“I think [the] British are behaving hypocritically and I don’t want to offend dogs on this issue, since some dogs are utterly loyal, who are they to judge us on the war on terror?” — Aryeh Eldad, MofK (National Union Party)

This is antisemitism disguised as anti-Zionism.” — MIchael Ben-Ari (National Union MP)

The Brits have booted an Israeli diplomat (suspected of being a Mossad agent) over forged British passports used in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh and are royally (snicker) peeved about it. Israeli officials have not admitted to, nor denied, being the perps of the murder and Leiberman in a short response said the tantalizing “We have never been given proof that Israel was involved in this affair.”

This doesn’t strike Muffti as anti-semitism or anti-zionism. This strikes Muffti as another serious political calculation with a lack of regard for the bigger picture issues at stake.

Source: The Guardian.

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44 Comments

  • Calculation or miscalculation? By the Israelis or by the British?

    And anyway, do you always listen to every Knesset member and assume he represents the country? Does every back-bencher in the English Parliament speak for the country when she speaks?

  • What I wish to know, and it’s something that I don’t think is really possible to know, is in what way would Germany or France have been treated if it was believed that they were behind such an event. If they would have had an embassy official expelled and lots of negative statements in the press, then I agree with you in that it is neither anti-Semitism nor anti-Zionism. However, if, in such a situation, those countries would have been dealt with more quietly, and outside of a media frenzy, then I think it might be anti-Semitism.

    Muffti: why do you refer to yourself in the third person? Over whom do you lord? 😉

  • Muffster? Is it murder to kill a guy directly implicated in the death of two Israeli soldiers and in the charge of purchasing munitions meant to be used against innocent civilians?

    Also, wtf. How do you think French, British and Australian “secret agents” travel around the world? On forged passports as well. It’s just that they usually forge their own passports but that’s still a violation of International norms of conduct.

    Finally, a diplomatic expulsion of this kind is a minor slap on the wrists. The person in question was the Mossad liaison, one the British knew about – it’s no big secret, and his replacement has already landed, ready to assume his duties at the Court of St. James.

    Pish posh!

  • Sorry, the information was less clear when it came out originally (Muffti checked several sources). Muffti knows that spies travel around of forged passports…but then again, most spies don’t carry out hits that are then traceable tot he countries of origin for those passports.

    As for ‘murder’, muffti is no legal scholar and didn’t attend a fancy law school like you, so he goes with the pedestrian available definition (wikipedia):

    the unlawful killing of another human being with intent (or malice aforethought),

    The intent was clearly there. So is it lawful? Not by the international standards Muffti is familiar with but he’s happy to be corrected on these fine issues.

  • Seems like a pretty measured response by a British government that doesn’t want a crisis in its relations with Israel, particularly with the Labor Party facing likely ouster.

  • And I thought Dershowitz was too busy walking back his support for Obama.

  • There’s an interesting parlor game for you: who’s worse, The One or Gordon Brown?

  • Yeah, Muffti’s alarmism isn’t worth the keyboard he typed it up on. Like Joe Biden, America’s Greatest Vice President says, “Big F***ing Deal”.

  • Did Britain expel a representative of Dubai for harbouring a known terrorist?

  • Josh, great point. This was a topic no world leader dared to broach.

    So, let’s see, while the use of forged British passports and getting caught was a mistake by Israel,it is clear that double standards are at work again. Would one say that Mossad entering Dubai and killing a terrorist was a better idea than say, entering Iraq and Afghanistan with infantry brigades trying to fight terrorists in an asymmetric war?

  • I think what Israel did was almost as hilarious as Britannia’s reaction.

    If you watch coverage of the British FM, he whines about respecting British sovereignty. Oh really? How does it feel to have your sovereignty challenged in the face of security threats, asshole? Pretty nice, heh!

    The Brits (and whoever else) will continue to whine about this, and I love how small it makes them look. The problem with the uptight British (apart from their desire to treat terrorists with the utmost respect and intellectual curiosity), is that they STILL feel guilty about their possession of the Palestine mandate – as if it were just any other one of their dozens of colonies – its subsequent partition, the ensuing violence, and the fact that those pesky (Western!/”colonialist”) Jews to whom they turned a blind eye while they immigrated from Europe, happened to gain the upper hand.

    Well guess what, England? Boo fucking hoo. You’re not as important as you once were and the sun does now set on parts of your empire. And your crusty moral sensibilities are about as useful to the Jewish state (or anyone else) as is your horrendous “cuisine”. Go eat some blood pudding, have a cup of tea, keep a stiff upper lip, and shut the fuck up.

    Love,

    Israel

    • I think most of you are missing the point that by not only using forged passports but also leaving obvious links between the passports used and the hitjob on a member of an internationally operating terrorist organisation, the lives of those whose passports were forged were put at risk.

      This is not about Europe vs Israel or whether the hitjob was legitimate.

      And now it wouldn’t hurt if some of you educated themselves about Europe.

  • Oh Froylein, do give us a break. I already mentioned that the use of these passports was a mistake, but Europeans care for these dual Israeli nationals about as much as I care for Barack Obama. For proof, see how much they care or talk about Gilad Shalit who has French-Israeli dual citizenship and is languishing in a Hamas dungeon.

    • I see how much they care, that’s why I don’t fall for pseudo-political polemics and lament double standards when there are none. (Besides, the analogy is lame from its onset on not only because European leaders do care for Shalit and have demanded his release but also because Shalit is a soldier that got captured because of that; he, at that point, was not an un-involved third party and not even a civilian.) All governments that sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq have been under severe criticism, both domestically and from abroad. That has even made the tabloid news.

  • I agree with Tori. If the British are so concerned about their citizens being at risk, then they should be worried about what’s happening in Dubai, not in Israel. The tens or hundreds of thousands of British citizens who visit Dubai on business each year might like to know that the guy having a drink at the table next to them in the hotel lounge is a terrorist making weapons smuggling deals on his mobile phone. And Dubai should be worried about those Brits choosing to do business elsewhere in the future, in countries where they don’t have to worry about staying in hotels that are hubs for terrorist activities. Forged passports is such a minor issue here.

  • Let’s hope for a future in which no passports are stolen, Shalit returns, and both Israel and Palestine are full-fledged, peaceful members of the British Commonwealth.

  • Tom, you’re right on. No state is a completely isolated and autarchic entity anymore. We’ve created dependencies that we cannot do away with without decreasing our quality of life. Politicians know that. Part of the game are diplomacy and diplomatic gestures.

  • Great game and tourney so far, Middle, though alas, Chutzpah’s alma mater lost yesterday to Kentucky.

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