email to the Foreign Secretary
Dear Mr Miliband
The British government has in the past taken exception to the Iranian President's alleged threat to wipe Israel off the map. Tomorrow, in your capacity as British Foreign Secretary, you will shake hands with Israel's new Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a man who once advocated flooding and destroying the nation of Egypt by bombing the Aswan dam. In other words, a man who advocated genocide.
The British government has also said that the Palestinian group Hamas can not be engaged with until it agrees to honour past peace agreements with Israel, renounce violence and recognise Israel's "right" to exist. (Indeed, your government was prepared to advance this position by backing a blockade of Hamas-run Gaza which in turn caused a crippling humanitarian crisis). Yet while Mr Lieberman holds past peace agreements in undisguised contempt, embraces indiscriminate violence against Arabs whenever possible, and vigorously denies the Palestinians' right to self-determination, you remain content to meet with him. And as far as I'm aware, no Israeli children will be going hungry as a result of a blockade of Israel, backed by Her Majesty's government, in response to Mr Lieberman's coming to office. Only Palestinian children can expect to be punished in this manner for the way their parents vote in free elections.
The three reasons for not meeting with Hamas have previously been described by UK government ministers as "principles". Plainly they were nothing of the sort.
I do not object to your meeting with Mr Lieberman, racist thug though he is. What I object to is your meeting with him as his ally and arms dealer.
If you were to use tomorrow's meeting to tell Mr Lieberman that the UK is prepared do everything it can to facilitate dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians' legitimate representatives in the interests of advancing a lasting peace deal - a deal in strong accordance with international law, especially in respect of Israel's relinquishing illegally occupied territory - and that the UK is prepared to impose punitive sanctions on Israel should it resist such efforts, not limited to a total cessation of all UK-to-Israel arms sales, then I would be positively in favour of your meeting going ahead. This could then - in the interests of fostering dialogue and advancing the prospects for peace - be followed by a meeting with Hamas, whose rejectionism, as you know, is far milder and more qualified than that of both Mr Lieberman and his Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Members of your government have appealed to the public to make a stand against the racist extreme right in the upcoming European elections. Perhaps you could lead by example and take a principled stand tomorrow against the racist, extreme right-wing Israeli Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Lieberman.
Best wishes
David Wearing
MPhil/PhD Student
School of Public Policy
University College London
The British government has in the past taken exception to the Iranian President's alleged threat to wipe Israel off the map. Tomorrow, in your capacity as British Foreign Secretary, you will shake hands with Israel's new Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a man who once advocated flooding and destroying the nation of Egypt by bombing the Aswan dam. In other words, a man who advocated genocide.
The British government has also said that the Palestinian group Hamas can not be engaged with until it agrees to honour past peace agreements with Israel, renounce violence and recognise Israel's "right" to exist. (Indeed, your government was prepared to advance this position by backing a blockade of Hamas-run Gaza which in turn caused a crippling humanitarian crisis). Yet while Mr Lieberman holds past peace agreements in undisguised contempt, embraces indiscriminate violence against Arabs whenever possible, and vigorously denies the Palestinians' right to self-determination, you remain content to meet with him. And as far as I'm aware, no Israeli children will be going hungry as a result of a blockade of Israel, backed by Her Majesty's government, in response to Mr Lieberman's coming to office. Only Palestinian children can expect to be punished in this manner for the way their parents vote in free elections.
The three reasons for not meeting with Hamas have previously been described by UK government ministers as "principles". Plainly they were nothing of the sort.
I do not object to your meeting with Mr Lieberman, racist thug though he is. What I object to is your meeting with him as his ally and arms dealer.
If you were to use tomorrow's meeting to tell Mr Lieberman that the UK is prepared do everything it can to facilitate dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians' legitimate representatives in the interests of advancing a lasting peace deal - a deal in strong accordance with international law, especially in respect of Israel's relinquishing illegally occupied territory - and that the UK is prepared to impose punitive sanctions on Israel should it resist such efforts, not limited to a total cessation of all UK-to-Israel arms sales, then I would be positively in favour of your meeting going ahead. This could then - in the interests of fostering dialogue and advancing the prospects for peace - be followed by a meeting with Hamas, whose rejectionism, as you know, is far milder and more qualified than that of both Mr Lieberman and his Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Members of your government have appealed to the public to make a stand against the racist extreme right in the upcoming European elections. Perhaps you could lead by example and take a principled stand tomorrow against the racist, extreme right-wing Israeli Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Lieberman.
Best wishes
David Wearing
MPhil/PhD Student
School of Public Policy
University College London
Labels: British Foreign Policy, Israel/Palestine
posted by David Wearing at 5:47 PM
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