On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the leader of Great Britain’s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, opted to stay away from the commemoration ceremonies, which were attended by the likes of Prime Minster Theresa May and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Instead, Corbyn spent the weekend with pro-Palestinian activists, publicly declaring that Britain must recognize Palestine as a state. His exact words: “Let us mark the Balfour anniversary by recognizing Palestine as a step toward a genuine two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.”
Balfour anniversary — two-state solution? If Corbyn — not to mention the Palestinians — genuinely desires a two-state solution, why is he boycotting Balfour commemorations? He should be celebrating Balfour! It’s the first document that implied a two-state solution.
In his brief letter, Lord Arthur Balfour wrote:
His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine (emphasis our own).
Once again, the pro-Palestinian community, including the likes of Mahmoud Abbas, Jeremy Corbyn and the Turkish hackers who brought down the Times of Israel site in an anti-Balfour protest, reveal their true selves: Just as in 1917, and again in 1947, and again in 2000, and again in 2008, there is no interest in a solution where Israelis and Palestinians actually live in two states, side by side.
Corbyn’s decision to snub Israel once again demonstrates his loyalty to anti-Israel groups. Corbyn cements his anti-Israel — and his party’s anti-Semitic — reputation. Three prominent British Jewish writers penned an open letter to The Times earlier this week criticizing Corbyn for “the tone and direction of debate about Israel and Zionism within the Labour Party.”
“We are alarmed,” wrote Howard Jacobson, Simon Sebag Montefiore and Simon Schama, “that during the past few years, constructive criticism of Israeli governments has morphed into something closer to anti-Semitism under the cloak of so-called anti-Zionism.”
The vast majority of British Jews (83%) believe that Labour is too tolerant of anti-Semitism among their Members of Parliament. When that party’s leader makes a point of supporting the Palestinian cause the same day when the Jewish homeland is being celebrated, it’s no surprise that British Jews feel this way.
In 1492, the Alhambra Decree ordered the expulsion of practicing Jews from Spain. In 1935, the Nazi Party essentially outlawed being Jewish. Not to sound alarmist, but Labour under Jeremy Corbyn is treading awfully close to sending a similar message: Jews — at minimum pro-Israel Jews — are not welcome in Britain.
Copyright © 2017 by the Intermountain Jewish News
