Anti-semitism and the Iraq inquiry

[Behind the Aegis]

One startling aspect of the Iraq war inquiry which interviewed Tony Blair on 29 January is the furore which developed around two of its five members, Martin Gilbert and Lawrence Freedman. (Both are ‘Sirs’, but they’ll have to do without for the duration of this article.)

Both Gilbert and Freedman are Jewish, a fact not missed by former British ambassador to Libya Oliver Miles. On 22 November Miles wrote in the Independent on Sunday:

“The Prime Minister's choice of the members of the committee has been criticised. None is a military man… Rather less attention has been paid to the curious appointment of two historians (which seems a lot, out of a total of five), both strong supporters of Tony Blair and/or the Iraq war… Both Gilbert and Freedman are Jewish, and Gilbert at least has a record of active support for Zionism.”

Were Miles’ comments anti-semitic? Not according to Richard Ingrams, who used the 28 November edition of the Independent to hurl himself in – in an article entitled ‘Will Zionists’ links to Iraq invasion be brushed aside?’ (Miles’ title was about Blair’s war crimes).

“The ambassador's comments and the attention paid to them by The Times may be helpful in the long run, if only by drawing attention to the Israeli dimension in the Anglo-US invasion of Iraq in 2003, a dimension that hitherto has scarcely been mentioned. Yet it is a fact that the campaign to overthrow Saddam Hussein was initiated, well before 9/11, by a group of influential American neocons, notably Perle, Feith and Wolfowitz (once described by Time magazine as “the godfather of the Iraq war”) nearly all of whom were ardent Zionists, in many cases more concerned with preserving the security of Israel than that of the US.

“Given that undeniable fact, the pro-Israeli bias of Sir Martin Gilbert and Sir Lawrence Freedman, both of them supporters of the 2003 invasion, is a perfectly respectable point to raise. It is equally legitimate to ask if at any point the panel will investigate or even refer to the US neocons and their links to Israel. Call me snide if you like, but I very much doubt they will.”

Both Miles and Ingrams make a big deal about a phone call made by George Bush to French president Jacques Chirac, in which he apparently said that “God and Magog are at work in the Middle East… The biblical prophecies are being fulfilled… This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people’s enemies before a New Age begins.” In the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, Gog and Magog were sinister, mysterious forces threatening… Israel.

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[LeftishBrit]

1. 'Richard Ingrams says no'?

I wouldn't take his word for it on anything to do with antisemitism (or with a lot else if it comes to that). He is a crusty RW journalist (and was so even when young), who opposes all things modern, and all the old-fashioned prejudices against gays, feminists ... and Jews. What I believe the Americans would call a 'paeleoconservative'.

I am not surprised by his outburst here; it's nothing new.

N.b. Blair and his war collaboration are utterly evil, and I suspect that the report will be too much of a whitewash - but it's not all the fault of The Jooooooos.

[classysassy]

2. Jewish support for Israel

Why Jews support Israel,after all the hardship they have suffered down through the ages they would be foolish not to.Not only do Jews support Israel,they have always been out front in support of the blacks here in america,some of the Israeli government policies are at times too cruel,but when another nation or nations have stated their intent to destroy you,you must act,sometime you over react,fear sometime people act in ways that we all don't agree with but we all must feel secure in our homes,cities and countries.PEACE SHALOM