The Israel Pathology

As the once-great United Kingdom slips from being a second-rate power to a third-rate one, at last we have found the solution – blame Israel. Our Foreign Secretary, William Hague – not celebrated for his wisdom – has outshone himself. Rather more subtle than blaming Israel for releasing sharks on our coastal waters, at last we see why the peoples of Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Yemen and others are revolting against their corrupt regimes; it’s because of the failure of the Peace Process! Blaming Israel is of course the magic formula for keeping the masses happy – nowhere more so than in Merrie England. And this attitude is perhaps best described as a pathology, as Evelyn Gordon writes in Commentary Magazine.

Israel, says Hague, should cease its “belligerent language” . This “language” amounted to Netanyahu expressing fears that regime change in Egypt might alter the situation on Israel’s southern border. And of course as Israel is the only country in the world which, in Hague’s view if his previous statements are anything to go by, is denied the right to self-defense, this would no doubt be considered unduly provocative.

In fact, unlike the UK and the US, Israel has largely held its counsel during the current Mid-East turmoil, much as China and Russia have done. This is the difference between statesmenlike foreign secetaries, and congenital idiots like Hague.

As Melanie Philips says, with her usual acumen, “with friends like these who needs enemies”.