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Tories promise Israelis that they will change the War Crimes law

Friday, 19 February 2010 11:27

The Jewish Chronicle today reports that senior Tories have assured Tzipi Livni that if they form the next government they will change the law on universal jurisdiction.

Kenneth Clarke (pictured, left) and Edward Garnier (pictured, right), MPs for Rushcliffe and Harborough respectively, are said to have told the Israeli opposition leader, during a recent trip to Israel, that the Conservatives would be prepared to change the law.

Mr Garnier said: "The Tories will change the law if this government doesn't, although we remain happy to co-operate if there is still an appetite for reform. There is support for this from David Cameron and William Hague downwards. Our courts will not be used as the venue for street protest."

Might Garnier concede that our courts should be used to uphold the law and that the arrest warrant issued for Livni was not out of step with the judicial process and the UK’s obligations under universal jurisdiction legislation? How is this using the courts as a ‘venue for street protest’? And is not what Garnier is supporting something far more dangerous – the politicization of law and the judicial process?

It’s worth recalling the Dispatches documentary presented by Peter Oborne on the Israeli lobby in the UK and the uncovering of strong links and influence of the lobby over the Conservative party. At least half the shadow cabinet are believed to be members of the Conservative Friends of Israel.

Oborne wrote in a Guardian article published the day the documentary was screened:

‘What are the rules of British political behaviour that cause the Tory leader [David Cameron], his mass of MPs and parliamentary candidates to flock to the [Conservative] Friends of Israel lunch in the year of the Gaza invasion? And what are the rules of media discourse that ensure such an event passes without even being noticed?’

The JC adds:

'Justice Secretary Jack Straw has invited the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council to discuss the issue on February 23. He will meet Labour Friends of Israel the same day.’

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Muslim - Why?

|2010-02-23 10:09:22

It is strange that the Tories are promising something to a foreign government engaged in many questionable acts.

So what exactly is the incentive to appease Israel? Is it the democratic will of the British people?

The Jewish voting community is tiny & as we are so often told has diverse opinions. Rich Jews aren't supposed to be living upto the antiSemitic stereotype of a behind the scenes controlling cabal.

So would someone like to explain?