If David Cameron had set out to make himself appear as deeply hostile to Israel as possible, he could not have chosen a more offensive way of doing so. The British Prime Minister has chosen to step down as a patron of the Jewish National Fund. The JNF is not just any charity. It is the one most closely identified with the foundational Zionist dream of making the desert bloom, by buying up and developing land decades before the State of Israel was established. With its blue and white collection boxes affectionately regarded as a household object, the JNF symbolizes the historic attachment of British Jews to the Land of Israel. So why did Cameron end an association with the JNF which had been maintained by every British Prime Minister since 1901- The first reason given by his office - that he was stepping down from a number of charities due to a lack of time - was absurd. Merely being a name on a letterhead obviously takes up no time at all. Then his office said it was wrong for the Prime Minister to be patron of an organization that was focused on one specific country. This made scarcely any more sense. The real reason was much more likely the campaign being mounted against the JNF, which is being accused of the theft of Palestinian land, ethnic cleansing and even war crimes'. Such are the usual libellous accusations that are hurled at Israel. Distressingly, however, rather than standing up against this shocking campaign of demonization and delegitimization, Cameron has now, in effect, thrown his weight behind it. Moreover, his gesture is part of a consistent pattern of hostility. It follows troubling remarks by Cameron and Foreign Minister William Hague, such as calling Gaza a prison camp; describing the Turkish terrorists who were killed on the Mavi Marmara when they tried to lynch the IDF boarding party as the victims of an Israeli attack; and welcoming the alliance between Fatah and Hamas as a step forward. Worse still, Cameron has been reported as threatening Israel that Britain may vote with the Palestinians if they unilaterally declare a state at the UN. If so, Britain will be making a mockery of legality by tearing up international agreements and binding UN resolutions and voting for a state that would be ethnically cleansed of Jews and whose unity government consists of people committed to the annihilation of Israel and every Jew in the world. And yet, simultaneously, Cameron talks out of the other side of his mouth to Jewish audiences, to whom he swears with his hand on his heart that Britain remains a staunch friend of Israel. With friends like this, who needs enemies- Yet, despite the hostility expressed by Cameron and Hague, there remain high levels of vital cooperation between British and Israeli military and intelligence circles. So why is Cameron behaving like this towards Britains sole ally in the Middle East? The answer is almost certainly simple political opportunism and cynicism, laced with profound ignorance about the Middle East. Before he became Prime Minister, Cameron had no interest in foreign affairs and even less knowledge. He is also a politician whose goal is merely to gain and retain power. As such, he is a kind of blank page upon which those who can deliver the most votes can write the script. And so, given the pathological frenzy of anti-Israel feeling coursing through Britains intelligentsia and media class, bashing Israel has become British government policy. Scarcely less depressing is the reaction of the British Jewish community to this perfidy. For with the sole exception of the chairman of the Zionist Federation, British Jewish leaders refused to condemn Camerons decision to step down from the JNF. Absurdly, they claimed that this had nothing to do with any anti-Israel feeling and that the Prime Ministers warm words to Jewish organizations proved he was a staunch friend of Israel. If Camerons abandonment of Israel is distressing, the craven grovelling of Britains Jewish leaders when Israels enemies are closing in on it will be a source of lasting shame. The writer is a British journalist and author, and a columnist for the Daily Mail.
