Anti-Semitism continues to rear its ugly head on both sides of the Atlantic. Glad to see a vigorous reaction from various leaders, but it's outrageous that bigots can remain in positions of public trust. Anti-Jewish bigotry is an underlying lifeforce for much of the complex web of hatreds and rivalries that fuels the conflict between the West and the Muslim world.
Tam Dalyell, the Father of the House of Commons, has accused the Prime Minister of "being unduly influenced by a cabal of Jewish advisers". His remarks prompted immediate outrage from politicians and members of the Jewish community. The MP expressed concern that Tony Blair continued to back the United States' stance on Syria and Iran, having given his support to war on Iraq.
Mr Dalyell named, in his interview with Vanity Fair, Lord Levy, Mr Blair's personal envoy to the Middle East, Peter Mandelson, whose father was Jewish, and Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, who has Jewish ancestry, as the influential figures behind the Government's Middle East policy. The MP claimed Mr Blair had also been directly influenced by Jewish people in the Bush administration, including Richard Perle, the Pentagon adviser, Deputy Defence Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz and Ari Fleischer, President George Bush's press secretary.
A spokesman for No 10 said the MPs comments were "ludicrous" and Mr Mandelson branded him "incorrigible", while a spokesman for the Foreign Secretary added: "If these reports are accurate, these remarks are too unworthy to be worth a comment."
Posted by Alan at May 4, 2003 12:29 AM