It is not only about defending past crimes; it is also going on justifying present ones.
Close to a year ago, on 12 December of last year, PM Theresa May addressed the Annual Business Lunch of the Conservative Friends of Israel in these terms: “On November 2, 1917, the then Foreign Secretary – a Conservative Foreign Secretary – Arthur James Balfour wrote: ‘His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, …’”
The PM read the whole text of the letter I will be getting back to later. She then went on saying: “It is one of the most important letters in history. It demonstrates Britain’s vital role in creating a homeland for the Jewish people. And it is an anniversary we will be marking with pride.”
The PM added: “Born of that letter, and the efforts of so many people, is a remarkable country.” A country, Israel, which the PM described as “a thriving democracy, a beacon of tolerance, an engine of enterprise and an example to the rest of the world for overcoming adversity and defying disadvantages.”
Then they tell us that those who commit acts of violence on the streets of England "hate our democracy and our way of life".
Zionism, anti-Semitism, and the Balfour Declaration
The PM added: “Born of that letter, and the efforts of so many people, is a remarkable country.” A country, Israel, which the PM described as “a thriving democracy, a beacon of tolerance, an engine of enterprise and an example to the rest of the world for overcoming adversity and defying disadvantages.”
Then they tell us that those who commit acts of violence on the streets of England "hate our democracy and our way of life".
Zionism, anti-Semitism, and the Balfour Declaration