Israel does have friends: and some of them are good ones.

The Henry Jackson Society is a good friend of Israel's, as demonstrated by its coverage of the Middle east, and it's current issue has three separate articles on the situation vis-a-vis Gaza, but I'm only linking to one of them. If you wish to know more about the society and how it got its name, look here:

This particular brief essay is by one Douglas Murray and is a sterling example of the Society's general stance on Israel, as you will realise when you notice that the title of the piece is "The status-quo-ante is not an option". A sample quote from Murray includes a near-repitition of that phrase, when he says that "Already, fair and foul-weather friends are calling for a ceasefire and a return to the status quo ante. They are missing the point as catastrophically as the media. The status quo ante is not the solution. The status quo ante is what got us here. It involves Israel being bombarded unceasingly while the world looks away."

It was ever thus. Or, as the British (and unashamedly Jewish) actor, Maureen Lipman noted on UK radio at the end of brief set-to with a fellow British actor (unashamedly in favour of a boycott on the Habimah Theatre group in the UK), "It's always the Jews isn't it". She managed to get the last word in, too. No mean feat, and if I see her walking her dogs in that big open space near us again, I shall take the opportunity to compliment her on that and thank her for it.

A little further into the article, Murray notes the broad support from at least some Western allies of Israel - the unanimous vote in support of Israel by the US Senate, that I posted below, the more recent open backing from president Obama (even if slightly nuanced, but he is the Pres) and, to my knowledge, unequivocal backing by Angela Merkel of Germany. However (there's always a however, isn't there?), "...across the Western media the reaction has been different. From the Washington Post to the Telegraph of London, the media has focussed on Israeli ‘aggression’ and Palestinian suffering as the cause of this latest round of conflict. This is wholly, utterly and disgracefully wrong." The article is here:

Interesting side issue: one of those three articles is by Raheem Kassam, Henry Jackson Society Director of Communications : is this the same Raheem Kassam who is the Executive Editor of The Commentator, and to whom I referred a few days ago? I think we should be told!! Not really: just being mischievous.

By the way, The Elder of Ziyon, on his(?) blog has an interesting short video clip in which some Western media correspondents, lodged in Gaza City (and at least one suitably flak-jacketed and helmeted), are reporting, live, that they can hear rockets being fired off towards Israel from very near where they are. View it here. It's only 40 seconds long, so it won't detain you for very long. Do also take 20 seconds to look at the video clip immediately below it from the IDF. You want good propaganda from Israel? Here it is. Further, Sky News reporters have reported live, from Gaza City, that Hamas are deliberately siting missiles among civilians, thus using civilians as a human shield. That's a war crime.

So why isn't anyone calling Hamas on it? That Hamas won't give a damn is neither here nor there.

Also on the same site is this, which I haven't read yet, but couldn't resist posting (the heading says it all): http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/israel-sends-aid-to-gaza-while-egypt.html.

Good reading.

By: Brian Goldfarb