Wednesday 7 July 2010

ANOTHER CASE OF BRITISH HYPOCRISY AGAINST ISRAEL.


Do you remember the outrage in Britain over the case of the alleged forged British passports used in the assassination of a Hamas terrorist in Dubai?

It made headline news for days in all the major broadsheets. It was headline news on Britain's main TV channels.  The British Foreign Office made a big stink about it and expelled an diplomat from the Israeli Embassy. The Israeli ambassador was called for a dressing down at the Foreign Office. British-Israeli relationships hit a low point.

Now the FBI has admitted that some of the Russians caught spying in America entered the States on forged British passports!

Where is the outrage from Whitehall?  Where are the screaming headline in the leading British papers? Why hasn't the BBC and Sky news channel gone crazy with this disclosure?

Instead - total silence!!!

Why? Why the dressing down if the alleged perpetrator is Israel, and a cover up if the criminals are the Russian Government?
Why the double standards?

David Milliband may no longer be the Foreign Minister in Britain, but surely William Hague must follow his predecessor ? 
After all,  his leader, David Cameron, then head of the Conservative opposition, demanded that the Government disclose what it knew about the falsified documents.
Surely he must observe the same standards today, even if they are applied against the Russians?

Milliband cried out against the 'intolerable misuse of British passports' calling it 'an outrage!'.
Surely the same epithet applies when used by Russian spies?
A senior Foreign Office staffer claimed that Israel had acted 'against British interests'. What was Russia doing?

With all the attention that was drawn against alleged Israeli involvement, including the public punishment of a diplomatic eviction from Britain, it is staggering that the identical crime, carried out by the Russians, does not register a jot of newsprint, or a mention on prime time TV.

What conclusions can be drawn from this?  Only one.  There is a standard of culpability for Israel - and a different expectation for the rest of the world.

Even the crime of forging British passports can be overlooked.
If perpetrated by Russians, the British Government turn their gaze away. No need to call in the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) as they did with Israel.
If perpetrated by Israel, throw the book at them.

So it has been over every issue from Israel's security to fighting terrorism to human rights.

Britain, it seems, wishes to lead the world in double standards.

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