. The reason was simple: the BBC had dared to invite the renowned conductor Zubin Mehta and the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra to perform at the Royal Albert Hall.

Hard-line pro-Palestinian activists started shouting at the Israelis on stage. It is both sad and fascinating that they saw this act of cultural vandalism as a way of making their opposition to all things Israeli, all too clear. What was heartening was the response of most of the audience, who booed the protesters and shouted 'out, out, out', until they were eventually removed by security.

Cultural vandalism can be quite chilling. Its most extreme proponent in the last Century was Goebbels, who burnt any books with a Jewish association, whether it was the authors or in the writings. Its most stupid is Dunbartonshire Council which has sought to ban Israeli books from its Libraries.

Nevertheless, the fundamentals are the same: an attempt to shut down Jewish culture.

A couple of other points are worth noting: First, Zubin Mehta and the IPO have made great strides in building better relations between Jews and Arabs. Mr Mehta has started a special education project for this purpose - a fact wilfully ignored by the activists. Second, is it not astonishing that whilst President Assad has been murdering his way through Syria, there has been barely a peep of protest from these kind of people. It is just Israel - the only democracy in the Middle East -that is the focus of their hate.

P.S. Apparently, the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign called for the Concert to be boycotted. If you want to understand the motivations of the PSC, have a look at this post from the left wing blog 'Harry's Place', here. 

This makes interesting reading as well.


by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

Gaza and Jihad

It is astonishing how some people link world-wide Islamist extremism to Israel's action regarding Gaza. The most recent example being Jo Johnson MP in the Spectator magazine.

I have no problem with Mr Johnson, setting out the desperate situation. Where I differ with him however, is not just with the reason for that misery, but also the cause of terrorism and Islamism itself.

In his concluding remarks Mr Johnson states :

"It was out of 'loyalty to [her] Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine' that Roshonara Chaudhry (the Islamist who stabbed an MP in East London) dropped out of King's College London and set off on her murderous mission".

But, this is the worst kind of moral equivalence.  It implies that the actions of one (in this case Roshonara Chaudhry), are understandable, because of the conflict in Palestine. The reality is that, even if the conflict was solved tomorrow, with Israel retreating mostly to 1967 Borders, the Roshonara Chaudry's of this world would still exist.

The objective of Islamists world-wide is not a peaceful resolution to the Middle East, but Jihad, and an ideology that believes, Israel - and by extension, Jews - should be wiped off the map per se. President Ahmadinejad for example, makes no distinction between the West Bank and Tel Aviv.   Instead, the 'Zionist entity' must be destroyed per se.

When Ehud Barak offered almost everything to Yasir Arafat at Camp David in 2000, far from discouraging Islamists, it emboldened them.   When Israel withdrew from Gaza  - unilaterally - in 2005, far from stopping Islamism, it encouraged them - with terrorist acts around the world. Islamists exist because of ideology - not policy differences.

Secondly,  Mr Johnson falls into the trap of seeing Gaza with 'Unesco'/Palestinian Solidarity spectacles.  No mention was made of the Hamas Coup against the more moderate Fatah movement in 2007.  No recognition of the 6,000 missiles fired by Islamists onto Israeli towns since the Gaza withdrawal.  No reply to the blowing up of Border crossings by Hamas, or the hijacking of aid convoys for their own purposes. No acknowledgement of the million tons of humanitarian supplies that have entered Gaza, since 2009 alone from Israel, or the 15,000 tons of supplies entering Gaza every week.

Why does he and other critics not urge the Egyptians to open their border to Gaza, in the same way they implore the Israelis?

Of course anyone visiting Gaza, seeing the misery and repression feels angry.  But that is no reason to lay most of the blame at Israel's door or even imply moral equivalence between a democratic state subject to the rule of law - and Islamists who seek nothing of the kind.

P.S.  The above is also published as a letter in the Spectator this week.

Meeting Jose Maria Aznar: a Friend of Israel

I hosted an important event in the House of Commons today. Former Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, Historian Andrew Roberts, Lawyer Anthony Julius and Italian Senator Marcello Pera have launched a global Friends of Israel initiative. The aim is to counter balance the anti-Israel lobby and ensure that the case for Israel is made loud and clear.

To mark the occasion, I had an article published on the Conservative Home website and thought you might like to see it below:

Why Israel needs its friends:

ONE of the most astonishing - and destructive - political phenomena in recent years has been hostility to the state of Israel and all she stands for. If it were just confined to the extreme left - and extreme Islamism - that would be bad enough. But this is a virus that has spread beyond the fringes to much of the soft left, to sections of the media and even the chattering class's dinner party circuit.

We have become accustomed to see so called "Palestinian Solidarity" marches around Hyde Park, with demonstrators carrying banners reading "we are all Hezbollah now". We have seen the likes of George Galloway salute Saddam Hussein and the Syrian Assad leadership. We have watched the populist left, such as Ken Livingstone, invite and embrace Islamists like Sheikh Qaradawi (a man who provides the "intellectual justification for suicide bombers") to the United Kingdom. These people represent a long standing strain of the left. The far left, which for years justified Stalinism, Castroism and appeasement of communism, has now come to support totalitarian Islam. Call it conviction politics if you will - the extreme left's extremism knows no bounds.

But when virulent anti-Israel politics reaches mainstream society - particularly amongst the media and Labour backbenchers (to be fair, a view not shared by Gordon Brown and Tony Blair), when our broadcast media feeds us a daily diet of partisan coverage on the Middle East, now is the time for free-thinking people on the right to stand up and be counted. It is time to the make the case for Israel.

Israel, in her sixty years' existence, has been at the front line of freedom. It has faced down dictatorships, secular terrorism and now extremist Islamism. It's very existence is under threat from Iran's fundamentalist regime, which is close to having nuclear weapon capability. When Israel faced a daily barrage of suicide bombing from Islamists (courtesy of Hamas and Islamic Jihad), few understood what this signified: a worldwide assault on freedom. After September 11 - and when extreme British Islamists organised a wave of suicide bombing in London, many on the right woke up to the battle that was being waged. The Islamists who attempt to destroy Israel, are not just waging a battle. against the Jewish state, they are trying to destroy Western values as a whole. Eliminate Israel and you wipe out a country that is in the vanguard against totalitarianism - and encourage the whole of the Middle East to be engulfed under fanaticism. The modest steps towards liberalisation made by some Arab countries would be extinguished overnight. Of course, the mainstream left will argue that the Palestinian issue is the reason for Islamist fundamentalism.

But this is akin to arguing that there would have been no Hitler had the Sudeten Germans not felt aggrieved. September 11 happened before the Iraq war. The second Palestinian Intifadah happened after the Israelis had offered the Palestinians almost everything they wanted at the President Clinton talks in Camp David. When Israel withdrew unilaterally from Gaza (to rare acclaim at the time), instead of this being used as a staging post to peace, Gaza became a

client Islamist State, as Hamas staged a coup d'état and overthrew the PLO. Few will forget the television pictures of Hamas operatives throwing PLO/Fatah members from the rooftops of government buildings. Gaza is now used as a launching post in which missiles have been fired on a daily basis by Hamas and Islamic Jihad on to Israel. It has become a laboratory for a mutated form of Islamism.

Israel's withdrawal from every part of Lebanon (as recognised by the United Nations), far from weakening extreme Islamism, actively encouraged it. Instead of Lebanon making peace with Israel, Hezbollah, funded by Iran and Syria, took over the southern part of the country and began to fire missiles onto Israeli territory, kidnapping Israeli soldiers. This last action provoked the Lebanon war of 2006, in which Israel was routinely criticised for its actions against Hezbollah - an extremist terrorist movement - that has carried out atrocities across the world. Now Hezbollah holds the Lebanese Government in a vice-like grip, as that country moves a step closer to becoming an Iranian/Syrian Islamist client state.

Unlike most of its neighbours, Israel is a free market society, that believes in individual liberty and the rule of law. It is a country based on deeply rooted parliamentary democracy with all parties and groups represented. Its laws are subject to monitoring by a Supreme Court, in which any citizen has the right to petition.

The Supreme Court frequently rules against the Government and Palestinians have successfully used the court to deal with grievances, such as the placing of a security fence - something which has decreased suicide bombing by 90%. Yet these things are rarely reported in the mainstream media, which tends to present a particular view of the conflict.

The importance of this tiny nation (smaller than Wales) cannot be over-estimated. If we believe in freedom, if we oppose Islamist totalitarianism, if we want to make a stand against terrorism, we must support the state that has done so much to combat these evils over its sixty years existence. For too long the left has allowed anti-Zionism to permeate through politics and beyond.

This is why, I am supporting the initiative recently established by former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Aznar and have sponsored his visit to the House of Commons today. As Mr Aznar states:

"there never has been a greater need to counter the trends towards deligitimtising Israel and her right to live in peace with secure and defensible borders". Or, as he notes, somewhat chillingly, given the rise of Islamism: "the world must support Israel, as if she goes down, we all go down".

P.S. Please see HERE for more details.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

The Middle East: Listening to debate

There was a House of Commons Debate on the Middle East today. I had hoped to speak in the debate, but was not called this time. Such is the way of the Commons. Nevertheless, I thought you might like to see the speech I had prepared:

The withdrawal from Gaza

In 2005 when Israeli PM Ariel Sharon oversaw Israeli withdrawal from every inch of the Gaza Strip, the overriding feeling in the world was one of hope and optimism. It was hoped that success in Gaza would lead to withdrawal from much of the West Bank.

Hamas takeover Gaza

Instead, over five years we have seen the Hamas coup in Gaza Strip, vanquishing moderate Palestinians. Gaza has become a terrorist stateb . Over 5,000 missiles have been fired into Israel since Hamas takeover in June 2007. Terrorists continue to infiltrate Israel from Gaza to execute brutal terror attacks. Weapons and explosives - supplied by backers Iran and Syria - are continuously smuggled into the Strip to be used against Israeli citizens and territory. This sort of situation is untenable. No country can be expected to live under this sort of pressure.

Perhaps this goes some way to explaining the reasons behind the blockade of the Gaza strip. Both Israel and Egypt – we must remember Egypt have a border with Gaza as well - have imposed a blockade on goods and materials coming in and out of the Gaza Strip.

Flotilla Incident

And so I come to the events of Monday 31 May.

The loss of life incurred during Israel’s raid on the flotilla bound for Gaza was without question deeply tragic. Any decent human being weeps for those who lost their lives or suffered injuries.

It must be noted that 5 of the 6 ships were peacefully intercepted and safely docked at the Israeli port of Ashdod without incident. Unfortunately, a significant minority of ‘activists’ on the Mavi Marmara reacted with extreme violence to the Israeli military personnel.

The ensuing violence was shocking and profoundly upsetting. A detailed inquiry into the events is needed, but it has become apparent that these ‘activists’ had prepared for violence by accruing various weapons, amongst which were knives and sharpened metal bars.

Security footage on the boat shows these men preparing their ambush and television images have shown these same individuals chanting horrific anti-Semitic songs. Before the incident, various spokesmen for the flotilla stressed that the intention was to make a political statement and “break the siege” rather than delivering the aid itself.

Behind this provocative political statement, was a Turkish fundamentalist organisation, known as IHH, which appears to have a record of supporting violence and terrorism.

Blockade on Gaza

Some colleagues focus on the Blockade, as the root of all difficulties. As so often, the reality on the ground is quite different.

Since January 2009, 0ne million tonnes of aid have reached Gaza from Israel. 15,000 tonnes of aid are delivered into Gaza, from Israel, every single week. I myself have visited the Kerem Shalom crossing point at the Israeli/Gaza border and witnessed hundreds of trucks of aid being delivered into the Strip.

We ought to be actively supporting Israel to stop the blockade. Rather than demanding that all borders are opened indiscriminately, we need to begin to understand the complexities of Israel’s predicament. Israel is straddling the line between humanitarian responsibility and very real national security concerns.
I ask the Minister what steps the British Government and the international community are taking to provide real solutions to the problem of smuggling into Gaza?

Hamas vs moderates

Some people are using recent events to attack not just Israel’s actions, but as a smokescreen to attack the philosophical underpinnings of Israel itself. This must be addressed.

Israel is a sovereign state, and has the right to defend itself.

We in the UK must not lose sight of the fact that to have any hope of peace in the Middle East we must continue to pressure Hamas to renounce terrorism and violence. Hamas need to know that the fundamental Quartet Principles remain rigidly in place. Would the Minister give assurances that the Government still holds this view and remains resolute on this issue?

The reality is that Israel, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and the West have a shared interest in preventing Hamas from being strengthened. Strengthening the PA and ensuring that a moderate national unity government is established in Gaza and the West Bank should be our focus.

It is encouraging that the Israeli and Palestinian delegations have continuing the proximity talks mediated by the United States. What steps are now being taken to bolster the government of President Mahmoud Abbas and PM Salam Fayyad?

Mr Speaker, Flotilla or nor Flotilla, blockade or no blockade, we must never forget that Israel, a democratic state, is battling for its survival against an enemy that seeks its destruction. The West faces the same enemy on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. A free and just Palestinian State and a secure Israel will only come about, when these terrorist movements have been vanquished, and when states like Iran and Syria, become the democracies that their peoples so richly deserve.

It was a good debate, with all sides of the argument represented. It showed the Commons at its best - debating an issue with great seriousness, and much thought. Although I was not called by Mr Speaker on this occasion, I was glad to be in the Chamber. The day reminded me that being an MP is about listening as well as much as talking.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

Redressing the balance

I have just done a short interview on BBC 24 TV News, about the tragic events in the Middle East today. As always with such events, there has been somewhat of a one-sided view that has emanated from sections of the media.

Like any human being, I mourn the tragic loss of life and the injuries sustained by those on the ship - including the Israeli Navy Officers. I also believe that the Israeli authorities should ensure that the UK Foreign Office has full access to any British citizens caught up in the affair. An impartial independent inquiry will help to understand exactly what really occurred.

However, it is important to set out some important facts:

• The Israeli Navy offered the Flotilla the chance to unload in Ashdod, which was refused;
• When the Israeli navy boarded the ship, they were attacked by individuals with a range of weapons;
• The Flotilla was organised by the Islamist group IHH - a body that has close ties to extreme Islamists and is part of the global Jihad movement;
• A million tonnes of humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza from Israel from January 2009 to May 2010;
• Over the past two years Hamas have taken part in countless attacks on aid shipments into Gaza, including the hijacking of aid convoys for the use of Hamas fighters rather than Gaza citizens.
• Gaza's border includes Egypt as well as Israel. Egypt mounts a full blockade against Gaza not allowing any aid trucks through at all. Yet no one complains about this.
  
  

My final point is this: If a ship had entered British waters, insisted on docking anywhere, and had refused to stop, the British Navy would have boarded it in moments. This wasn't in Britain, but on the waters outside Gaza, which is governed by the Hamas Terrorist organisation. For years, Hamas have smuggled millions of dollars of weaponry (from Iran) into the Gaza strip to be used in attacks against Israel. Over 6,000 missiles have been fired from Gaza onto Israeli towns, since the unilateral Israeli withdrawal in 2004.

P.S. You can read more details HERE.

P.P.S. The pictures shows me with David Amess MP in the Israeli Town of Sderot (on the Gaza border) in 2009. We are holding the remains of missiles, fired from Gaza onto Israel by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

Night time in Jerusalem

I feel very lucky at present. It is just after 9:30pm and I am sitting by the Old City in Jerusalem. There is almost a full moon above and a very thin cat running past my legs. Moths fly about, attaching themselves to any lamp posts they can find. The view from every point is of lightened homes on the hills of Jerusalem at night. Apart from the numerous taxis on the streets it feels so quiet and peaceful.

This afternoon, I met a man whose family had lived continuously in the Old City for over 300 years. As I take in the view, I try to imagine the history of that family. What they have seen over the centuries and whether they have suffered from the ravages of conflict? I also think how lucky they are to have lived in such a holy place for so long. Yes, Jerusalem is truly magical.

In Israel

Many of you will know that although the majority of my blog-posts are about Harlow and my work as Parliamentary Candidate for the Constituency. However, I sometimes post on matters related to the Middle East, a subject close to my heart. As Parliamentary Candidate, I don't get paid - or expenses, so I earn my wages as a consultant. Part of the work I do is for an organisation called Conservative Friends of Israel, which has around 2,000 thousands members as well as the vast majority of Conservative MPs as registered members or supporters.

Contrary to what some people think, CFI is not a 'Jewish organisation' and the majority of members are from all persuasions or none - and based all over England. The only criteria for joining is to have Conservative leanings - the primary role of CFI is to make the case for Israel inside the Conservative Party. That doesn't mean CFI supports one Israeli government or another. The organisation just plays a role in presenting the arguments in a balanced way to Conservatives. There is also Labour Friends of Israel, which undertakes a similar role inside the Labour Party.

As well as providing briefings to Conservatives, CFI also takes senior party members on visits to Israel, primarily funded from voluntary donations. The trips are wide-ranging, informative, exhausting and include meetings with Israeli politicians, academics and journalists and Palestinians on the West Bank. Where possible, the visits include seeing important cultural sites such as the Holocaust Museum the Old City of Jersualem and holy shrines to Christians and Muslims alike.

I go on a number of these CFI visits to Israel and help host the Conservative delegation with my colleagues. What usually happens is that everyone arrives with a host of questions, and leaves without answers - but with more informed questions instead.

So here I am, in Israel waiting for a new Conservative delegation to arrive. This visit comprises some Tory Shadow Ministers, and Parliamentary Candidates. I look forward to posting some of what we get up to, on my blog, during the few days ahead that we are here.

Arriving a few days early, I have been really pleased to visit members of my family, some of whom are on holiday and a few who live here. My family is dotted around the globe. Jewish, many had to flee persecution of one sort or another. My Father's family came to England, where he met my Mother. The rest is history!

It has been good to have some family time, especially accompanied by Vanda, who is making her first trip to Israel. We visited the Old City in Jerusalem, and the remains of the holy temple, first built by King Solomon (commonly known as the Western Wall). Yesterday we drove with my Dad to the Galilee for a wonderful meal, literally on the shore front of the Lake itself. Whatever one's feelings about the conflict, Israel is a beautiful country and her beauty makes the ravages of 60 years of conflict with her neighbours all the more tragic.

By Rob Halfon ~ Working hard for Harlow, Hastingwood, Nazeing, Roydon & Sheering. http//roberthalfon.blogspot.com