while I'm sure part of this is political. Peres is a leftist pointing out the hypocrisy of a Conservative.... part of it is right on!Shimon Peres said England was "deeply pro-Arab ... and anti-Israeli", adding: "They always worked against us."Peres is far from the only one in Israel who sees Britain as anti-Semitic.
Yet in Israel, Mr Peres is far from alone in holding such views, which have gained a wider following, particularly on the Right, since the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat over accusations that Mossad sent agents using British passports to assassinate a Hamas commander in Dubai.
Of course, the Telegraph might have mentioned that the Brits had no objections when a group of Russian spies was caught in the US using British passports.... That's precisely the sort of double standard that makes many of us in Israel believe that Britain is anti-Semitic.
But perhaps the funniest line of all is the Telegraph quoting Benny Begin in shock over Peres having made the comment.
Benny Begin, a cabinet minister whose father Menachem was prime minister and before that leader of Irgun, the group that killed 91 people in an attack on Jerusalem's King David Hotel in 1946, said: "Peres? I simply can't believe he said that."
Maybe the Telegraph isn't aware of the historical context for that statement (Peres was David Ben Gurion's chief aide. Ben Gurion and Benny Begin's father were rivals - Ben Gurion led the Haganah and Begin led the Irgun. The rivalry culminated in Ben Gurion ordering Yitzchak Rabin to fire on the Altalena, an arms ship that was trying to bring weapons to the Jewish state to battle the British-backed Jordanians during the War of Independence).
Yes, the Brits have a long history of anti-Semitism and a long history of favoring the Arabs over Israel. It's curious that they suddenly object to having it pointed out.
