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Barry Shaw made Aliyah from England in the 1970s, is manager of Netanya Real Estate, and founder of the Netanya Terror Victims Fund. He is the author of "The View from Here" series of commentaries from Israel.
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By Barry Shaw
May 9, 2005
Britain has just enjoyed, or suffered, a General Election.
One of the most striking aspects of this election was the winning platforms' near total absence of issues closely affecting voters. Education, health, even British membership to the European Union -- something that will personally affect everyone in Britain -- was overshadowed by Iraq.
Although the decision to participate in the war in Iraq does reflect the leadership of Tony Blair, one would have thought that issues closer to the homes of millions of British citizens would have taken precedence over a war that is already being won.
For instance, in the last election, the EU issue -- a vital one for all in Britain -- was high on the agenda. This year, one of the most prominent anti-EU campaigners Kilroy-Silk faded to a distant fourth in his constituency, a slip marking an unprecedented degree of political oblivion to the issue.
So, why is Iraq still being forced onto the British voter while their health, their pockets, and other more pressing issues are ignored by election campaigns?
There is more than a whiff of racism in Britain today, and it is this smell that emerged in the British elections.
Politicians must cater to their constituents, even if their constituents demand a different political and cultural program from mainstream Britain. While it is legitimate for any section of any country to actively promote a change in political thought and philosophy, it is the massive influx of Arab and Muslim migrants into Britain that is currently having an impact on the political landscape.
Nowhere was this more obvious than in the constituency of Bethnal Green. Over forty percent of the voters are Muslim. Here, Orna King -- the incumbent Labor MP, who is both black and Jewish -- was challenged by opportunist radical George Galloway, on an anti-Iraq war platform. His campaign was tinged with racist remarks made both by Galloway and his supporters, against Miss King. Prior to the Iraq war, Galloway went to Baghdad to stand alongside Saddam Hussein and pledge his loyalty to this tyrant. His visit was the subject of much publicity in Britain. King was swept away by Galloway's tactics and the Muslim vote.
Is Bethnal Green an early warning of what is to come?
In his victory speech, Galloway accused Tony Blair of causing the murder of hundreds of American and British soldiers. In the meantime, by actively supporting Saddam Hussein's regime, Galloway should be accused of aiding and abetting in the mass murder of thousands of Iraqis at the hands of Saddam and his henchmen. Yet in Britain, the evil crimes of the Saddam regime are dismissed as irrelevant and as the internal affairs of a foreign country.
Under the guise of 'political correctness,' Britain demands of their leaders to leave tyrants and dictators alone, which permits them to get on with their crimes and butchery.
Over Iraq, 'politically incorrect' Blair was right and just in his decision to go to war against an evil dictator. 'Politically correct' Galloway is wrong. Indeed, by standing alongside Saddam Hussein and using the British parliament and media to keep him in power, Galloway's actions are criminal. Yet the Muslim voters of Bethnal Green have swept him into Parliament as their newly elected representative.
The prominent Mayor of London, radical Ken Livingstone, makes personal political capital by pandering to the city?s rising Muslim and anarchist populations. He invites then re-invites a radical Islamic cleric to be his guest and to spread his worldview and philosophy to Britain. This cleric has praised Palestinian suicide bombers and terrorists whose primary objective is to kill Israelis.
But this viewpoint is considered worthy of a sympathetic hearing, since Israel is portrayed in Britain as a fascist country.
Livingstone sarcastically insulted a Jewish journalist, comparing him to a concentration camp 'kappo'. Jewish groups that protested his rude behavior were dismissed as "stooges for the Zionists, led by a war criminal".
This politically acceptable worldview is not restricted to the British Labor Party. Last year, Jenny Tonge's sympathy and public statements about Palestinian suicide bombers forced her off the front benches and out of a prominent role in the Liberal Democrat party. This rare act of common sense and decency did not last too long. Now Tonge is being promoted to the lofty House of Lords where she will be free to air her views.
Promotion and honors for Britishers who express anti-Israel views is becoming commonplace.
Even the main union of teachers in Britain has voted to boycott Israeli universities. Israel, it seems, is the only country in the world deserving of such censure. Democratic Israeli universities, where students of all religious and ethnic backgrounds are free to discuss and air even the most extreme viewpoints, are accused of being racist by British academics who are abusing their reach positions of influence.
Already, Britain's decreasing Jewish population is feeling isolated and threatened as anti-Jewish incidents take a sharp rise. In the meantime, British Jewry has contributed to the richness of British political and cultural life but now they are feeling exposed and misrepresented. British Jews have joined their French co-religionists in looking to Israel for support and succor. Many are buying homes in Israel as security against a day when they feel that they will no longer be tolerated in Britain.
The pro-Palestinian lobby is so strong in Britain that all sorts of lies can be thrown at Israel and the perpetrator, as in the case of BBC's Orla Guerin, can be feted and included in the Queen's Birthday Honors List, along with its requisite invitation to Buckingham Palace.
How does this seep down to the ordinary man in the street? Many Israelis are shocked when, in conversation with people in Britain, they are faced with the most outrageous and incorrect accusations. Obviously, opinion makers in Britain, both in politics and in the media, are guilty of fostering a false picture of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This position however, reflects the agenda of a rising and strong minority.
When Kenneth Bigley was cruelly and inhumanely beheaded in Iraq by Palestinian terrorist Zarqawi his brother did not demand that Tony Blair pursue this killer and bring him to justice. Instead, he raged against Israel, a country that was not even involved in the events in Iraq.
So what of the political future of Britain? It is clear that the Islamic vote will become increasingly crucial in painting the political picture in Britain. Between elections, Muslim activists will continue to successfully promote their platforms and political philosophies.
Bethnal Green was only one place where Labor was defeated due to the Muslim voice. Other Labor defeats, attributable to a shift among Muslim voters included Rochdale -- home to 17,000 Muslims -- Hornesey and Wood Green, and Manchester Withington. There are now forty constituencies where Muslims comprise at least ten percent of the population and rising. In some, they number between forty and fifty percent of the voters, and there are a number of Muslim MPs in the new Parliament.
There is a climate of political intolerance in Britain. Frictions will increase as rank and file Brits feel increasingly uncomfortable with what is transpiring there. For all the talk about changing the immigration laws, many feel that this is akin to closing the stable door once the horse has bolted. The problem in already within Britain; the problem is growing. And the problem looks increasingly unsolvable.
For those who remember Britain for it's past glory, decency, and tolerance, it is sad to see how "political correctness" has reduced the country to insanity, bias, and racism.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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