BRITAIN: IT'S THE NEW FRANCE!

Anglicans and Israel - Martin Peretz
The Episcopalians are not the first of the Protestant churches to go down the disinvestment route against Israel. The Presbyterians have that distinction. But, just last week, in England, the Anglican Consultative Council voted unanimously to do the same. The Anglicans have an analysis backing up their position: "It is the Israeli occupation in its many facets that foments the violence and fuels the conflict."

This ignores so many facts that it boggles the mind. Neither the Arabs of Palestine nor the established Arab states were willing to accept an Israel within very crimped borders; the occupation began in 1967 after the Arabs provoked - but lost - a war to eradicate precisely such a precarious Israel; and the Palestinians rejected out of hand the near-total withdrawals that Israel offered at Camp David in 2000 and Taba in 2001.

It is true that Christians are in deep despair in emerging Palestine - but not because they are endangered by Israel. They are tormented and threatened by Muslim extremists inside and outside the Palestinian Authority. Ever since the handshake on the White House lawn, Christians have been deserting the territories out of fear that the Israelis will abandon them to the twin mercies of virulent Arab nationalism and Islamic fanaticism. (New Republic)

British Jewish Board of Deputies Attacks Anglican Anti-Israel Motion
Chief executive Jon Benjamin called the report of the Anglican Peace and Justice Network "fundamentally flawed and unbalanced." He said the report predated the withdrawal plans for Gaza and Bethlehem, and was based on consultation with Palestinian and not Israeli groups. He understood that those involved had gone to Israel at Rosh Hashana and had spoken to only two Israelis, one being Mordechai Vanunu. (Jewish Telegraph-UK)

Cruel Britannia - Robert S. Wistrich
While many European countries have come to associate anti-Semitism with the forces of either the extreme Right, radical Left, or the increasingly vocal Muslim minorities, in Britain anti-Semitic sentiment is a part of mainstream discourse, continually resurfacing among the academic, political, and media elites. This is not to say that British culture is inherently or overwhelmingly hostile to Jews. Great Britain, which was the birthplace of liberalism in its modern political and economic senses, continues to be a liberal society today. But when nations are so deeply unsure of the stability of their values and the security of their future, anti-Semitic sentiment often bubbles to the surface, as people deflect blame for a nation's problems instead of addressing them head-on. (Azure-Shalem Center)

The Persistence of Anti-Semitism on the British Left - Ben Cohen
Many anti-Semitic themes in Britain currently present in leftwing and liberal discourse have been observable in the past. Leftist anti-Semitism however has evolved and concentrates in particular on the motif of delegitimization that marks discussions of Zionism and Israel. The organizational alignment of leftist and Islamist organizations, and the ongoing integration of Islamist and leftist attitudes toward Jews, represents a qualitative shift in the nature of leftist anti-Semitism in Britain. (Jewish Political Studies Review)

Upsides and Downsides - Julie BurchillThese are strange times to be a Jew in England. From being the most likely race to "pass," now any fraction of Jewish blood outrules any other heritage. (Ha'aretz)