A British diplomat has criticized the appointment of two leading Jewish academics to the UK’s Iraq Inquiry panel, stating it may upset the balance of the inquiry.
Sir Oliver Miles, a former British ambassador to Libya, told The Independent newspaper this week that the appointment of Sir Martin Gilbert, the renowned Holocaust historian and Winston Churchill biographer, and Sir Lawrence Freedman, professor of war studies and vice-principal of King’s College London, would be seen as “ammunition” that could be used to call the inquiry a “whitewash.”
Miles said the two academics were Jewish and that Gilbert was an active Zionist. He also said they were both strong supporters of former prime minister Tony Blair and the Iraq war…
“It is a pity that, if and when the inquiry is accused of a whitewash, such handy ammunition will be available,” he added. “Membership should not only be balanced; it should be seen to be balanced.”
There you go. In regard to any issue which even tangentially touches on Israel, Jews are suspect. I recall someone saying, “when I read a letter to the editor about the Middle East, I immediately look to see if the writer has a Jewish name.” Then I presume she discounts whatever was in the letter. As I wrote yesterday in a different context,
Eloquence, logic, and appeal to facts are irrelevant today. Only the point of view [and apparently the religion/ethnicity of the speaker] matters.
The world is tired of hearing the Jews complain, just as they were tired of them before, during and immediately after WWII. I suppose Miles would prefer the panel to be made up entirely of former ambassadors to Arab countries. Then nobody could call it a ‘whitewash’.
I’ve noticed this myself recently. People who can’t respond to my arguments say that we should ‘agree to disagree’, meaning “just be quiet, of course you think the way you do, you’re Jewish.”
For some reason the fact that there are plenty of anti-Zionist Jews around — including famous ones like Noam Chomsky, Tony Judt, et al — doesn’t seem to make a difference. Jewishness only seems to affect the soundness of one’s arguments when one is pro-Israel.
Indeed, when a Jew or Jewish organization attacks Israel, the same people cheer. After all, if even Jews like Philip Weiss, Norman Finkelstein or Ilan Pappé think that Israel is an apartheid state committing genocide against the Palestinians, then it must be true.
But poor Sir Martin Gilbert just can’t help being biased!
Technorati Tags: Israel, Iraq War, Oliver Miles, Martin Gilbert
It is not only tired of hearing the Jews complain- it is more and more on the side of those who would destroy us. Moreover we are now in our situation where our one great ally is distancing itself from us, and where it itself is more and more diminished in power. All things seem to be shifting in favor of the ‘bad guys’.
For us all of this is of course a source of outrage. How could they a bit more than half a century from the Shoah be so blase ,or in many cases, so enthusiastic about our annihilation?
The Islamists have the excuse which is of course not an excuse of being our ideological enemies in the deepest possible way. But there are so many in the West, and especially now on the Left who want us to disappear that it truly sickens.
Fortunately we still have friends and there are still human beings who care for human dignity and freedom. But it is not looking good.
Speaking of the Iraq Inquiry, John Chilcot had announced that Tony Blair would be appearing some time in early 2010. That announcement might have caused Tony Blair to lose his bid for the presidency of the EU. I think Tony would have been a good friend to Israel. The liberal left in Britain are out to bring Blair to the Hague as a war criminal. This inquiry is not supposed to be a trial, but it is looking like a stepping stone in that direction. If these two Jewish acedemics are taken off the panel, there will probably not be even ONE friend of Blairs there. It is very ugly. My British friends have put up a petition to try to stop the misguided and biased treatment of Tony Blair in the press. It is absolutely unbelievable, the hatred they have for this man and his family. I will leave the link here to sign the petition. You can be anonymous.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/ban-blair-baiting.html
“For some reason the fact that there are plenty of anti-Zionist Jews around — including famous ones like Noam Chomsky, Tony Judt, et al — doesn’t seem to make a difference. Jewishness only seems to affect the soundness of one’s arguments when one is pro-Israel.”
And of course there are plenty of us pro-Zionist non-Jews around too!