This is a cross post from ModernityBlog
The media is full of stories concerning Tzipi Livni and a potential arrest warrant issued against her in the British courts.
That is, I think, a little bit unusual?
I can’t remember of any other nationality, or nation, being subject to these ad hoc arrest warrants, from British courts.
Even when General Pinochet, the murdering ex-dictator of Chile, was in Britain, he was only held under house arrest on a Spanish warrant, not a British one.
Further if we think of the variety and intensity of dictators, potentates and other assorted politicians who have graced Britain with their presence in the past 30 years it is hard to remember which of them were subject to warrants issued by British courts, or even the threat of arrest.
Was Vladimir Putin indicted for Russian barbarism in Chechnya ? Certainly not.
Was Robert Mugabe chastised for brutalising, starving and murdering Zimbabweans? No, not really.
Were King Fahd or his successor, King Abdullah II ever prosecuted for having the worst human rights record in the Middle East? Not at all.
You could go through the list of state visits from 1955 onwards and find any number of rogues, villains and the culpable, but what is surprising is that no one in Britain has seen fit to even **attempt** to acquire a warrant or two in the British courts, except when it comes to Israelis.
Moreover there are people in Britain who consider that Tony Blair is a war criminal for his advocacy of the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent bloodshed which ensued.
But as far as I know, not one single Brit has taken the trouble to apply for warrant arresting Tony Blair, even though some of them consider him a war criminal, which seems to suggest that their indignation is rather selective.
I can only suppose that if Tony Blair were an Israeli that there would be a stampede to the Law Courts, pleading for an arrest warrant at great haste.
Yet none of the political windbags that attack Blair would even dare to venture near the Law Courts where he is concerned, or they would have long since done it.
My bet is none of this top twenty worst human rights offenders have anything to fear in visiting Britain, Amnesty reports:
Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Egypt, North Korea, Sudan, Indonesia, Yugoslavia, Pakistan, China, Libya, Burma, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Chad and Congo (Republic).
However, should their leaders decide to visit Britain then, no matter how much blood is dripping from their fingers, they will probably receive a warm welcome in Blighty, and be patted on the back in true imperial fashion.
As long as they are not Israelis.
Countries may come and go, but there is one constant in history, good old British hypocrisy.
Hawkeye
Omar2
WellofSense
Medusa
The Alchemist
Louise
Tosca
Maimon
Telling the Truth
Israelinurse
Adam Levick
Margie in Tel Aviv
Guest/Cross Post
Hadar Sela
24 comments
Comments feed for this article
December 17, 2009 at 11:47 am
Margie
Well Modernity dear, they’re J… err Israeli, aren’t they?
December 17, 2009 at 11:54 am
modernity
Margie,
I think they ain’t J… err Israelis, so don’t get even the threat of arrest.
December 17, 2009 at 11:56 am
Matt
“I can’t remember of any other nationality, or nation, being subject to these ad hoc arrest warrants, from British courts.”
Well how about George W Bush, Tony Blair, and Vladimir Putin for starters?
This is how it works: radical Islamic / leftwing / anti-war groups keep track of the schedules of politicians. When they are due to arrive in the UK they file a lawsuit with a sympathetic judge. The charges never stick, but just the action has the effect of deterring said politician from visiting, and the warrant gets revoked afterwards. It’s a tactical ploy to make life difficult for politicians.
Gordon Brown is very pro-Israel, as was Tony Blair, as is David Cameron, and as are a great many British people.
What you call hypocrisy is a symptom of the struggle that is going on in Britain between those that support Israel and those that wish to see Israel’s demise.
December 17, 2009 at 12:06 pm
SickFrogman
“What you call hypocrisy is a symptom of the struggle that is going on in Britain between those that support Israel and those that wish to see Israel’s demise.”
The latter group seems to be winning in the UK and Europe generally – in fact, the world over, with perhaps the exceptions of the US, Canada, and Australia.
December 17, 2009 at 12:36 pm
canadaneil
Actually the Canadians don’t love Israel. They are just too apathetic and politically correct to do anything about her. Like the Americans, though, they aren’t anti-semitic.
December 17, 2009 at 2:18 pm
JerusalemMite
We can probably be consoled that eventually the British legal system will force a change that will make such warrants subject to higher judicial review before being served and perhaps having to pass some kind of examination by the Foreign Office before they can be served.
I feel that the loony left has shot itself in the foot again as they will loose a possible weapon that they had. It is a bad legal loophole for bothering anyone who is not appreciated by the extreme left.
Even The Obama may have been in danger after agreeing to send more troops to fight ‘freedom fighters’ in Afghanistan and using unmanned planes to execute freedom fighter’ leaders without ‘due process’.
Such is the fantasy world of the extreme left.
December 17, 2009 at 2:48 pm
modernityblog
Well Matt,
As far as I know no one has even attempted to get an arrest warrant for Tony Blair, in a British court.
Not even George W Bush either, this is despite going on and on and on that both of them are guilty of war crimes.
That’s despite going on about it the years.
So whilst some of the British are happy to moan about their ex-Prime Minister and George W Bush, they don’t actually do anything.
But they do spring into life when an Israeli politician pops on the scene.
December 17, 2009 at 3:34 pm
TomWonacott
True enough ModernityBlog, what’s the driving force behind the selective arrest of Livni (now, of course, the warrant has been dropped)?
December 17, 2009 at 4:07 pm
pretzelberg
modernityblog
“As far as I know no one has even attempted to get an arrest warrant for Tony Blair, in a British court.”
I would suggest someone submit a suit against Blair with the very same d*ckhead judge who issued Livni’s arrest warrant.
But for what it’s worth, Hawkeye (nice moniker btw, never really thought about it before), I feel your headline reference to “British Hypocrisy” is OTT.
This kinds of cases are a) launched by and b) judged by individuals.
At the same time, Daniel Machover’s reference to traditional fairness in the British justice system immediately had me and others thinking: Birmingham 6, Guildford 5??
December 17, 2009 at 4:14 pm
pretzelberg
modernityblog
“So whilst some of the British are happy to moan about their ex-Prime Minister and George W Bush, they don’t actually do anything. But they do spring into life when an Israeli politician pops on the scene.”
Was it British people who sought the arrest of Livni? I think not.
canadaneil
“Actually the Canadians don’t love Israel. They are just too apathetic and politically correct to do anything about her. Like the Americans, though, they aren’t anti-semitic.”
Your implication being that British people are? What a hateful slur.
SickFrogman
“What you call hypocrisy is a symptom of the struggle that is going on in Britain between those that support Israel and those that wish to see Israel’s demise.” — “The latter group seems to be winning in the UK and Europe generally”
Nonsense. On CiF perhaps.
But in the UK and Europe in general? Where are you posting from – Alaska?
December 17, 2009 at 4:26 pm
pretzelberg
My first post has failed to materialise:
@ modernityblog
“As far as I know no one has even attempted to get an arrest warrant for Tony Blair, in a British court.”
I would suggest someone submit a suit against Blair with the very same eejit judge who issued Livni’s arrest warrant.
But for what it’s worth, Hawkeye (nice moniker btw, never really thought about it before), I feel your headline reference to “British Hypocrisy” is OTT.
This kinds of cases are a) launched by and b) judged by individuals.
At the same time, Daniel Machover’s reference to traditional fairness in the British justice system immediately had me and others thinking: Birmingham 6, Guildford 5??
December 17, 2009 at 4:28 pm
pretzelberg
Any reason my original post (which showed solidarity with the author’s point) is failing to materialise?
December 17, 2009 at 4:41 pm
pretzelberg
Ah. there it is.
I guessed it was some technical hitch.
(althought replacing the original reference to “d*ckhead” with “eejit” seems to have helped)
December 17, 2009 at 6:18 pm
AKUS
The question facing Britain is whether they want their foreign policy determined by their elected government or by Daniel Machover, a rag-tag bunch of Palestinian sympathizers, and a credulous judge.
“Lawfare” is a coup d’etat by another name.
Britain will have to amend its legal code if necessary to put an end to the ability of a small pressure group dictating its foreign policy.
December 17, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Yohoho
pretzelberg, does it matter that you think the reference to British hypocrisy is OTT? What else should we call it when some of the worst abusers of human rights, including members of Hamas and Hizballah, are allowed visit the UK at will and without threat of arrest?
The basic point is that the British government is supine in the extreme and terrified of causing offence to Muslims although not to Jews and this double standard alone is hypocritical. Why do you think that is?
December 17, 2009 at 7:52 pm
modernity
Tom, you wrote:
“what’s the driving force behind the selective arrest of Livni”
To be honest I’m not sure, it could be part political, part petulance, and maybe even some disagreement with operation cast lead.
I am afraid I cannot offer any psychological insight into these people that is not within my range of knowledge, Mitnaged would have many more answers.
As I’ve pointed out elsewhere most of the people who are, by their actions, obsessed by Israel’s very existence tend to be a bit, er, strange.
I think in this context, Brits attacking Israel or Israelis is a safety valve, an easy option, there’s no real comeback, it can be safely done from within the intelligentsia without adverse consequences.
It strikes me as gesture politics.
Conversely, for example, you couldn’t attack France in the same way that Israel is vilified. Picking on very minor points in that country, having a dig at its politicians, history and culture without (rightly in my view) being accused of being Francophobic.
But within the British intelligentsia and the chattering classes, Israelis are an easy target, the perfect scapegoat.
Strangely enough it is not universal, although from reading the British media you would gain that impression, it’s not really true of ordinary people.
The average woman or man in the street is probably not really anti- Israeli, by any stretch of the imagination. If anything most Brits hold Europeans in greater contempt than they would Israelis or Jews.
Certainly that varies depending on how the media portrays Israel, but on balance I’d say that the deep animosity which we see towards Israeli’s and Jews is stratified within British society, and not universal, at the moment.
Tom, I’m not sure if that answers your question though
December 17, 2009 at 8:05 pm
modernity
Pretzelberg,
Please don’t blame Hawkeye, it was my by-line and I stand by it.
I think it is hypercritical to attack a foreign politician but leave British ones untouched, when the self same people who brought the case probably think Blair is a war criminal too,
But there is a difference here, attacking British politicians have consequences, real repercussions for those who are brave enough to do it,
Whereas having a go at an Israeli is almost pleasing to the media, and there are no ramifications, it is a consequence free action.
It would take guts and real conviction to launch a prosecution of Tony Blair, however, attacking any Israeli is a cheap and easy gesture.
That’s why I think it’s hypocrisy.
December 17, 2009 at 8:55 pm
TomWonacott
ModernityBlog
I appreciate your answer. Thanks.
December 17, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Margie
But within the British intelligentsia and the chattering classes, Israelis are an easy target, the perfect scapegoat.
Well, Modernity dear, we’re J… err…Israeli, aren’t we?
December 17, 2009 at 11:03 pm
modernityblog
Margie,
I couldn’t possibly comment!
December 18, 2009 at 10:38 am
NicoleS
John Rentoul has an interesting post on this and related topics: http://johnrentoul.independentminds.livejournal.com/229681.html
December 19, 2009 at 2:01 am
Tom Jones
I suppose Mugabe or MadManInADinnerJacket would be OK in dear old Blighty but Micheal Savage is still Haram?
December 19, 2009 at 2:50 am
Margie
That is interesting Nicole S. The comment that British public opinion punches above its weight is spot on. Israel is very aware of it. This is what the Guardian attempts to direct against us in its relentless campaign.
What we see however is the lingering effects of Britain having been a colonial power where the voices of command still have their authoritative ring though they have no real heft any more. The petty claims for expenses being dragged through the nation’s press month after month are leaking prestige as is the mismanagement of the recession.
December 19, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Xavier Onassis
not one single Brit ..apply for warrant arresting Tony Blair indignation is rather selective.
——–
This is right and the article is correct to make this point but I think pro Israelis should not over-stress this point because Blair , by attacking Iraq , has allowed Israel to commit mini atrocities in the shadow of Iraq.